Proclaiming the Gospel and Supporting the Leadership of the Church

I feel very much this morning the necessity of your, faith and prayers, and the blessing and Spirit of the Lord while I attempt to address you. My heart was full of joy yesterday in listening to the splendid reports of the condition of the Latter-day Saints, and what they have accomplished. It is wonderful that we have been able in seventy-five years to have brought together from so small a beginning such a remarkable people, from so many different nations, so well established in their faith, so completely organized, and working so unitedly together to carry the Gospel to the whole world. From the first organization of the Church, with six members, down to the present time, with several hundred thousand members, it is but a short time. And every Latter-day Saint has a testimony regarding the truth of this work. The people of the Lord have obtained forgiveness of sin through their faith, repentance and baptism, and they have received the Holy Ghost, which bears record of the Father and of the Son, and which enables us to understand the truth and the things of God — things that none are able to comprehend without the aid of that spirit. We see today a great multitude gathered here to worship the Lord, representing all the various Stakes of Zion, and all the missions of the United States. ¶

We learned yesterday from the Presidency what we have accomplished collectively, and it is remarkable; for we are carrying forward a very important work among the nations of the earth. We would be delighted if we could penetrate those nations where we have not yet found religious liberty; and we believe that the Lord will move among the nations and control them until all the world may enjoy the same liberty that the English-speaking people and some other races enjoy at the present time. The Gospel makes us free; but it is necessary that we should have a measure of freedom among the children of men, through the governments of the earth, before we can move the cause of Zion effectually among the nations. I believe that the hand of the Lord is manifest today, as it always has been, among the nations, and that He is preparing the way for the labor that we have to perform. Though the world have little faith in us, yet we will demonstrate to them that we are true men and women, that we love mankind and that we do not hate them. We labor to do them good, we work for their salvation, and among the Latter-day Saints there is a large percentage of men and women who have sacrificed years of their lives in preaching the Gospel among the peoples of the earth; and as a rule they have borne their own expenses, have lived with the people, and traveled without reward — without purse or scrip. And what has been done, and what we see around us, the Lord has enabled us to do it. He has wrought by our hands. He has planted our feet securely in these mountain valleys, and has enabled us to extend our borders. He has moved upon our neighbors in the surrounding states and territories so that they have wanted us, because we are a peculiar people, leading out in practical lines, and possibly a little more stable in our ways than other people. We have gathered for the purpose of settling down and occupying the land, and establishing a church wherein we may learn of the ways of the Lord and walk in His path. We have listened to His counsel and have been led by it from the beginning. We have not been deserted. We have not been overlooked. The Lord hag been with His servants who have led us. He has been with His people in their labors, at home and abroad. He has enabled us to build and develop a great and important commonwealth in this State, and we have helped materially in the establishment of the States around us. We have led in home industry. We have been driven to do so for our self-preservation. We have cultivated the earth. We have not given quite so much attention to mining as our neighbors have done. We have not made fortunes like our neighbors may have made in this direction. But we have established ourselves solidly upon the land, and have built up cities and towns, houses of worship, school houses, temples of learning, such as any State could well be proud of. In these respects we compare very favorably with the other States in the Union, although we have labored under disadvantages and have been a poor people, gathered from among the poor. Not many wealthy, not many great and noble, reckoning after the fashion of men,' have come into our ranks; but the souls that have gathered with the Saints have been of just as fine material, as splendid texture as the peoples of any other church in the world. They have been men and women who were willing to make sacrifices for the Gospel's sake, and to bear the ill-will and the hatred of the world. They have been willing to endure trials and hardships, to leave their homes, their kindred, their friends and neighbors in the various nations, to gather with the Saints. ¶

They have come here and have been made one by the Spirit of the Lord. What remarkable oneness we noticed here yesterday in the voting! And we are always united just about like that. It is a rare thing to have opposition votes among the Latter-day Saints, for the reason that we see alike and we believe alike. We have faith in our leaders; not only in the men who lead the Church, but in the men who lead the wards, the stakes, the quorums, the associations and the missions. For these men have all been selected with great care, with prayer and with supplication to the Lord. As the officials of the Church and as the people, we have no object whatever but the obtaining of the very best men and women for the responsible positions. We want men and women who are exemplary, who have faith, who are true and upright, and whose integrity is unquestioned. And today there is no dearth of that class of people. We find them in the stakes of Zion; we find them in all the gatherings of the people. In the Priesthood gatherings, in the conference gatherings, in the sacramental and fast meetings, we find very choice men and women. Though there may be, and there is, carelessness among some of the Latter-day Saints, which grieves the spirit of our good brethren and sisters when they discover it, yet down in the hearts of those people they know that the Gospel is true, and they know the men who preside over them locally and generally; for we have dwelt together, we embraced the Gospel together in foreign lands, and then we have been trying to live it here, after a fashion. We have been doing pretty well. Some have been weeded out. They were not able to endure; they weakened and lost the faith, and withdrew from the Church, because it is a very great undertaking to be a Latter-day Saint in the face of the feeling of the world toward us. The world feel ugly toward us, and as a rule, honestly, I believe. There are some no doubt that are not honest in it; but people that have not known anything of us, and all that has come to them is what has been written by those who have maligned and despitefully used us, have honestly, conscientiously entertained those falsehoods and believed them to be true, just as honestly as men did in the days of the Savior, for there were men then who honestly persecuted the Saints and felt that they were really doing God's service. Do you not think that during our history many people have felt that they were really doing a service for the Lord when they persecuted the Saints? Do you not believe that they thought we were immoral, impure, corrupt and dishonest?. Of course, they believed that we were deluded. That was the most charitable construction that they could put upon it. But what a wonderful "delusion" to come from a young man of the age of the Prophet Joseph Smith, and to have the effect it did upon men who were much older than he, more experienced, better theologians, and men who had acquaintance with the world and who in some cases were educated and scholarly! He was the junior of most of those who associated with him. He was only thirty-eight years of age when he died, and he had then led the Church in its organized capacity for fourteen years. And he had always waded through a sea of trouble; yet the Lord made his heart joyous and light. He was filled with inspiration from on high, and he laid the foundations of this work under the direction of the Lord. It was not his work. He had not the wisdom, the judgment, the power, nor the understanding-. But the Lord made him a Prophet and a law-giver, and he has handed down to us the revelations which the Lord gave to him. They compose a very precious volume, for they are the words of the Lord. This book is a law to the Church. The Prophet Joseph was especially raised up for this work. He was foreknown by the Father, who understood him perfectly. He knew his integrity and his devotion, and He made up to him for the loss of this world's education, and brought him to a profound understanding under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, so that he was one of the best theologians, learned in Scripture and the doctrines of the Lord, that has lived upon the earth. He laid down the doctrines of the Gospel for us, and they are here at our service. ¶

Now then, have we been deceived? Have we been led astray by this young man? He comes to us and tells us, as the Savior did in His day, that if any man will receive the message and will allow his heart to open and receive the principles of faith, repentance and baptism from the Lord, and then will do the will of the Father,, he may know of the doctrine. There is not a, man :'n the world but may know of the truth of the doctrine laid down in the revelations of the Lord to the Prophet Joseph Smith. There is not a man so great, so intelligent and so powerful in this world but he can learn that lesson. He can know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God just as well as he can know anything on this earth; for all his faculties and his very soul will be convinced. And if he is an honest man like Paul he cannot deny it, provided he does right. When Paul got his eyes open and he heard the voice of the Lord, he was willing to sacrifice his life, because he had seen the light and had heard the voice. The Spirit of the Lord filled his soul and bore record to him that he had met Jesus in the way. Could he deny it? He could not. And the Prophet Joseph could not deny it when he saw the Lord and the angel. He knew it, he saw it, he understood it thoroughly. The Holy Ghost doth envelop and inspire the hearts of men who serve the Lord, so that they are as thoroughly convinced of the truth as their natural senses are that there is light and darkness, cold and heat, pain and pleasure, taste and smell. By our natural senses we comprehend the things of the world; and just as information and knowledge come to us by hearing and feeling and seeing, so does the inspiration of the Holy Ghost fill the hearts and souls of all men who sincerely repent. Of course, men will not repent unless they have faith; but all men who have faith in God and in His Son Jesus Christ, who repent and turn from their sins, who are baptized for the remission of their sins in the authority of the Lord Jesus, obtain this light and inspiration. That is the spirit that made us one yesterday; it makes us one today, and it will unite us in the future. It will clear our minds, and we will not be troubled nor in the dark; for the Lord will be with us and will manifest His good pleasure to us in answer to our prayers and our good works. He will bring peace and joy into our Souls, and establish us and anchor our souls, that we shall not be easily moved. Why, we have become so numerous now, so well established and experienced, that with all the agitation that can be stirred up against us you will hardly see anybody turning away from the truth. In early times, before the brethren were well seasoned and tried, while the material was fresh and green, many fell by the wayside, lost their footing, and wandered from the Church. Some of them returned and saw the light again, but many never returned. Today, however, you cannot find a devoted and faithful Latter-day Saint, not a chief, not a leading spirit in the Church, that is shaken in his faith, or that feels uncertain in regard to his standing and fellowship. I want to say for the six hundred Bishops in the Church, for the fifteen hundred missionaries in the field preaching the Gospel, for the Presidents of Stakes and their counselors, for the High Councilors, for the Bishops' counselors one for the presiding councils of the Seventies, you can hardly find one of these presiding men that is shaken. And Israel is larger today than he has ever been in this dispensation, and we are more numerous and better established than ever before. Not one of these officers but knows just exactly where we are. The testimony abides in every heart when the will of God has been at all reasonably done. If there be any who do not know; if there be any who have question in their hearts, it is because they have not steered their course along the proper lines, and they have need to repent. We have need to repent if we are a little off the straight line that leads to eternal life. ¶

The brethren who preside are laboring constantly among the people, and we are doing what we can reasonably. And we will do more; we intend to do more; we intend to be better, to work righteousness better than we have done and to grow in faith and in favor with the Lord all the time. There is room for improvement, no doubt, with the very best of us. I believe that is the feeling with the brethren who preside. The care of the detailed affairs of the Church rests with the presiding brethren in the branches, the wards and the stakes, and these men are entitled to be filled with the inspiration of the Lord. Men who stand at the head of stakes and of wards, with their helps in government, are expected to be prepared to teach the people, to care for the various departments and organizations, that none shall be neglected or overlooked, and that all shall be cared for, exercising sympathy and tenderness towards those who are at all weak. And we all get "weak. There is not anyone so strong but gets weak at times. Let sickness and poverty come upon us, let misfortune overtake us, and we are weaklings. Man is like the worm of the dust almost when his health and strength and the favor of the Lord are taken from him. The strongest and mightiest among the people need the favor and blessing of the Lord and the sympathy of their neighbors. We need to help one another, sustain and uphold one another, so that no one shall feel neglected; for all their souls are precious. Though we be mortal, fallen, frail, yet we are the sons of God, the children of our Father who dwells in heaven. Thank the Lord that we have learned this through the Prophet Joseph Smith. Thank the Lord that we know who our Father is, that we knew who the Savior is, and that we know that they live; for we have the witness, the word of the Lord through the Prophet, and in addition to that we have the witness of the Holy Ghost. We have demonstrated in our lives and in our experience that we are not mistaken; for the Lord has manifested Himself to us in our visions and dreams and in answering our prayers, and in a thousand ways. He has redeemed us from our fallen condition, and has saved us; that is, we are preserved, we have not been broken to pieces, and we are not going to be broken to pieces. We are going to be faithful, united, and attend to the duties that pertain to the kingdom of God. We propose to do that, 'with the Lord's help. Then we intend to feed and clothe ourselves, and take care of our farms, our flocks and our herds, and build our temples, our houses of worship and our temples of learning. We expect to be men in this world, like other men— manly men, honorable, upright men, business men, financial men, physical men, spiritual men, pure men. We expect to do the will of the Lord, and we intend to be as loyal to the government of the United States, and to our own state, as the people of any other state can possibly be. We will bear our share of the responsibilities and burdens of the state and the nation, in peace and in war, and we will do our duty faithfully and well. We will love our neighbors, and we will not wrong them. We will associate with them in business matters and otherwise. We will bless them, and not curse them. We will not rail against them. We will not despise nor hate them. We will not do them injury, but we will do them good. We have gone out in the world to do mankind good. Have not the Elders who have gone out into the world done good service for these hundreds of thousands of people that are gathered together and that are now settled upon the land of Zion in the various states and territories surrounding us? Are we not a good, peaceable element, prayerful and faithful? Are we not doing our part and portion for the state and for the government? We are; and we are faithful and true, and propose to be from this time henceforth. The things that belong to the nation and the state we will render equal to anyone else in the world; and then we will render to God the things that are God's. We will honor and obey Him and keep His commandments, and He •will not require us to wrong our state: or nation. We love the people of this nation. We live with them. They are made up, like we are, from all the nations of the earth. This nation is allowing the people to come from all the nations of the earth. I wonder if they ever think that they are gathering the people together. We won't have to go away from home to preach to everybody, because this great land of ours will be filled with the people of all nations. They come here and possess the liberty which they cannot have in the eastern world; then they can hear the Gospel. This is to be a favored field for the preaching of the Gospel. The Lord has prepared the way, and He is. working the principle of gathering better than we could do. True, we are doing all we can in that direction, and intend to do more; but the peoples of the earth will gather themselves upon this land of Zion, and here the word, of the Lord will be taught. Here is where the word of the Lord came in this dispensation to the Prophet Joseph; and upon this land of Zion the nations, of the earth shall assemble, and the Gospel will be preached to them. Thank the Lord for the liberty that is allowed, us, and that we have the liberty of talking, of living, of loving the truth, working righteousness and doing the will of God. I pray that this principle may always remain with us, and that we will never be deprived of it; and that this nation of ours will be perpetuated to do the 'work and will of the Lord among the children of men. I hope that it will be preserved and sustained, and that the power which the Lord has granted unto it so marvelously shall be devoted for the accomplishment of His purposes in the earth. ¶

May the Lord bless you, my brethren, and sisters. May His Spirit abide in. your hearts. May we be united and faithful. May we see our way clearly; never be befogged! never get in the dark; never fall away from the truth, but maintain our morality and our purity among the children of men. You know the leading men among you; you know those that visit you in your own homes; you know your neighbors; you know one another; and you know that they are honest, virtuous, upright men, and they are not trespassing upon you or yours, but they are conscientious and true. It is not necessary, therefore, for anyone to tell us we are a bad people, because we know to the contrary. We are not wicked, and we have no evil designs against anybody in the world. We are working righteousness, and we are earnestly engage ! in a good cause, and we are bringing ing to pass much righteousness for the salvation of the children of men. May God bless us, redeem us and save us in His celestial kingdom and presence, through Jesus Christ, the Lord. Amen. ¶