Testimony of the Gospel

In standing before you, my brethren and sisters, this afternoon, to bear my testimony to the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ as it has been revealed in the age of the world in which we are living, I sincerely pray that I may be supported by the inspiration of the Spirit of the Lord, that the few words I speak upon this occasion may be words of truth, directed by the Spirit of Truth, for the benefit, advantage, and encouragement of this vast congregation. My heart has been filled with exceeding great joy in listening to the testimonies that have been borne by the various speakers who have addressed the people from day to day in our Conference meetings. My soul has been filled with thankfulness, not only during this Conference, but in traveling from place to place among the people, in attending stake conferences, in meeting with the quorums of Seventy, in observing, as we have no doubt observed in this Conference, that there are many young men occupying responsible positions in the midst of the people of the Lord. I have noted that many of the brethren who have stood here to make reports concerning the stakes of Zion, and to speak about other matters, are the sons of men who have been valiant for the truth in days gone by. In the organization of the new Stakes of Zion, recently effected in this city, many of the brethren who have been called to positions of responsibility in these stakes are the sons of men who in their time have been faithful to the Lord. ¶

I believe we all find happiness in witnessing conditions of this character, and in having the truth burned into our souls that our Father in heaven is blessing the children of the pioneers, and of other men and women who received the Gospel a long time ago, and. gathered from the nations of the earth, and that He is establishing them in the faith. I rejoice in the testimonies of the brethren in relation to this matter. Some of the speakers have expressed very great confidence that the youth of the Latter-day Saints would be found in the future true to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to the faith of their fathers, and that they were not, and could not, be weaned away from the truth. I believe this with all my heart. I believe it is the decree of the Almighty that this condition shall continue to prevail in the midst of His people, and that there will always be found in the Church the seed of the founders, and of others who have been valiant for the testimony of Jesus — children who will properly represent their parents before the people and before the Lord; and that it is not the intention for this work to be taken from them and given to another people. I have felt impressed myself with the promise of God in relation to the continuation of His work with the people who were called in the beginning. In that promise, as it appeals to me, there is an understanding that there would be raised up, from the loins of those to whom the promise was made in the beginning, sons and daughters who would be true and faithful. It is true that power is not given to man to reveal a knowledge of the plan of salvation to his own offspring. The President of the Church, the Apostles, let them be ever so faithful, do not possess the power to reveal unto their children the truth of the everlasting Gospel. I suppose if this power were vested in them there would be danger of the time coming when the children might be recreant to the faith of their fathers. But when the truth of the Gospel is revealed to any soul, it does not come from man, it comes through the operation of the Holy Ghost from our Father in heaven. It comes with almighty power; it dispels all doubt; it establishes the one who receives the evidence in an understanding of the truth of the things of God. In this way the testimony of the Gospel has come to the Latter-day Saints. In the beginning, when the Prophet Joseph Smith bore the wonderful record that he did to the people concerning the visitation of holy beings, it was by the power of the Holy Ghost and not by the wisdom or logic of the Prophet that the truth of his testimony was impressed upon the minds of the men who accepted it, and who remained true all the days of their lives. "We cannot believe that it was by a mere chance that the Prophet Joseph Smith in the early rise of the Church was brought in contact with such men as Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Lorenzo Snow, Heber C. Kimball, Daniel H. Wells, Parley P. Pratt, Orson Pratt, and other great men who were raised up by the power of God to assist in the establishment of His purposes. We believe, as a people, that our Father understands the end from the beginning. "We believe that He is in very deed our Father in heaven; that we existed with Him in a spiritual condition before we were born naturally upon the earth, and that He knew us, and all His other children, before we came to this earth. "We believe He was acquainted with the spirits of the great men who assisted in laying the foundations of His grand latter-day work, and that by His decree and appointment they were born into the world at the time when their services were needed in the establishment of His purposes. They were brought by the same overruling providence into contact with the noble man who had been raised from the ranks of the people to bear divine authority, and to represent the Lord God of heaven in the midst of the nations, and they gladly received the testimony which was delivered to them concerning the faith. "While we believe this of the Prophet Joseph Smith and of his associates, we believe that the same power is in operation today. We believe that the spirits of men are being born into the world by divine appointment, and not by accident. Because of this belief, I feel in my heart that, through the faithfulness of the fathers and mothers in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, there will continue to come to them choice spirits, who will accept the truth with all their hearts, and who will bear the responsibilities of this work in which we are engaged in all time to come. I do not believe that the names of the valiant and faithful men of this Church of either high or low degree are to become extinct from among the people of God. I believe with all my soul that they will be perpetuated forever, just as we see the sons of men whom we have known in past history stand upon this platform, filled with the Spirit of the living God, bearing testimony to the truth of the everlasting Gospel, so in a time to come will their sons and daughters, from generation to generation stand up in the midst of the congregations of Israel and bear record of the truth as it has been revealed. God has not brought us through the trying experiences of the past; He has not tested our fathers and our mothers in the manner in which they have been tested, with a view of rewarding them with offspring that will not be true to Him. There may be wayward boys and girls; there may be some who cannot be controlled; but I believe there will be but few who will be lost. "We discover among the people who have gathered from the nations of the world that there is within them a love for the land that gave them birth. From whatever land they have come, though they have been led to forsake all and gather up to Zion, because of the Gospel, nevertheless there is a love in their hearts for their native country, which does not die out. In like manner I believe, from the experiences that have come to me, that there is a love for Zion and for the things of the kingdom of God planted in the hearts of those who are born in the Church that is very much stronger than this love of country, and that it is almost impossible for men to divest themselves of it. In many places young men and young women are found who have strayed away from the truth to some extent; •who have gone from their father's home and from the organized wards of the Church; but wherever they are they have a warm feeling toward the work of God. It is a rare thing to find a young man or a young woman who has been born in the Church so cold in their feelings that they turn entirely away from the people of the Lord. It is a rare thing to find any so hardened that they will not open their doors to receive the representatives of the Lord. Because of this feeling, and because of the valiant young men who are constantly rising up in the midst of Israel, I believe that we will always have representatives of the founders of the Church of Christ to bear the authority of the Holy Priesthood, and to bear it in honor. The glorious example that has been set by good and godly parents is destined to bear good fruit forever. I believe that there is something in being born in Zion. It has been stated by at least one of the prophets that the time was to come when it should be said of individuals born in Zion, that "this man was born in Zion." I think we have occasion as parents to be comforted and encouraged, and that we have reason to have confidence in our children. I believe that, by the blessing of the Lord and our own example and training, our children will be so established in the faith that they will follow in our footsteps just as we are following in the footsteps of our parents. ¶

Let us take to heart the counsels that have been imparted unto us. Let us set godly examples before our offspring. Let us live the religion we have espoused, and let our light shine among men. Let them see that we feel the responsibility which rests upon us in the revelation of the Gospel; that we propose, not only to send missionaries abroad to preach the Gospel, but that we propose to live our religion at home just as well as our representatives do abroad; and men and women who come into our borders, as has often been the case already, will be so impressed with our sobriety, our industry, our good example and the godly lives we lead that they will be constrained to bear record that there is a splendid people in the midst of these mountains — a people who fear God and keep His commandments. In a time to come we will be better understood. The clouds that have hung over us, caused by misrepresentation, will be banished away. There is no power that can prevent this; for God Himself has decreed He will lift His people up; that they shall be like unto a light set upon a hill, which cannot be hid; and we will be known as we are. "When we are known as we are, then the reputation that has gone abroad concerning us through misrepresentation will pass away forever, and we will be recognized as the people of the Lord, as a people who love their fellowmen, and who have had the message of truth committed to them, even the power of the everlasting Gospel which can save to the uttermost all men in every land and clime. ¶

I bear record to the truth of the Gospel. I bear record to the integrity, the honor, the uprightness and the nobility of the men who preside over us. I bear testimony to the glorious fact that with us there is divine authority. Let the world say what it may, truth is truth, and the truth in relation to this matter is that God has spoken, and has given to man His authority, and in the exercise of that power we will cry, "peace on earth, good will to men," and we will preach the doctrines of the Gospel, administer its holy ordinances to those who believe, and save the children of men in the way appointed of the Father. May God help us to be true and faithful, is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶