Opportunity and Respect for Church Officers

My dear brothers and sister, I trust that the Lord may inspire the words I shall speak to you. I feel deeply interested in the work in which we are engaged, and in the general welfare of this people. I know that the Lord is accomplishing a great and a marvelous work through His servants and handmaidens, who have been obedient to the principles of life and salvation as revealed, in these latter days, through the instrumentality of the Prophet Joseph Smith. It is indeed, pleasing to hear of the growth of the stakes of Zion, and the splendid prospects there are before us at home. This is an era of opportunity for the Latter-day Saints. There never was a time I can remember when there were so many excellent opportunities before this people for the development of their resources, for home building, for the cultivation of the soil, for the establishment of industries, and for employment. Today men who want work can find it. The establishment of various industries has opened new avenues for the employment of both young and old, and there need be no unemployed among us. If we can only keep busy, and retain the Spirit of the Lord, we will be able to maintain our standing as the people of God. ¶

While most of the reports have been very pleasing, it is lamentable to hear of the indebtedness existing among the Latter-day Saints, as reported by some of the brethren. How many have mortgages upon their homes today, notwithstanding we have been always ¶

counseled not to go in debt? True, there may be conditions when men, in order to save their honor, are compelled to incur debt; but such cases are rare. We have been counseled all the time in regard to this, and also in regard to other things we have not been entirely obedient to. The result is, many of our Elders, when called to go into mission fields, and labor to spread the Gospel among those who sit in darkness, have to excuse themselves, for the reason they are under an obligation of debt, and are therefore unable to respond to the call. This, indeed, is an unfortunate condition of affairs. We ought to be obedient to the counsels of the servants of God. We should be willing and prepared to go wherever and whenever we are sent, and perform whatever labor we are called to engage in. No matter how apparently insignificant the labor may be, if we are where the Lord wants us, we ought to be satisfied. In listening to Brother Grant, it occurred to me, that his report would at least be encouraging to some of our mission presidents, who probably feel they are not accomplishing as much in spreading the work as they would like to do, and who receive no encouragement but that which they get from the Lord. Here is Brother Grant, one of the best preachers we have in the Church, and eleven other missionaries who have been fifteen months in Japan and have baptized only three souls, yet, no doubt, they have labored with as great diligence as any missionaries could do. Our mission is not to go out for the sole purpose of seeing how many we can baptize. Our mission is to convert people, and we want to be sure they are converted before they are led into the waters of baptism. We do not want people to accept the Gospel and afterwards turn from it. Better that they had never received it. We should be satisfied they are thoroughly converted to the principles which God has revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith before they are baptized. While, perhaps, conversions in the world have not been numerous during the past year, yet the ¶

labors of the Elders have been assiduous and untiring; they have been determined that people should understand the Gospel before being encouraged to accept the ordinances of baptism, and the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost. Some of our pessimistic friends entertain the idea that the work of the Lord is not advancing much, but that idea is not correct; there never was a time when such excellent reports were received from the various auxiliary organizations as are being delivered today. I am sure there never was anything like it in the history of Mutual Improvement and Sunday school work. It is encouraging to know that the young men and women born in the Church, and those who are being brought into the Church today, have such a good understanding of the Gospel that they rarely apostatize, or place themselves in a condition that makes it necessary to excommunicate them. Of course, here and there we hear of apostasy, or transgression; and yet I know wards in this Church, that have been organized fifteen or twenty years, where there has never been a case of immorality on the part of the members. We must bear in mind we are a large body of people, and, of course, we hear occasionally of cases of transgression; but I maintain that such things are becoming less and less frequent among us. I believe that, as a rule, the young men and young women reared in this Church will not permit it to be truthfully said of them that they have disregarded the faith of their fathers and mothers, and gone astray. When children go astray, and exhibit no faith in the Gospel, I believe that, In nine cases out of ten, they are from families wherein the parents have never taken the pains to gather their children around them, and teach them the word of God, morning and evening; where they have never taught them to pray, or where, in their children's presence, they have spoken evil against the Priesthood of the Son of God. They may not have wanted their children to become apostate, and yet they have, perhaps unconsciously, sown the seeds of ¶

apostasy in their hearts by speaking evil of those whom it was their duty to sustain and uphold. ¶

To make good Latter-day Saints, we must respect our ward teachers, and teach our children to do the same. We must respect our ward and stake officers, not ignore them and yet profess great devotion to. the president of the Church, or to the Twelve Apostles and other men in high standing. The man who in his heart is loyal to the president of the Church is the man who honors his Deacon, his Teacher, his Bishop, and his stake officers; he does not jump over their heads, on the slightest excuse, and go to the president of the Church with little questions and troubles that ought to be settled at home. I know there are among the Latter-day Saints men who, if President Smith should ask them to do anything, would get up and do it in a hurry; but if their Bishop or their ward teacher asked them to do anything they would think it too insignificant. I think they are insignificant, for the reason they have not learned to honor the order of the Priesthood of the Son of God. They have not learned to respect the men whom the Lord desires them to sustain. If I were choosing a body of men who could be depended upon to always do the right thing in this kingdom, I would choose men who honor the Deacons, Teachers, and Bishops, who uphold the lesser as well as the higher Priesthood; and who are good, reliable men in their respective wards, not men who work only on dress parade. Almost any one will do that, but it is not every one who will get down and dig, who will work in the wards, and labor diligently for the upbuilding of the kingdom of God when probably they are seen only by the Lord. If I were presiding over a mission, I would think very little of an Elder who would work only when I was with him, or who, if he were not told just what to do, would sit down at mission headquarters and do nothing. ¶

It is in these little affairs of life that we show our love for the work of God. ¶

If we really love the work, there is nothing, no matter how small it may be, that we will not be glad to do for the upbuilding of the kingdom, whether it be seen of men or not. God sees and knows our labors, and he will reward us sooner or later, according to the deeds done in the flesh. Therefore, I pray that we may give more attention to the details of life. Let us take time to instruct our children in the principles of the Gospel, that they may grow up with faith in the Lord; and do not shift this responsibility on to the Sabbath school or the Mutual Improvement Association. Let us instill into the hearts of those in our own homes the spirit of the Gospel, and through the consistency of our lives, and the help of our Heavenly Father, inspire others with faith in the work God has called us to represent. The Latter-day Saints are as a light set upon a hill, which cannot be hid. People watch our actions and note our lives. What a beautiful thing it would be if we were all living according to the laws of the Gospel, as we ought to do! How many more people would have their hearts touched by the truth if we were living it in our homes, as we are taught to do. The trouble is, my brethren and sisters, we do not take seriously some of the principles of the Gospel that have been revealed. From their actions, many Latter-day Saints evidently think that when the Lord gave the Word of Wisdom He was not in earnest, that He did not mean what He said; for they have gone right along drinking tea and coffee, and smoking, as if not a word had been said. They have been telling their children all the time that these things are not good for them, and yet they themselves have been indulging in them continuously. What will such parents say if their children turn away from the truth, and point to them as the cause of it? What if a son or daughter shall say, "The reason I have no faith in this latter-day work is because my father and mother were inconsistent in their lives, they taught me to do what they would not do themselves? Will parents seek to destroy faith in the hearts of their children in this way? Those who do, the sins of the children will be upon their heads, just as sure as the Lord lives. ¶

God bless you, my brothers and sisters. May He give us the spirit of this work. May we understand that the time has come when we must be Saints in the home as well as in public position; that we must honor the Priesthood of the Son of God in the ward, as well as in the stake and in the Church. If we would be blessed, we must take the counsel that has been given here in regard to being free, temporally and spiritually -- free from sin and free from debt. May God put it into our hearts to receive this counsel as it comes to us from time to time, and give us courage and strength to carry it out. I ask it in the name of Jesus. Amen. ¶