Study of Printed Revelations and Future Labors

I am glad that I have the privilege of speaking here, brethren and sisters, before the close of this conference. I thank God for the words that have been spoken, for the testimony of the Spirit that we have witnessed in the speakers, and for the good feeling that has pervaded all the congregations. Those who have been present are witnesses that the Lord has been with the speakers and with the hearers. I am pleased, indeed, that President Snow is able to visit us, and thankful to the Lord to hear his voice. I pray God that his voice may be heard in the congregations of the Saints for many years to come, that he may be preserved to give us counsel and to guide us by the inspiration which rests upon him so powerfully in his declining years; for God has blessed him, and President Lorenzo Snow has been a blessing to this people. I acknowledge that he has been to me. God has sustained him, and long may he be sustained, that we may hear his counsels and behold his face, that he may flourish in the home of the Saints, and that he may be spared to give counsel to us who are younger, and who feel inadequate to walk alone, like children in swaddling clothes. If it were not for God, how could we sustain this vast work that is resting upon the shoulders, in many instances, of comparatively inexperienced men? But God is with the brethren, as He is with President Snow, as He has been with all our leaders. Thank God, it is His work, not ours; but it is our privilege to labor in it. ¶

The remarks of President Snow shadowed forth a feeling which is found in the breasts of the Twelve Apostles — a desire to go forth to the nations of the earth, to open the Gospel door to those who sit in darkness. The eyes of the Twelve have been roaming over the habitable globe, and they have looked upon Turkey, Austria, Russia, and especially South America. Our minds have been led to the Spanishspeaking people of the Southern republics, and especiallv to the remnants of the land that are so numerous in South America. We have felt and do now feel that it is our duty to act under the guidance of the Spirit of God, and to go forth, as that Spirit may dictate and in accordance with the President's views, to the nations of the earth to proclaim the Gospel. As Brother Heber J. Grant has gone, so others will go when the Spirit indicates the place and the time, which we hope will be in the near future. The President's remarks, followed by Brother John Henry Smith's, in relation to the Presidents of Stakes, High Councils, and Bishops of Wards, were to the point. Here is a field of labor for the High Priests, for the home missionaries, for the presiding officers in the Stakes, and for all whose labor is at home. The Twelve are relegated to the various parts of the earth, to establish the Gospel among the people. For there was one significant remark dropped by the President this afternoon, to the effect that Christ is coming, and it is not far distant. It will need all the power and Spirit that God will give us to prepare ourselves for that great event. The Presidents of Stakes and all the brethren who are laboring in the midst of the people, as well as the Elders abroad, must rise up in greater power and disseminate this Gospel among the nations of the earth; for then the progress of this work will be accelerated, the judgments of the Almighty will come faster, and His blessings will be poured out without stint upon those that are seeking to establish His work. Ere long the wicked will know that these are the last days with a vengeance. They do not seem to realize that the words which have been uttered by the servants of God during the last seventy-one and a half years have been delivered by the inspiration of Almighty God. ¶

I hold in my hands the Book of Mormon. It was translated by the gift and power of God. It is too much slighted, in the midst of this people. I say unto you fathers, let the Bible, the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants be upon your tables, and have them read in your households. Elders of Israel, read them, especially the Book of Mormon, which is a pure translation from the original. He who reigns above has said that it is true. There is more contained in the Book of Mormon pertaining to this great work of the latter days than can be found in all the rest of the books put together, save only the Book of Doctrine and Covenants. It delineates and foreshadows the destiny of the Latterday Saints. We have been here now for three days listening to the testimonies of the brethren. We have had a wonderful outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and I shall be glad when the pamphlet is published containing all the teachings and suggestions that have been given, so that we may ponder upon them, because they are the counsels of the Holy Spirit. I want to read to you a couple of verses that are found in II Nephi, and then I will close: ¶

"Wo be unto him that shall say, We have received the word of God, and we need no more of the word of God, for we have enough." ¶

Is there anyone in this congregation who felt that he had enough of the word of God before coming to this conference? Is there any Latter-day Saint that has not absorbed all that has been said here? But there are men and women who do not want any more of the word of God. They died when the Prophet Joseph died, or when President Young died; and the good old "Mormonism," as it was taught in the days of these men, and perhaps in the days of Presidents Taylor' and Woodruff, is good enough for them. But let me say, this is a progressive work, and what you receive at this conference you never received before, in its entirety. There are things both new and old, and we must accept everything that comes to us by the spirit of revelation, because it is God's way of improving the minds of His Saints. ¶

"For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth, I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have." ¶

The words of President Snow brought forcibly to my mind the fact that we are progressing and advancing. This is the work of God. One conference follows another, and we advance, our minds are enlarged, we can receive the Spirit and power of God, and we know how to use it better now than we did six months ago. May God give us all the grace that is necessary for our perfect salvation in His kingdom, is my humble prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen. ¶