Report on the Samoan Mission

(Late President of the Samoan Mission) I am truly thankful to my Heavenly Father for the privilege thus accorded me to stand before you, my brethren and sisters, this afternoon. I hope that the Spirit of God may dictate that which I may say, that we may all be profited together. I have been greatly interested in the remarks that have been made thus far by the brethren, and I heartily endorse all that has been said. ¶

It has been my privilege for the past fifteen months to preside over the Samoan Mission, which consists of a few small islands in the Pacific ocean, about 5,000 miles from here. No doubt, there are in this congregation parents, brothers and sisters of the Elders who are laboring upon that group, and for their benefit as well as for the benefit of the Saints in general I will give a short report of our labors upon those islands. We have a band of faithful brethren and sisters at present laboring among the Lamanites there, and they are enjoying the Spirit of God even as we enjoy it here in conference. There is a spirit that is poured out upon the Elders in the nations of the earth which binds them so closely together in the bonds of brotherhood and love that they are one in very deed. The same spirit prevails here this afternoon, and it fills my heart with joy to meet with the Saints in general conference. The Samoan Mission, as you are more or less aware, has been opened nearly 15 years. During that time a great deal of work has been done, both manual and spiritual. We have at present a faithful band of Saints, numbering over 1,400, upon those islands, out of a population of about 30,000. There is quite a number also who have been identified with the work, and, through temptation and sin, have fallen away and are scattered among the people. Strange to say, those who are cut off from the Church there do not lose the testimony of the Gospel, but are always ready to bear a strong testimony to the truth as revealed through Joseph Smith and preached by the Elders. ¶

The report has gone out among the Saints at home, I believe, that the Samoan Mission is a hard mission; and when young people have been called to go to those islands I have heard some of the Saints remark that any place on earth would be preferable to the Samoan Mission. I wish to dispel that notion from your minds. I feel assured that in stating to you that the Samoan Mission is as healthy and as favorable a mission as an Elder can go to, I am only stating the truth. There has been some sickness among the Elders, and one of our number has lately passed away; but the same conditions exist in other missions. The power of God is felt just as strongly in the Samoan Mission as it is in the California Mission, or the Southern States Mission, or any place upon the face of the earth. God has a protecting hand over all His Elders, wherever they are sent. So that when your sons and daughters are called to take a mission to Samoa, you should rather feel to say, go and God bless you, than to desire the mission changed to some other part of the world. Your sons and daughters are safe there. God watches over and cares for them. His will is done concerning us, no matter as to which part of the earth we are located upon. There is one thing we can rest assured of — there is no accident with the Lord. Anything which happens to an Elder in the prosecution of his duty, that takes him from his field of labor, is not an accident. The purposes of the Lord are fulfilled concerning us, no matter where we are, if we only yield to the promptings of His Spirit. ¶

I have a testimony which I am proud to be able to bear. I know that this is the Church and kingdom of God, established upon the earth in these the latter days for the last time, never more to be taken away nor given to another people. Should we desire proofs to establish our belief in this matter, Brother Roberts has given us a few external evidences by which we may know the workings of our Heavenly Father with this people. When I contemplate the fact that nearly, if not all who sit before me this afternoon have the same testimony that has been given unto me — that the Gospel of Christ has been again revealed to the earth, and we have been made partakers of it — it makes my heart rejoice, and I am led to exclaim in my joy to my Father; how great is His goodness towards us, His children! Then the thought comes to my mind: Are we living up to the opportunities that the Gospel affords us? We come together in conference and the Spirit of God is poured out upon us in great measure, as the word of God is given unto us through His servants. We feel to rejoice and are willing to give all we have for the work of the Lord. We feel to consecrate and dedicate all our property and all that the Lord has given us for the upbuilding of His kingdom upon the earth. Often in our prayers we dedicate unto Him all that He has made us stewards over, and ask Him for wisdom to use it acceptably before Him. I wonder if we really mean it on all occasions. If the Bishop were to come in just as you got up from your prayer and asked you for your best cow, or for $100, or for five acres of land, to help the work of the Lord, would you give it up? ¶

God has given us the light of the everlasting Gospel. He has bestowed great promises upon us — eternal life, exaltation and glory in the celestial kingdom of our God. If we will only keep His commandments, loving Him with all our might, mind and strength, and our neighbors as ourselves, these things will be ours. He has also given us all our earthly possessions. They are His. He can take them from us in a moment; He can take us in a moment; but we cannot take any of these worldly things with us. Then if we set our hearts upon them, and they become greater in our sight than our Father and His purposes; if we regard the gift greater than the giver, we shall forfeit the blessings that are promised unto us. ¶

Brother Roberts has been speaking a little about the Seventies. I am a Seventy myself — a president of Seventy. I have had some experience with Brother Roberts, Brother Kimball, and a few of the Seventies, and I just wish to say a word or two to the Seventies present. I believe Brother Roberts placed us all in the same box. Whether he did or not, we are all there. The word comes to us to select a certain number from our quorum to fill missions abroad. The presidents of the quorum meet together and consider the circumstances of the Seventies in that quorum. The names are selected and sent in. They are notified, and the word comes back, "We are in debt; we cannot go; possibly we can go in six months from now." That is a long "minute" man, asking for six months! Then again, a man accepts the call. He is notified to depart at a certain time. But his wife does not like to lose him. She whines, she cries a little, and she says, "Oh! what will I do when you are gone? What will the children do? You are our only support, and I don't see how you can go." Then the man has to write back and tell the First Council that he can't go, because his wife can't spare him. That is the condition of some of our "minute" men. I want to tell you that the woman who will lay a straw in the path of her husband against the fulfilling of his duty and calling will come under condemnation before the Lord. The man that will be involved in indebtedness so that he cannot accept a call and fulfil his duty will come under condemnation. The kingdom of God has been established in these last days, and it must roll on. God has selected from among His people those who are worthy to bear this Priesthood, whose duty it is to carry this Gospel to the nations of the earth; and it is our duty to fulfil our calling, to be "minute" men, not "six months" men, nor "one year" men. That is the calling of a Seventy; and if the Seventies are not fulfilling their calling they come under condemnation, and those of the Lesser Priesthood receive these calls and obtain the blessing. ¶

I do not make these remarks with a desire to find fault; but these are conditions that have come to my notice as existing among the Latter-day Saints. I heard a remark made at one time that the faithful Latter-day Saints would go back and redeem Jackson county, while the indifferent would stay in the valleys of the mountains. These blessings and privileges that God has promised unto us through our faithfulness will be ours if we labor for them. There is no blessing, no reward promised except by obedience to the law upon which the blessing is predicted. This was made very plain to the ancient Saints, and has been made plain to us. It has been said here this morning that we should pay our tithes and offerings. This is a commandment that God gave unto His people anciently, and coupled with this command is a blessing, even a temporal blessing. The Lord promised those who would obey this law that He would pour out upon them such blessings that they would not have room to contain them. On one occasion, when the children of Israel were without the Spirit of God and their Priests had lost their power, the Lord told them that it was not because His arm was shortened that He could not save, nor that He was deaf that He could not hear, but it was because of their wickedness. In speaking to Israel through His prophet Malachi, the Lord says: ¶

"Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it." ¶

President Snow preached to the people to pay their tithes and the Lord, he said, would pour out great blessings upon them. We rounded up our shoulders and paid tithing as we have never done before. As a consequence, the blessings of God have been poured out upon us, until today we see prosperity on every hand. These commandments are with us continually, and should receive our attention every day. President Woodruff laid stress upon these words: "Get the Spirit of God and keep it." I would say to the Saints this afternoon, if you would be in the right path, if you would be safe from the snares and temptations of this world, get the Spirit of God and keep it; be humble; keep in touch with those who are in authority over you; seek to have confidence in your Bishop and his counselors and in the Teachers of the Church. God gives unto us His mind and will through His servant the prophet, and it is our duty to lend a listening ear thereto. When President Smith tells us it is a good thing to get out of debt, we should do all we can to get out of debt. It means something, brethren and sisters. There are things in store for the Latter-day Saints that we cannot see today. There are things coming upon us which we may be prepared to meet, if we will only take the counsel of the prophet of God. ¶

I pray that the Spirit of God may be poured out upon us, that when we return to our homes the spirit of this conference may attend us and always be with us, that we may have a burning testimony within us of the truthfulness of this work, that we may always have a desire to keep the commandments of God, let come what may, and then salvation and eternal glory will be ours in the end. May the Spirit of God continue with us, I ask it in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶