A Testimony of the Truth of the Gospel

I confess, my brethren and sisters, that I have had a little feeling of uneasiness in all of the meetings of this conference, that feeling having been produced by the announcement made in the opening remarks of President Joseph P. Smith, that among others who would probably be called upon to address the people at this conference would be the members of the First Council of Seventy. Nevertheless, I have enjoyed the conference, and have been deeply impressed with the testimonies that have been borne by the various brethren who have occupied this position. ¶

I feel that, some remarkable things have been brought to the attention of the people who have been gathered together in the reports which have been given by the various presidents of the stakes of Zion. I believe one of the brethren reported that in the community over which he presided, in Arizona, there was not a saloon to be found in any of the settlements of the Saints within the borders of that stake. That was followed by the report of another president of stake from the southern part of this state, in which the same declaration was made, that there were no saloons in his stake, though one man had gone over the line into Arizona and there pitched a tent, where he dispensed intoxicating liquors. Another stake president reported that in a very populous stake in this county there were but three wards in which there were saloons; and I believe he could have reported that one of those wards was organized in a mining camp, and that another ward was organized in a town where there are smelters; still another stake president reported that in one of the Cache Valley stakes, where there was a population of 7,500 people, and where there were ten towns, there were but two saloons. ¶

I regard these as remarkable statements. I do not know whether this can be duplicated in any part of the world or not; but so far as my own experiences go in traveling quite extensively among the peoples of the old world, I feel perfectly safe in saying that such a condition could not be found in any community of the old world. With the communities of the world the saloon seems to be almost as necessary, generally speaking, as do churches or business houses. I believe the conditions mentioned in the reports to which I have alluded are peculiar to this people, and cannot be found in any other communities. ¶

While listening to these reports there kept ringing in my ears the saying of the Savior: "Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. * * * Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them." And these are some of the fruits that have been produced by the preaching of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the gathering together of the people of the earth whose ears have been saluted with the glad message of the Gospel. They have been gathered according to the promises of the prophets of old, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south, and have come to these mountain valleys, where they have been given pastors after God's own heart, who have fed them with knowledge and with understanding. There need not be any concern in the minds of men concerning the growth of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We sometimes discover that men in high places become fearful because of the development of the work of the Lord and because of the fact that "Utah is becoming too small for the people of the Lord, and they have broken over the boundaries of our state and spread out on the north and on the south, on the east and on the west, and they are building towns and cities in many of the states of this American nation. I wonder what harm would come to the people of the United States; what harm would come to people In other lands, if there were populous communities of Latter-day Saints there, and if the chief men among them could stand up and say that in towns where hundreds and thousands of people reside such a thing as a saloon, or a house of ill fame, was unknown. What injury would come to the peoples of the earth by the introduction of the Gospel, and if by paying attention to the counsels that have been given by the chief men of Israel a condition of this character could be produced in all the states of the United States and in all the cities and towns that have been built by the children of men upon the face of the whole earth? And this would be the condition if the people were converted to the principles of the everlasting Gospel as they have been revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith; for sobriety is one of the foundation principles of the Gospel as taught by the modern prophet. We do not require temperance societies; we do not require extraordinary pledges, to cause us to be temperate. If we have been converted to the Gospel of the Son of God, that makes us temperate. There is more power and force in the everlasting Gospel, there is a greater influence to persuade men to do right and to refrain from doing evil than can be found in any organization that has ever been effected in the midst of the children of men. The power of the Spirit of the Lord, the power that comes through obedience to the things of God, and that enables men to plant their feet in the right path to such an extent that they cannot be turned either to the right or to the left, is superior to all other forces or agencies. ¶

I rejoiced in listening to another testimony that was borne — that twenty years ago a few people went up into the state of Idaho and pitched their tents on a great sagebrush flat, and that now there are twenty thousand people there who have good comfortable homes, who have conquered the desert, and who have made it to bud and bloom as the rose, according to the predictions of the prophets. This president, in reporting his stake, made the statement that there are homes for twenty thousand people, and that an area of country seventy miles square had been subdued by the faith, the labor and the energy of the colonizers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. ¶

From afar the Lord God of heaven has gathered His people, and as a result of obedience to the precious truths that have been revealed from our Father in heaven to men they have been brought unto this mountain country, and been made free men. They have been taught how to conquer the soil, how to subdue this arid country. They have been taught by good and wise men, who have been filled with the inspiration of the Lord, how to bring to pass and fulfill the sayings of the prophets, and to make the dry ground glorious, and to cause by their faith that springs of living water should burst forth in dry places, that the soil might produce in its strength for the sustenance and blessing of the people. And these things are the direct result of "Mormonism." They have been brought to pass among the children of men through obedience to the principles that were revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith, and that were taught by President Brigham Young and by all the presidents and chief men of Israel, who have builded to the pattern that was given long years ago by the inspiration of the Lord through the great prophet, Joseph Smith. ¶

I wondered also, while listening to the testimonies of these presidents of stakes, many of whom have come from remote places and are perhaps scarcely known to the great majority of the people, what comfort the enemies of Israel could find in the spectacle that has been presented in the reports that have been made by these men. It is stated, you know, among our enemies, that a few men of intelligence preside over us, and the rest are in bondage and serfdom; that the people are under the hands of a few astute men, who have banded themselves together that they may keep the Mormon people under control and in a species of bondage. I could not help but ask myself the question, What can the people think who are not of us, and who have been led to believe this statement that has gone out, when they see standing up in this great congregation men who are as deeply impressed with the truth of the everlasting Gospel as are the Apostles who preside over them; men who comprehend the truth, who love the truth, and who have dedicated themselves and their talents to the upbuilding of the work of the Lord. I wondered if it was possible for the enemies of the Latter-day Saints to glean any comfort from these men, whom they have supposed were serfs in the midst of this people. Blind indeed are we if we are not able to discern the glorious fact that these men are free, that they have been converted to the Gospel, that they comprehend its truth, and that they are determined with the help of the Lord and the inspiration of His Holy Spirit to carry on this work in the stakes of Zion, to keep their hands to the plow and to carry out the purposes of the Lord, and that they are not men that can be easily turned aside. I think it has been made evident that they are men of character, of strong beliefs, and that they will not be turned either to the right hand or to the left, but that they will press steadily on in the accomplishment of the purposes of the Lord. ¶

Our condition today, my brethren and sisters, is but a fulfilment of the promise that has been made unto us by our Father in heaven through the mouth of the Prophet Joseph; for the Prophet declared a long time ago that these very things which we witness at the present time were to come to pass, and I desire to read to you a word or two concerning this promise that our Father made in the very inception of this work in reference to the future of the work and the men who were to be called from time to time to represent Him in the preaching of the Gospel among the inhabitants of the earth. The Lord said: ¶

"And the voice of warning shall be unto all people, by the mouths of my disciples, whom I have chosen in these last days. And they shall go forth and none shall stay them, for I the Lord have commanded them." ¶

My heart swells within me with inexpressible joy when I think of the wonderful fulfilment of the promise of the Lord made almost before there was any Church; when the Prophet Joseph Smith, like his Master before him, stood alone in the world, despised and hated of men, laughed at by the people, yet with the promise given him of the Lord that the servants who were to be called in these last days should go forth and that none should stay them. The period of laughing at the statements of the Prophet of God is past forever. The mighty hosts of Israel who stand up in evidence of the truth and of the inspiration of His words are of such a power that they cannot be laughed out of existence. The Lord God has accomplished thus far the work that He promised He would accomplish by the mouth of His Prophet, and He has given a reason for the preaching of this Gospel and for the calling of the Prophet Joseph Smith: ¶

"Wherefore I the Lord, knowing the calamity which should come upon the inhabitants of the earth, called upon my servant Joseph Smith, Jr., and spake unto him from heaven, and gave him commandments; "And also gave commandments to others, that they should proclaim these things unto the world; and all this that it might be fulfilled, which was written by the prophets." ¶

In compassion for His sons and daughters He called upon His servant Joseph and others, that the threatened calamity might be averted, that the destruction which was coming upon the earth because of the transgression of law and the breaking of the ordinances might be turned away, and that the people might be saved through the everlasting Gospel. Because of His love for the children of men He called His servants and gave them commandments, clothed them with the authority of the holy Priesthood, and sent them forth with a message of glad tidings. The result has been that we have these communities — sober, industrious, God-fearing communities — communities that have attracted the attention of the world by their labors and success. The fruits of their labors bear witness that the source from which they have drawn their inspiration is a good source. ¶

God help us to be true to this work, which has done so much for us. I heard a brother say not long ago that the Gospel had done more for him than he had ever done for the Gospel; and I think if we will look into our own hearts every man and woman in Israel will feel to say: The Gospel has done everything for me; God help me and my children after me, from generation to generation, to be true to It; for it is the power of God unto salvation. This is my testimony, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶