Humility, Union, and True Greatness

I am happy to see so many of the Saints present on the first day of our Conference, and I have rejoiced in the instructions given by the brethren who have addressed us. I was much impressed with the remarks of the last speaker. He bore testimony that the leading brethren in the Church are humble men. The Apostles have just concluded their quarterly conference, and one of the subjects dwelt upon was this principle of humility. It was shown that it is absolutely necessary to cultivate humility, if we shall make progress in the kingdom of God. I can also bear testimony to the fact that the Twelve Apostles are one, and seek to be one with the Presidency of the Church. When Brother Cowley read the words of the revelation in which we are told that the disciples of old had feelings against one another, I felt to rejoice that it could be said of the Twelve today that they are a unit; and it is desirable that this oneness of feeling should pervade all Israel. We know that it is required of us to be one. If we are not one, Jesus will not acknowledge us. In one of the revelations He makes this statement: ¶

"But, verily, I say unto you, teach one another according to the office wherewith I have appointed you, "And let every man esteem his brother as himself, and practice virtue and holiness before me. ¶

"And again I say unto you, let every man esteem his brother as himself; ¶

"For what man among you having twelve sons, and is no respecter of them, and they serve him obediently, and he saith unto the one, be thou clothed in robes and sit thou here; and to the other, be thou clothed in rags, and sit thou here, and looketh upon his sons and saith I am just. ¶

"Behold, this I have given unto you a parable, and it is even as I am: I say unto you, be one; and if you are not one, ye are not mine." -- Doc. and Cov., Sec. 38: 23--27. ¶

This requirement is made, not only of the Twelve, but of all the Saints. If we shall be recognized and acknowledged by our Master, we must prove unto Him that we are one -- not only one in our belief, but one in our acts, and one in our conduct and in the treatment of one another. We have heard it read that one should not have above another. The Lord has always laid stress upon unity. In the last teachings of our Savior to His disciples, during the week before He left them, how impressive are His words upon this principle! He wanted them to be one, as He and the Father were one; and He asked in His prayer that this might be. Unity is the distinguishing characteristic of Saints in every age. As Latter-day Saints, we want to try to be united with one another and with the Presidency. Let us carry out the counsels that come to us through them, and let us not feel one above another. ¶

If one man shall acquire more of this world's goods than another, let it not lift him up and make him feel that that makes him better than his brother. Remember that the Lord withstands the proud; and purse-pride I think is meaner than any other pride. Yet it is natural to us. There should not arise class distinctions among the Latter-day Saints. I do not believe there is much of this; but at certain times there seems to be a little more of it in our midst than there ought to be. The other day I had the pleasure of attending a reception given our President on his birthday by the workers in the Temple. I was pleased to be present and feel the spirit there. In talking with one of our Bishops, I remarked how pleasant it was to see those who had not any of this world's goods mingling with those who had, as brethren and sisters, and he said, "I have heard some say that we have class distinctions in our midst, and men who have riches are accused of feeling above their brethren; but I have never felt anything of that kind." Now, that man has plenty of this world's goods, but he did not feel that wealth exalted him above his brethren. I believe that as a general thing the possession of wealth has a tendency to lift men up. If the Lord blesses us with temporal riches, they should not have this effect upon us. It may not be the fault altogether of those who have means that there sometimes arise lines of distinction between them and their poorer brethren. We who have not much of this world's goods are not entirely free from pride; if for instance, our brother with whom we have been well acquainted, and who has acquired more means than we have, happens to pass us without noticing us, though he does it unthinkingly, we are apt to judge him harshly and say to ourselves that because he has a little more means than we have he will not notice us now. He may be entirely innocent, yet we nurture this feeling, and we become estranged from one another. This should not be. We should love one another, and be one. You do not see any class distinction between those who labor in the Temples. The Temple is a place where the atmosphere is entirely free from a feeling of one being above another. When our missionaries go out to preach the Gospel, sometimes a young man of rich parents will be associated with the son of poor parents, but they do not feel that there is any distinction between them. They go out tracting and holding meetings together, they pray together, and live together as brethren. The difference between them in worldly means is forgotten, and they try to be united on the work they have in hand. Now, as the missionaries feel abroad, as you feel when you go into the Temples of God, so you should feel in your everyday lives. ¶

Let us not forget the injunctions given to us in regard to humility. Do not think that humility is opposed to greatness. On the contrary, no man ever became great who was not humble. In the history of the world, we have called men great, who did not deserve the title. For a man to be great there must be originality about him; he must be above the common, and the difference between him and the common must be something that is beneficial to men. It is the benefit that flows from his personality that makes him great -- his influence on the world for good. Take our Savior, as was alluded to so beautifully this morning by our President. Born at Bethlehem, in a manger! He went below all things, both in rank and wealth. He did not seek for wealth. He had come to fulfill a mission. He was humble in all his acts, and yet He was the greatest being that has lived upon the earth. Humility and greatness were combined in His character. The same was reflected in the character of our Prophet, Joseph Smith. He was a man without cant, a humble man, a great man. Of all men that lived in the nineteenth century I look upon him as the greatest. There was something beyond the common in this man, which will have a beneficial influence upon the whole mass of humanity. The truths which he brought forth by the power of God will be studied by men and their worth recognized. Men will not credit the source, but the truth will win its way. He was a great man, and at the same time a humble man. His successors have been the same. If we want to attain greatness, we must not forget this virtue of humility. Perhaps many of those who feel so self-righteous will find that to cultivate humility is a hard task; still it is necessary. We look forward to exaltation, but to obtain this we must go through the valley of humility. We must go down into it, and then ascend, and before us is a destiny so bright that we cannot conceive it. ¶

Brethren and sisters, let us cultivate these virtues. Let us be one. Let us not regard one another on account of wealth and rank; but let us esteem men for the good works they do, and for their humility in living before the Lord. Let this be the rank which we all shall seek for. The Twelve received the call of the Lord, not feeling elated because they were to receive a higher seat in the synagogue, but with fear and trembling, hoping that they might be able to perform their duties. In receiving the call they felt that it made them indeed the servants of their brethren and sisters, and they are trying to live so that they can serve them, and serve their Heavenly Father. ¶

I do not feel to take up more of your time, only I would like to impress upon all, the necessity of unity; with that we shall be strong and able to fight the battles that are before us, and we shall come out victorious. My testimony is that this is the kingdom of God -- the stone that Daniel saw. Now, if we are to be that stone, and to have its force, we must be solid and united. We do not want the stones to be a conglomerate that in its speed will break to pieces. We want to be a united people, that can stand together, and then the Lord will fulfill His promise -- He will give the dominion unto His Saints. God bless you all. Amen. ¶