The Gospel to Be Carried to All Lands

I can hardly realize, my brethren and sisters, that it is nearly one year since I was called to this stand and my name presented to the congregation to be sustained as one of the Apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ. I desire to say to you this day that I have enjoyed my labors among the people of this Church for the last twelve months as I never expected to do. I have at all times asked my Heavenly Father to give me His Spirit, to give me humility, and to favor me with the love, confidence, respect and fellowship of the Latter-day Saints; and I thank you my brethren and sisters, for your faith and prayers in my behalf, and I thank the Lord for all He has vouchsafed unto me. I begin to realize, at least in a small degree, what it is to be a teacher among the Latter-day Saints, and the great responsibilities attached thereto; and I feel my weakness, aye, more than any of you realize, and I trust and pray that the Lord will give me wisdom and judgment, that the instruction which I give to the people as an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ will be approved of Him, and that the people will receive them in the same spirit in which they are given. ¶

I know, my brethren and sisters, that this is the Church and Kingdom of God. I know that He can fit and qualify men for the offices to which He calls them. If they are humble, prayerful and diligent in seeking His Spirit, I know that God will magnify them in their office and calling. ¶

There is a tendency exhibited by some of the brethren and sisters in some of the Stakes of Zion to add to the form of our simple ordinances, and cast about them a degree of mystery and to depart from the method laid down by revelation from God through the Prophet Joseph Smith; and I think it proper to call the attention of the members of this Church to one of these deviations. ¶

The Apostle James, upon one occasion, asked the question, "Is any sick among you?" and his advice to the Saints then was: "Let him call for the Elders of the Church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up." ¶

This doctrine is believed in by the Latter-day Saints. It is one of the beautiful ordinances in the Church of Jesus Christ in this dispensation. It is one whose benefits and blessings all the people enjoy who have the Spirit of God. And there is no need to deviate from the simple form of administering to the sick as laid down by the Apostle James and by the Prophets of this dispensation. There is, however, a tendency among some of the members of the Church in performing this ordinance to add to the form and mode as revealed, thinking that by so doing greater power accompanies the administration. But I want to call your attention to the fact that in the healing of the sick in this Church the power comes from the Lord, and not from man. It is by the prayer of faith that the sick are healed: and, as I look at it, there is no need of having this simple ordinance of administering to the sick enshrouded in mystery, or any addition whatever to the simple form given by the Apostle James or revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith. ¶

Let me say also that every Latter-day Saint has a perfect right to ask the Bishop of their ward to present the name of any who are sick to the fast meeting which is held each month in every ward in the Church, where the people meet together in fasting and prayer. I believe that the faith and power which can be made manifest in those meetings in behalf of the sick will be acknowledged by God; and the people have a right to ask the Bishop of their ward to have a sick one prayed for in any fast meeting. ¶

In this connection I may say that we have prayer circles in this Church. Every Bishop has a right to have a prayer circle in his ward, and I sincerely hope that there is no Stake in Zion without one, and if there is, my advice is to organize one as soon as possible. There is not a week passes but these circles meet, and they are composed of men of God, who hold the Priesthood, and who are supposed to be clean in every respect, having a knowledge that God lives, obeying all His commandments, and observing the Word of Wisdom; and the Saints should have the privilege of having their sick remembered in these circles. At the same time, I believe that where the humblest servant of God is called upon to administer to one who is sick in this Church, if he have faith, and the afflicted one also, God will grant unto them the righteous desires of their hearts. And it seems to me that there is no need of holding special fast meetings, or special testimony meetings, or special meetings of any kind in the wards or Stakes of Zion, in connection with or making them a part of the simple ordinances of administering to the sick. ¶

I believe, my brethren and sisters, that the time will come when every ordinance of the Gospel will be imitated in some form or another by the world, and this should be a testimony to every soul that Mormonism is from God. If our testimony were based only upon our belief in administering to the sick and the healing of the sick by that means, we should be in danger; for since that ordinance has been revealed to this Church other denominations have arisen believing the same thing. There is now a denomination in existence which believes in the administering of oil. By and by there will be other denominations formed that will, by reading the Bible, conclude that there should be Apostles in the Church, and they will have men-made Apostles. Only a few days ago I read of a sect which had risen up in the East claiming that there should be Apostles, and some of the members had appointed themselves as Apostles of that denomination. I think that sooner or later the evil one will try to imitate everything in the Church of God. I sometimes think I can see into the future and see many denominations accepting parts of the revealed truth and trying to imitate perhaps one or more of the ordinances of the true Church, and I believe the world will have to ultimately acknowledge that Mormonism, as they call it, is exactly the same as the Church that Christ placed upon the earth, and that it is from God. ¶

I believe all that God has revealed; I believe all that He does now reveal; and I believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God. You, my brethren and sisters, believe the same. Not only do we believe, but we know that the blessings of God come to us when we keep the commandments of God. In visiting the Stakes since Brother Heber J. Grant was called to open a new mission in Japan, and Brother Lyman to preside over the European Mission, I have had some of the brethren say to me, "Why I thought the time had come when the Apostles would be kept at home, and not sent abroad;" and they expressed themselves as not knowing how they could possibly be spared from here. I want to say to the people that if the voice of the Lord calls an Apostle, and he is wanted in any part of this world, as soon as the Prophet of the Lord mentions the fact to him, there is not an Apostle in this Church but would go to the farthest ends of the earth upon a mission -- go to any country, or any people, and sacrifice if necessary, all that he has, even to life itself. What more can men do for the Gospel's sake. ¶

My brethren and sisters, I hope that such a feeling of respect for the word of God and of confidence in His all-ruling power will be instilled into the hearts of the people that whenever the time comes or whatever the call may be from the servants of God, you will freely say, "Thy will, O Father, not mine, be done." Brother Heber J. Grant is called to open a new mission -- open the door of the great Eastern country and introduce the Gospel to a new people; and it is my belief that it is only the beginning; for as sure as the Lord has spoken the word, this Gospel must be preached to all peoples on the earth. It rests upon this people to do that work before the coming of the Son of Man, and I take it that whenever the call comes and to whomsoever it comes, he will have sufficient of the testimony of Jesus in his heart to respond to the call and fulfil the mission as God gives him strength and judgment. I know that our prayers have been with Brother Grant ever since it has been known that he was called. I know that the Father has been supplicated in his behalf, that he may have success in opening that mission. There is not a question but that he goes clothed with all the power, all the keys and all the authority necessary to introduce the Gospel to that people. I feel that he will have success, even as much as God shall grant he should have. ¶

The hearts of the people have been drawn out also for Brother George Q. Cannon, who is seriously ill at the present time in California. We hope, we pray, we ask our Heavenly Father to restore him to us; but if he lives he lives unto the Lord, and if he dies he dies unto the Lord. Whether he lives or whether he dies, he is the Lord's. ¶

It seems to me that there can be no people upon the face of the earth who have reason to be more thankful to their Heavenly Father for the blessings which they receive than the Latter-day Saints; for I do not believe there is a people living who have more blessings showered upon them. I want to bear testimony also to what President Snow said, that there is not a people living, in my opinion, who are more virtuous, self-sacrificing and more the lovers of God than the people who have accepted the name of Latter-day Saints. It rests with us, my brethren and sisters, whether or not we shall have increased blessings. The Prophet of the Lord has promised us here today that if we are faithful unto God glorious blessings shall be given unto us and it rests with us whether or not we shall obtain them. ¶

My testimony to you, my brethren and sisters, is that God lives that Jesus is the Christ, that this is the Church and Kingdom of God, and that this people will not falter, but whenever the call is made upon them they will answer that call to the best of the ability God has given them and with all the strength and means they are endowed with. May God bless us to this end; may His peace be upon us as a people; may the Spirit of the Lord be with us during this Conference; may the instructions given during this Conference be carried from here to every nook and corner of the Church; may He bless us with a testimony that this is His work, and increase that testimony within us every day, is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶