The Integrity and Refinement of President Lorenzo Snow

With you, my brethren and sisters, I feel that the Latter-day Saints have some cause for mourning, and yet when I think of the great age to which our chief had attained, it seems to me that it would have been unjust on our part to have desired his continuance very much longer in the performance of the arduous duties that came to him as President of the Church. I was not intimate with President Snow in the earlier days of his ministry in the Apostleship; in fact, not until he became the President of the Twelve Apostles was it my privilege to become extremely intimate with him; but from the period of his presidency over the Council of the Apostles I have learned to esteem him, to love him, for his eminent abilities and for his integrity to the cause to which he had devoted his early life. ¶

Upon a recent visit to the city of Washington I was the bearer of a message from President Lorenzo Snow to President William McKinley; and upon that occasion President McKinley expressed his very great pleasure in hearing from President Snow and receiving his expressions of regard. In our conversation he remarked that he had known President Snow from his boyhood, and gave us to understand that upon a certain occasion, when President Snow was in the heyday of his young manhood, erect in person, and with a graceful, dignified bearing, he had had the privilege of an introduction to him, and he said he had remembered him very distinctly ever since. He further said: "I desire you, upon your return to your mountain home, to bear to him my kind regards; for I esteem him as a man devoted to the interests and wellbeing of his fellowmen, who loves his God and his country." My brothers and my sisters, these expressions, coming as they did from the chief magistrate of the nation, though not given here probably in the exact language in which they were spoken, made a deep impression upon my mind; and I had little doubt of the possibilities for the accomplishment of good in the interests of the Latter-day Saints through the ministrations and efforts of the man whom Providence had placed at the head of His people and the man whom Providence had placed at the head of our nation. We may not fully sense the position in which we sometimes find ourselves, but there is this sure fact in connection with the work of God: He has provided that that work shall not lack at any time or place in its accomplishment through failure on the part of any of His servants. As the necessities have demanded, the men have been found and raised up for the labor required. Commencing with the Prophet Joseph, along through the administrations of President Brigham Young, President John Taylor, President Wilford Woodruff, down to the life and labor of the grand man whose remains lie before us, it will readily be recognized that each has had the characteristics requisite for the accomplishment of the purposes of his administration. I rejoice that it has been my privilege to personally know all of them, except the Prophet Joseph, with whom I was not conversant in his life time, however much I should like to have been. It was my privilege to mingle in the society of President Young and to be in his companionship under some trying circumstances. The dignity of his character and the strength of his abilities marked him as a man among his fellow men. His mission was fraught with blessing to the people our Father had selected him to preside over. The same is true of the lives and labors of the heroic men who have succeeded him in this great work, which is designed by our Father to accomplish its wonderful destiny in the regeneration of mankind. They ministered in the interests and wellbeing of their fellow men. Their hearts were given to the accomplishment of our Father's purpose. Their success has been indeed wonderful, and the method adopted by our Father to utilize them in fulfilling His purposes, as remarked by my brother Brigham, is a marvel among the children of men. I remember distinctly the visit of Gen. Thomas L. Kane to this city just following the demise of President Brigham Young. After he had met with the brethren and conversed over the situation as it existed here, it was my privilege to spend some time with him by ourselves, and he remarked to me upon that occasion: "When the word came to me of President Young's demise, I was somewhat concerned in my spirit as to the position in which matters would be placed, looking, as I naturally did, more from a worldly point of view than from the view of faith; but when I met with the brethren, conversed with President Taylor, looked over the men who stood around him as leaders, I said to myself, the Lord has made ample provision for the preservation of that cause which lies near to my heart." ¶

I trust, my brothers and sisters, that each one of us shall receive an inspiration from the life and character of these grand men who laid the foundations of these commonwealths in this intermountain region, who sought to disseminate the Gospel of the Lord Jesus among the children of men, and who in the station they were called to occupy by divine providence betrayed no trust, violated no honorable pledge, broke no faith, but fulfilled their part and ministry with an eye single to the glory of God and the accomplishment of the work that He set their hands to do. When our Father clusters His jewels together in the eternal worlds, among them will be found the heroic man who suffered imprisonment, who offered his life in the interests and wellbeing of our Father's cause,, and who never faltered, no matter what requirement or obligation was laid upon him. The roll has been called, the drums have sounded, and another hero, true to the principles of righteousness, has answered his Father in heaven: Yes, I am here, Father. I accepted the duties Thou didst give me, with the determination that Thy name should be honored, and that Thy truths should be written in the hearts and beings of the children of men, as far as Thou gavest me ability to help in that direction. ¶

In connection with my brother, I pray that the peace of heaven may abound upon his household. May his sons and his daughters be of that sterling stuff which characterized this hero. May their backs never be turned upon the truth; but in every extremity, in every place where our Father shall seek to utilize them, may the heroic mold of that father who gave his life that they might be, ever show itself in their ministry and efforts for the accomplishment of our Fathers' purpose. Before you, my brethren and sisters, is an example of devotion to the cause of eternal truth. Register it deep and thorough in your souls, and by and by, when the Eternal One shall gather His jewels, your names will be registered in the Lamb's book of life. I pray that heaven's peace may abound upon his loved ones, that their hearts may be true and steadfast, as his was. I trust that his associates,, upon whom responsibility will fall in his demise, may possess the same heroic mind, the same determination, the same undying courage and faith that has characterized him in his long life among the people of God. His heart was one that enabled him to love the world, to bless Father's children, whether of his own faith or not, to treat them with respect and honor, and to guard them as faithfully and well as he would his own. May that spirit be our spirit; may our faith be as his faith, gentle and considerate as a child when necessity required, but bold and unyielding as the rock of ages when such kind of courage was called for. May our Father bless and prosper His cause; may the truth extend until it shall encompass the earth; may we love His righteousness, bless His children, and live so that the truth may extend all over the world, is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶