The Voice of the True Shepherd

My brethren and sisters, as this building is overflowing at this time with the sons and daughters of the Lord anxious to hear His word and to worship before Him in the beauty of holiness, so my soul today is overflowing with gratitude to our Heavenly Father and with joy and thanksgiving that I have the privilege of assembling with this vast congregation to take part in the exercises of this conference. I have no language to express the feelings that well up in my heart today. When I look upon this congregation of Latter-day Saints and realize how many they represent in the various parts of the Church, in this and other lands, I am led to exclaim like one when the electric telegraph was first thoroughly understood and utilized, "What hath God wrought!" This is the work of God, it is true, the Lord has had to call to His aid on earth many of His sons and daughters to assist in the establishment of the latter-day kingdom, and that He now has on Mount Zion many who will be saviors of men. Yet the kingdom is the Lord's, the work is His, and to Him be the praise and the glory. However, I would not detract in the least from the praise that is due to the faithful laborers in this cause. I can join heartily in our popular hymn, "Praise to the man who communed with Jehovah: Jesus anointed that prophet and seer." It is right to give words of praise and to recognize the labors of the faithful servants of God ¶

who have lived for the truth and died in its defense, and also to express our faith in the men who have succeeded the Prophet as the leaders of Israel in the latter days. And I do not believe that any man who ever stood at the head of the Church had more of the love, faith, confidence, prayers and support of the Latter-day Saints than our present leader, President Joseph F. Smith, who is of the blood of the prophets, as well as being imbued with the spirit of his calling. I believe that' the Latter-day Saints have full confidence in him as the leader of the Church, and his Counselors, and in the men who are associated intimately with him in carrying on this great latter-day work. ¶

I have enjoyed every meeting of this conference. I have watched carefully the remarks that have been made by those who have spoken, and I can bear testimony to their truth, and in them I recognize the voice of the Lord. When Jesus was on earth He declared Himself to be "the good shepherd," and He said: "My sheep hear my voice, and they follow me; and a stranger they will not follow, because they know not the voice of a stranger." I hope that the sheep of Israel who are here today, and those whom they represent, are able to distinguish between the voice of the good shepherd and the voice of the stranger, and that they will never be led aside from the path in which they should walk, but that they will keep their eye upon the prize of the mark of their high calling in Christ Jesus, and press forward on the strait and the narrow way that leadeth unto eternal lives, and that they will not be turned to the right hand nor to the left by the voice of the stranger. We have heard from several of our brethren. The tones of their voices, their complexions, their stature, their physical development, their intellectual powers, are all different; but the one voice has been heard through this conference, and that is the voice of the Lord, the voice of the good shepherd, through His agents whom He has appointed to carry on His work in ¶

these latter times. That voice has found an echo in my heart. I rejoice in it and praise the Lord. When I look back upon my past life and labors in this Church and behold what I do today, I say in my soul, Blessed and praised be the name of the Lord! ¶

While our brethren were talking this morning in regard to the terms and times of missionary labor, I thought of my first missionary labors in the old world. More than fifty-three years ago I was called to go out, as a boy, to lift up my voice and proclaim the truth of the everlasting Gospel; for God had planted that truth in my soul and had given me a witness that this is His work. The Spirit of the Lord had borne testimony to my spirit that God had in very deed, in the last days, commenced the work spoken of by all the holy prophets since the world began, and that Joseph Smith, whom he had raised up, was indeed a prophet of the ilving God. I went out and labored as a missionary in different parts of Great Britain, and the Lord was with me, and His power was upon me. I did not think about laboring for a year, or two years, or three years, but to labor until I was released; and my labors went on from year to year until I had been in the ministry incessantly for over ten yea'rs before I was privileged to be released and come here to the mountains to rejoice with the saints in the blessings of the gospel of peace. When I was sent on a mission again to the old world, I was gone three years and a half, and there was a talk about my staying another year. When I went again, I did not stay there quite a year. So there is no particular term for a mission. The brethren and sisters should not feel that the presidents of missions are under obligations to release their sons or their daughters when two years have elapsed from the time they leave home. ¶

The missionaries in the world are imbued with this spirit that I have been talking about, and they bear with them the same voice. It has what we call the proper "ring" to it. We could ¶

not describe it exactly in words, but there is something about the preaching of the gospel by the Elders of Israel, something about the testimony that is borne by the servants and handmaidens of the Lord, something about their praying, their singing, their harmony, their melody, the glorious music which comes from them, whether by choirs or by single voices -- something inexplicable, there is a tone and a ring to it that enters into our souls, and there is something within us that harmonizes with it. It is the voice of the Good Shepherd, Jesus of Nazareth, the Savior of the world, who has come in these last days, in company with the Eternal Father, to establish the kingdom and work of the latter times. His voice has been heard in reality; His voice is ringing in the testimony of His servants, and the spirit which He brought with Him from on high is here in His Church, and it will remain and abide and continue. The power, the light, and the glory thereof will go forth to the uttermost parts of the earth, and the honest and upright in heart will be attracted thereby, and when they hear the sound of the gospel there will be something within them that will correspond to it, and they will embrace it. ¶

Now, my brethren and sisters, the Lord has brought us into these mountain heights. What for? That we may organize perfectly according to the pattern which He has revealed. The first meeting of this conference brought forth a clear exposition of the order of the Church. When President Smith was declaring it I rejoiced exceedingly in knowing that it was an evidence that God laid the foundation of this work, and that the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is something beyond human wisdom. It was the power of God by which this organization was given to mankind, and if we will only carry out the designs of the Lord, it will go forth steadily to victory. No weapon that is formed against it ¶

will prevail, no obstacle placed in its way will retard its progress. But we are expected to do our part in this great organization that God has set up, that it may accomplish the work for which it is designed. The Lord has promised to us that if we will do His will and keep His commandments He will fight our battles. We are not called upon to use carnal weapons; we are called upon to clothe ourselves with the armor of salvation, to carry the sword of truth, to labor as the soldiers of Christ, not with carnal weapons or with the power of this world, but with light and truth and with the power of the Almighty, with which He will encircle us and by which we will overcome. ¶

I want to say to my young friends here today that their strength and the strength of this work will be in their virtue, in their honesty, in their upright course of conduct in this life. The gospel that we have received is a gospel of liberty, but not of licence. There is nobody in bondage in this church. We are at perfect liberty to do that which we desire to do, so far as we have power. But we are not permitted, if we are saints of the living God, to go into corruption and wickedness and into the evils of this world. True, we have the power, but the Lord has given us commandments concerning these things, and He expects us to be a righteous people. Not but what we are subject to the frailties of humanity and to the ills of mortal flesh; but we are called out of the world to be the saints of the living God, and the Lord has said in the latter days, as in times of old, "Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord." The Lord expects the young men of Israel to be pure and virtuous in their conduct, just as much as he requires it of the daughters of Israel. Let that be understood. In the world, if a woman goes wrong she falls almost to rise no more; but the man can steep himself in wickedness and corruption and fall into vice and folly, and he can be welcomed into ¶

society. That is not according to the gospel of Christ. It is not according to what people call "Mormonism." The Lord expects men to be pure as well as women, and He has brought us into these mountains that we may raise up a holy generation, a peculiar people, a nation of priests, who will afterwards, some time in eternity, be kings as well as priests, ruling and reigning in the house of Israel forever. As I have said, the strength of this people is in their comparative purity, in their righteousness, in their sincerity. They are not a set of hypocrites. ¶

The servants of God do not preach for hire; they do not divine for money; but they labor for the good of mankind, and they have in their hearts a desire for the salvation of the souls of men. For this our Elders go out into the world; for this the servants of God labor at home; and I know as I know that I live that the men who stand at the head of affairs here are honorable, upright, virtuous, kind-hearted, loving men, and that their sole desire is to build up the kingdom in righteousness and to bless the people by disseminating light and truth, giving counsel that is wise and wholesome, correcting evils when they find them, and watching carefully over the interests of the Saints of God. Now, my brethren and sisters, we will sustain them by our faith and prayers and by carrying out their counsels. This kingdom is sure to prevail; there is no question about that; and if you and I want to prevail with it we must live according to the principles that the Lord has revealed for our guidance. We must be His Saints in very deed. We must keep His commandments, purify our lives, and live as Saints, not merely in meeting and in our public gatherings, but in the home, on the farm, in the workshop. Wherever we are we must remember that we are called of God to be Saints; that He has called us out of the world for this special work. As we have been told in this conference, we have a mission to perform, and it is not simply to gather around us the good things of this world. ¶

That is all right as far as it goes. No matter how much we can get on righteous principles, the Lord is pleased with us, and some day He will make this people the richest in temporal things of all the peoples of the earth. But we have been called with this special mission, to carry the Gospel of Christ to every nation, kindred, tongue and people; and if we cannot go out ourselves, we can send our sons and daughters and sustain those that can go. We can also help those that are gathered home. When they come into our midst, look after them; see that they are not allowed to fall into the ways of the stranger, or to be led astray by those who would seek to deceive them; but guide their footsteps in the path of peace. ¶

While we live we have this mission to perform, and when we depart hence and go beyond the veil, we will be just the same people, -- having merely dropped off the outer covering of the flesh -- and our labors will be continued there. The Gospel will not only be preached to every creature on the earth, but to every son and daughter of Adam who has dwelt in the flesh and passed away into the other world without hearing the truth. For God's tender mercies are "over all His works," and we are all His children, and He loves us and desires our salvation. But He knows that that cannot be accomplished unless we walk in the ways of salvation, and an opportunity to receive His word will be given to every soul that has breathed the breath of life in the body, either here on earth or in the regions beyond. I rejoice in the knowledge of this great truth -- only one out of many truths that have been brought forth through the ministration of the latter-day Prophet. I rejoice in the knowledge that the Gospel of peace will come to every creature. ¶

I bear you my testimony that I know as I know that I live, and have known it for over fifty-four years, that this is the work of God. I bear testimony before the heavens and the earth that God in the last days has established the work spoken of by the ancient prophets; ¶

that the truth has been revealed in its purity; that it will go on until the fullness thereof has been made known from the heavens; that the spirit of revelation from on high has been poured out; that the holy Priesthood, held by men of old, has been restored in the latter days, and that it is here now and will never be taken again from the earth. When God commenced this work, as He stated. He sent the authority and power of the holy apostleship "for the last days and for the last time," and He will not take it away again nor give it to another people. This is His work, His Church, the beginning of His Kingdom on the earth, and it will go forth to victory. Zion is being built up in the way that the Lord has appointed, and the work of salvation is going on for the living and for the dead. The Lord said we were not to be afraid of our enemies, and we are not to be ashamed of His work, for He will take care of it. I rejoice before the Lord that I am in Zion. I am reminded of the sayings of Isaiah the Prophet concerning the Zion of the latter days: "Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people; but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of they rising. Lift up thine eyes round about; and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee; thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side." ¶

Every word spoken by the Prophets of old and by the Prophets of latter times concerning this great work will be fulfilled. I know it will prevail. It cannot be overcome. I echo the sentiments of my brethren and say: Treat our friends who appear to be our enemies with kindness, with charity and with brotherly love. Let us not get angry with them. Sometimes that spirit naturally arises in our hearts, and we feel it is all very well to say, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do;" but how about those who do know what they do? How about those who willfully, intentionally and maliciously malign our brethren, distort the truth, and seek to bring trouble and injury upon the Latter-day Saints? What about them? Just leave them in the hands of the Lord, and do not allow irritation to arise in your breasts for that is what they desire, but let us in patience possess our souls, as Christ commanded. In the tribulations of the latter days, when all men should speak evil concerning His people; when they should revile them and persecute them, and say all manner of evil against them falsely, for His name's sake; "rejoice," said He, "and be exceeding glad, for so persecuted they the Prophets which were before you," and "in patience possess ye your souls." ¶

Now, my brethren and sisters, let us continue in this good work. Let us be proud of the things that God has given unto us, proud of our homes, proud of our State, proud of our glorious country, and of the Constitution of the United States, which God inspired His servants to bring forth, to establish liberty, that every soul might have an opportunity of worshiping God according to the dictates of his conscience, and that perfect liberty might prevail throughout this loved land. Let us rejoice in these things, and thank and praise the name of the Lord, and show our gratitude to Him by walking in the straight way, turning neither to the right nor to the left, but pressing onward, that we may receive the crown of eternal lives in the presence of our Father. May God help us individually to conquer and overcome, that we may sit down with Him in His kingdom, as Christ overcame and sat down upon the Father's throne. Peace and the blessings of God abide with all Israel, through Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶