Opposition of the World and Family Devotion

In my attempt to address you and to edify you this afternoon, my brethren and sisters, I feel very dependent upon the aid of our Heavenly Father to inspire me with words that will be for your good. I greatly rejoiced in our forenoon session, listening to the words of life and light which were delivered to us, and to the excellent report which was rendered by Brother Clawson. It occurred to me that a report of that kind, showing the progress of "Mormonism," must be exceedingly discouraging to the enemies of God, and they must feel very much dissatisfied with the efforts which they have put forth to thwart the work of our Father. I do not refer to people who simply differ with us in their religious views, but to those who are enemies of God and of righteousness, and those who, belonging to any religious organization, are not earnest in their worship of the Master. An encouraging feature about the work of the Lord is that from its infancy it has never grown less, but has become a greater power in the earth from year to year. I wish to read to you a few verses from Section 3 of the Book of Doctrine and Covenants: ¶

"The works, and the designs, and the purposes of God cannot be frustrated, neither can they come to naught; "For God doth not walk in crooked paths, neither doth he turn to the right hand nor to the left, neither doth he vary from that which He hath said; therefore His paths are straight, and His course is one eternal round. ¶

"Remember, remember, that it is not the work of God that is frustrated, but the work of man." ¶

The Apostle Paul, in his day, said: "For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth." ¶

Are we not witnesses this day that this prediction has been fulfilled in the history of the Latter-day Saints? No weapon that has ever been formed against Zion has prospered. The efforts of the evil one to destroy the work of the Lord have only tended to spread it abroad. The persecutions which have been heaped upon this people have been the means of cementing us together, drawing us more closely to God, and making us more united and powerful. It is the heritage of the Saints of God to be misrepresented and persecuted by the insincere and the wicked; but their efforts have never blocked the progress of the work of our Eternal Father. On the contrary, the labors of our most bitter enemies have been among the main factors in spreading the work abroad. The Lord has turned the wrath of the wicked to His own glory. Had it not been for the persecution of the Latter-day Saints, the mustard seed would not have been cast abroad; but in the attempt to destroy the mustard stalk, to which the Savior compared the Gospel, they have scattered the seed, and it has taken root wherever it has fallen. Some of our brethren, on account of the practice of a principle were driven into exile and had to seek a place of refuge in other parts of the country. Had it not been for that persecution, I doubt if there would be today a Stake of Zion in Mexico, or in Canada, or in some other places. These brethren, driven from their homes, formed the nucleus of new flourishing Stakes of Zion. I thank God that it is not His purposes which have failed, but the purposes of man. This should be an encouragement to every Latter-day Saint, and a strong testimony that this is the work of God. It ought to be a testimony also to those who have sought to bring to naught the purposes of God. But some people appear to get into such gross darkness after opposing the truth that the spirit of repentance seems to withdraw itself from them, and they will not acknowledge the truth when it is demonstrated before them. ¶

The Lord Almighty never favored ancient Israel more than He has the Latter-day Saints in the establishment of Zion. In the building up of Stakes and settlements. He has operated in a most marvelous manner for the benefit of the Saints. The faithful and obedient are reaping the reward of their obedience. We exercise our own agency in becoming Latter-day Saints, but if we would be Latter-day Saints, indeed, it is expected of us that we will be obedient and take counsel. The man who stands at the head of this people enjoys the revelations of the mind and will of God, and it is our duty to heed his counsel. The past history of our people proves to every reasonable man that God has been with us; and although at times perhaps the people have been unable to see the wisdom of God manifested through His mouthpiece, yet by patience and obedience they have finally seen the course taken by the leader of the Church vindicated by our Eternal Father. We have an abundance of testimony that this is the work of God; in fact, I sometimes think it becomes so common that we do not appreciate it. When we find ourselves in trouble we go to the Lord, the way is opened up before us, and we are able to accomplish the righteous desires of our hearts. But these things come so naturally that we are apt to forget that they are the direct gift of God. When the Saints came to these western valleys, and when their crops were about to be destroyed by crickets, do we not remember how, in answer to prayer, God sent the gulls to devour the crickets and to save the people from starvation? In numerous ways He has opened up the way before the Latter-day Saints, to enable them to accomplish every purpose which He has indicated through His mouthpiece. I have faith to believe that no work will fail that is undertaken by the direction of the Prophet of the Lord. There is no such thing as the Latter-day Saints failing to carry out the mind and will of God regarding the establishment of His work, provided they will live so as to enjoy the favor of God. It matters not what odds we may have to contend against, nor how impossible the task may appear, if we have faith we can carry out the designs of our Heavenly Father. ¶

During the past year I have labored under the direction of President Snow and my brethren, in the establishment of a Stake of Zion in Wyoming. We had a large number of people there who were practically without means, and we did not know how we were going to get through with the task before us, only we knew that we had been sent there with the sanction and under the direction of the Prophet of God. After the people had got to the end of their means (and we did not receive a dollar from the Church to help in this enterprise which we were sent to accomplish), we asked the Lord to open up the way before us, that the brethren might get employment and earn sufficient money to sustain themselves and their families while they accomplished that for which they had been sent. The Lord opened up the way. We got a small contract from the Burlington railroad that amounted to about $5,000. But after a while that was gone, and we scarcely knew what to do. So all the brethren and sisters came together in a special fast meeting, and we asked the Lord to open up the way, that we might receive remunerative employment which would bring in money sufficient to sustain the people through the coming winter. The way in which the Lord answered us was most marvelous. In the afternoon of that day we went out to locate a townsite, and just after we had attended to this labor and were about to return to our camp, the chief engineer of the Burlington system met us and said he would like to contract more with our people. He told us we could have the option on a very large piece of work on the road. We felt that the Lord had sent him there to furnish the people employment, and after conferring with the brethren we accepted the proposition, and during the next ten months our people earned something over $96,000. In numerous ways, not only in Wyoming, but in Canada and Mexico and other places, the Lord has evidenced to us that He is willing to help us if we will be humble, seek. Him in time of need, and consecrate our labors to the building up of His kingdom. I remember that on the day we broke ground for the canal which is being constructed in that country, and which will cost in the neighborhood of one hundred thousand dollars, men, women and children all knelt down upon the ground before it was broken and they petitioned the blessings of Almighty God upon their enterprise, and covenanted with Him upon that spot that if He would make them successful they would by the payment of their tithes and their offerings and their obedience to the Gospel strive to sanctify that place as a gathering place for the Saints of God. The Lord always blesses us when we manifest a living faith in Him, and are not afraid that we cannot accomplish some task that He requires at our hands because it looks so large and hard to perform. When we are sent out to preach the Gospel, if we could only remember all the time that we are upon the Lord's errand and that His purposes are not frustrated, how much more strength would the Elders have than they do have now in some cases. If they would only remember that the Lord commands His people to do nothing save He prepares a way whereby they can accomplish it, what hope and courage it would afford them in their labors! We ought to be a hopeful, prayerful, humble people. We ought to remember the Lord in all things. We should not forget Him when we are prospered. If we are blessed because of our humility and faithfulness, we ought not to imagine in our hearts that we have been able to accomplishd some great thing independent of the Lord. On the contrary, the more the Lord blesses us, the more responsibility He places upon us. the more humble we ought to be. I know that the Lord has raised up honorable men who are not members of this Church, to be instruments in His hands in assisting to establish the work of God. We have friends in this nation and in the world, who have done us a great deal of good. The Lord has raised them up to befriend His people and to do a part for them which they perchance could not do if they were members of the Church; and although they have not accepted the Gospel, they are the sons of God, and the Lord has sent them on earth to perform a certain mission. I say, God bless them. God bless all who favor Zion, and all who wish her well. ¶

I pray that the Latter-day Saints may be faithful in their homes, and that they may set their own houses in order. President Smith mentioned this morning the evil practice of tobacco-using. This is a serious evil to which some of the Elders of Israel, especially in our outlying settlements, are addicted to; and it would appear from their actions as if they think more of ther cigarette, or their chew of tobacco, than they do of their families and their association with the people of God, not to speak of the Priesthood which has been conferred upon them. This is disgraceful. They certainly cannot understand the value of the Priesthood. If they did, they would try to set an example in their own homes, that they might have the love and confidence of their families and .'ead them in keeping the commandments of God. We are such a busy lot of people that we do not appear to have time to serve the Lord. Especially is this the case in our cities. At least, we do not take time to serve the Lord. A short time ago I went into the home of Brother Wm. H. Seegmiller, president of the Sevier Stake of Zion, and I was very much impressed with the beautiful practice he has in his home at their devotional exercises. When we got up in the morning we were invited into his parlor, and there one of his daughters played the organ, and we all sang a hymn; then one of the members of the family read a chapter from the Book of Mormon, at the close of which we engaged in prayer. Altogether it took us about twenty minutes or half an hour, and there was a beautiful spirit in that home by reason of this practice. I thought to myself, what a glorious thing it would be if all the Saints of God would take half an hour every morning to serve Him in this way, and thus assist in setting their own houses in order. In this way we would be able to gain a little knowledge of the Gospel every day. The chapter read from the Book of Mormon, or from the Doctrine and Covenants, or from the Bible, would be with us during the day, and our reflections would be upon that which it contained. I believe that the men and women in Israel who take time to do this will succeed in saving their sons and daughters; for such a practice cannot help but have a remarkably good influence upon the children. But we say we have not time, or we cannot get our families together. Where that is the case, we ought to begin to educate ourselves to carry out this plan, in order to fit and qualify ourselves for something better and greater. If we go back to Jackson County, we will have to take time to serve the Lord. Therefore, I say, what a glorious thing it would be if we could carry out this simple practice in our homes! I will tell you, brethren and sisters, sons and daughters from a home like that do not disgrace their parents; they do not bring shame upon that house. Those who go astray, in the majority of cases, are from homes where these things are unknown. I thank the Lord that this practice was not simply for my benefit in visiting that home; it is a daily practice there, and I wish it were the daily practice in every home of the Saints of God. If it were, we would be a much more faithful people than we are today. There would be no need of sending out special missionaries to regulate families, or wards, because there would be a missionary work done right in the home which would cause the members of the family to live lives of consistency, in keeping with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. ¶

God help you, my brethren and sisters, to reflect upon these things, and see whether they are worth our attention or not. May His peace and blessings be in the homes of all the Saints of God, and may we improve year after year. When we come together in our semi-annual conference, with the Spirit of God resting upon us, may we take a retrospective view of the preceding six months, and be able to discover that we have made some advancement, that we have benefitted some one, and that we are keeping pace with the work of God. I am grateful for a testimony that every principle which the Lord has revealed through the Prophet Joseph is of God, and that the work in which we are engaged is God's work, and not the work of man; that Joseph Smith was sent of our Eternal Father to establish the work, which he did establish, and which is gradually filling the whole earth, as it is designed to do, bearing the message of peace on earth and good will towards all men. May the Lord help us that we may keep the spirit of this great and grand work, and prize our standing as members of this Church and Kingdom. I ask it in the name of Jesus. Amen. ¶