Church Built on the Rock of Revelation

I feel very keenly my dependence upon the Lord in standing before you this morning, and humbly I crave an interest in your faith and prayers, that I may have the Spirit of the Lord to direct me in what I shall say; for I feel a heavy responsibility resting upon me when I behold the many thousands who are assembled here to receive the word of God. Never in my life has it been my privilege to stand before so vast a congregation to instruct them in the principles of life and salvation, and I rejoice in having this great privilege. I sincerely hope that the Lord will direct me in all that shall be said, that I may not be the cause of misleading any who are here. ¶

I rejoice exceedingly in the instructions that we have received during this conference. The statistical information and the items of history in connection with the colonization of this people have been intensely interesting to me, and the beautiful lessons that have been drawn from them have increased my testimony, and I doubt not that my brethren and sisters have been strengthened in their faith and have felt to rejoice to know that they are identified with this wonderful work that our heavenly Father has set His hand to do in the age in which we live. I am proud to be identified with the people of God, and to have a standing in His holy Church. I feel to rejoice for the testimony that the Lord has blessed me with; for I do know that this is in very deed His work. ¶

The Church of Christ has been builded upon the rock of revelation; and those who have received a testimony that this is the work of the Lord — and we often hear it proclaimed from this stand — and that Joseph Smith was divinely inspired of God in ushering in this the dispensation of the fulness of times, have received it through the inspiration of the Almighty. "We ought to be grateful that our Heavenly Father has blessed us with a knowledge of the truth, and that we are not compelled to rely upon others, but that we know it for ourselves, because we have received it through revelation from our Father. We can read in the scriptures that wonderful conversation that took place between the Savior and His Apostles, when He asked them whom men said that He was. ¶

"Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? ¶

And they said. Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some. Elias; and others, Jeremiah, or one of the Prophets. ¶

He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? ¶

And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. ¶

And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed are thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. ¶

And I say unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." ¶

From this we learn concerning the solid foundation of the Church of Christ, of which we are members. It has been built upon the broad principle of revelation, by which we can know that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. I rejoice to know that there is a means of coming to a knowledge of God. Without revelation it would be impossible to obtain a perfect testimony. It is true, there are many external evidences of the divinity of this work and of the mission of Joseph Smith. I have sometimes been asked the question, How do you know that Joseph Smith was divinely inspired? and my first answer has always been that the Lord had manifested it to me through His Holy Spirit; but in addition to that there are many outward evidences that have appealed strongly to me. During the meetings of this conference we have heard some of these evidences. The question might be asked, How do you know that Moses was a prophet of God? We who have not had the privilege of associating with that great prophet, and have not felt the impress of the Spirit in listening to his voice, can we judge by the work he acomplished. We find that he was given a mission by the Lord to deliver the children of Israel from bondage in Egypt. Looking back at the marvelous work accomplished through his instrumentality— how the children of Israel were in very deed delivered from bondage, how they were planted in the land of promise, and how they grew to be a mighty people — it seems to bear the very impress of divinity, and we know from such evidence that he was a prophet sent of God. The Lord has never accomplished any great purpose in the earth, except he has raised up a prophet and given him a mission to perform. Neither has the Lord ever given revelations to man that did not have some importance attached to them. The Lord has not been engaged as many so-called miracle-workers are in this day and age of the world, in manifesting Himself unto His children unless there has been something worthy of the dignity of the Supreme Being connected with that revelation. When the great work of atonement had to be accomplished, He raised up His only Begotten Son, who performed a work the effects of which are felt today throughout the whole world. Particularly do we find the result of His work and that of His Apostles among the so-called civilized nations of the earth. The impress of divinity is upon the work of Christ. He was the greatest Prophet that ever trod the earth. Judging from the same standpoint, whenever the Lord has raised up any prophet the impress of divinity has been upon the work that he was called to accomplish. It has always been something important, and it has had for its primary object the salvation and betterment of the children of God. When the Lord raised up the Prophet Joseph, he ushered in this great gathering dispensation. It was not an idle purpose; it was not merely for the amusement of mankind; but there was something grand to be accomplished namely, the gathering of the house of Israel from all the nations of the earth, in fulfilment of those wonderful predictions uttered by many prophets who lived hundreds and even thousands of years ago. Today those who are familiar with the development of this work; those who have visited the various Stakes of Zion, from one end of this intermountain region to the other, and have seen people from all nations with their feet planted in these fastnesses of the Rocky Mountains, have not failed to see that there was a vital force that seemed to possess the people — something beyond the power of man — that was accomplishing a wonderful work in the earth. I recollect a certain valley here in the southern part of Idaho. A number of people not of our faith first went and settled in that valley, and called the place Gentile Valley, and they made the boast that never should "Mormons" come into that valley and take possession of it. A short time ago I had the privilege of visiting the Bannock Stake conference. It was held in Gentile Valley, and there I saw a congregation of Latter-day Saints, who had gathered there from the nations of the earth, in fulfillment of these mighty predictions. They were planted in that valley, tilling the soil, and their cattle were grazing upon the hills; and I was informed that you could count the Gentiles, as they termed themselves, upon the fingers of one hand. Even that is an object lesson to me illustrating that this is the land of Zion, appointed and dedicated for the gathering of Israel in the latter days. The impress of divinity is upon this work, the Lord is with His people, and we see it manifest on every hand. ¶

I bear testimony to the fact that I know Joseph Smith is a prophet sent of God. The Lord has manifested it to me as an individual. I have felt the impress of the Spirit of the Lord. When I have been in the missionary field and have borne this testimony, I have felt tingling in all my being, the Spirit of the Lord, bearing witness within me that the words which I spoke were true. My young brethren and sisters, who have not yet had experience in the missionary field, let me tell you that this is the work of God, that the Lord is at our helm and will bear us on triumphantly, and that the thing called Mormonism, despised though it be in the world, is the greatest thing on the earth. It is the Church of God established upon the earth, never again to be thrown down. It is the little stone that was hewn out of the mountains without hands, and it has begun to roll, and will continue to roll until it shall fill the whole earth. Through its operations "sin and iniquity will be banished from the face of the earth, and righteousness shall predominate and cover the earth, even as the waters cover the mighty deep. This is my testimony, and I bear it in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. ¶