Diligence in Acquiring Knowledge and Respecting Local Authorities

Magnitude of the work of God.— Abundant opportunities to acquire knowledge.— Reasons for diligence and faithfulness.— Respect for local authorities. ¶

My brothers and sisters, I greatly desire that you shall accord me the same attention you have extended to my brethren who have spoken already, and that you will assist me by your prayers, that in bearing testimony to the truth of the everlasting Gospel I may do so under the inspiration of the Spirit of the Lord. The Latter-day Saints certainly have wonderfully good times when they gather in their general conferences. They never fail to come together in the spirit of prayer and with a great desire in their hearts that the Lord will have something to say to them through His servants who shall speak; and when they come together in this spirit they never fail to receive the word of the Lord, that word which fills their souls with joy and thanksgiving, and which allays any doubt that may have found lodgment in their minds. They never fail to be built up and strengthened, and they go home after the conference is over, feeling that the Lord is with His people. ¶

Now, the thing that is on my mind this afternoon is the greatness of the work which has been introduced into the world in this day and age through the Prophet Joseph Smith. We meet together here in vast numbers, and yet though all the Latter-day Saints were met together they would only be a hand-full compared to the multitudes of people that dwell in the earth. We have been highly favored of the Lord, in that He has sent His servants unto us with the word of truth and of revelation, and He has put it into our hearts to receive that word and to obtain a testimony of the truth of the revelation which He has given to the world. We younger ones, the young men and the young women of Israel, who have been so highly favored as to be born in the Church, having the testimony of the truth born in us and having the seed of truth grow and develop within us, most assuredly ought to feel thankfulness to our Father in heaven for it. The whole world still lieth in darkness. "This Gospel of the Kingdom must be preached in all the world as a witness before the end shall come." The angel who introduced this Gospel came with it that it might be preached to every nation, kindred, tongue and people. And while we are doing a great deal towards the carrying of the message unto the nations of the earth, still the progress we are making, when we consider the vast amount of work that must be done, is only small, and we have only advanced a little way. ¶

I believe all that has been said of the Latter-day Saints by our brethren who have spoken. I believe they are the children of God, and that they have the testimony of the truth burning within their souls. I believe they love the truth and desire to keep the commandments of the Lord. Yet I am constrained to believe they still need more labor among them every day than ought to be necessary. I believe that they should be firmly founded in the knowledge of the truth, by reason of the great blessings the Lord has bestowed upon them, and the great means He has placed in their way whereby they may learn of Him. They have the Holy Scriptures, the Bible, which contains the word of God; the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price; they have the Journal of Discourses; also periodicals, books and papers which are published from time to time containing the discourses and inspired words of the servants of the Lord. All these they have, and all they need do, if they have the desire, is to open the books and there read the word of the Lord. In addition to this it seems essential that the Twelve and the Seven Presidents of the Seventies shall visit the various Stakes of Zion and spend all their time, month after month, year after year, exhorting the Saints to faithfulness, reproving them at times for wickedness and folly, laboring to keep them, as it were, to the line and from departing by degrees from their full duty. Now this is what I think ought not to be. I think that the Saints ought to know the truth as well as the servants of the Lord. They ought to be as firmly grounded in the faith. It ought to be just as impossible to move them from the truth as it is to move the men who stand at the head of the Church; and the time of the Twelve, and that of the Seventies (who labor among the members holding the Priesthood of Seventy) might be given to these hundreds of millions of people who still dwell in the world without a knowledge of the truth. I am constrained to believe that if the same amount of inspired preaching of the word of the Lord that is done among the Saints were done in the world, thousands and tens of thousands of honest souls who are now in the world might be brought to the knowledge of the true Gospel, and they might gather with the Saints and enjoy the blessings of the house of the Lord, and there labor for their own salvation and for the redemption of their dead. We ought to rely a little more than we do upon the Lord and upon the intelligence He has given us to develop the light within us, to become better informed, to be more faithful than we are, notwithstanding good testimony of our faithfulness may be borne now. My brethren and sisters, there is no reason in the world why the Saints should not keep the commandments of the Lord, there is no reason why they need fail to do their duty towards the Lord and towards their fellow men. Surely, the Lord has held out the hand of fellowship to us. Truly, He has not withheld when we have asked Him. He has fulfilled on our heads the promise that if we will ask of Him He will give freely unto us, whether it be wisdom, or the necessaries of life, or intelligence, or knowledge, no matter what it be, if it is for our good and for the good of the children of men. He has not withheld it from us. All things, it would seem, that the Latter-day Saints could possibly desire, the Lord has given freely. We ought to be His people. We ought to hang on firmly and steadfastly to the truth. Great will be the condemnation of the Saints if they fail to remain faithful after all that the Lord has done for them. A season has just passed that has been wonderfully prosperous and bounteous to the Saints; prosperity abounds on every hand temporally, and the Spirit of the Lord is being poured out in great abundance. Prophecy, revelation and the gifts of the Holy Ghost are also enjoyed by them. All these things the Lord has done for us. Ought we not then to be true and faithful in keeping His commandments? We ought not to complain if our stake conferences come and go and we do not have in our midst one of the brethren known as the authorities of the Church. Why, my brethren and sisters, all men who hold the holy Priesthood are authorities in the Church, and through the Deacon the Lord may speak unto the people, and give His word of praise or reproof, or bestow upon them His blessing. The Priest and the Teacher likewise. The Bishop, the High Priest, the Seventy, the President of a Stake — all of these, servants of the Lord are authorities of the Church, and when you have them in your midst you may hear the word of the Lord preached, you may hear and see and feel the inspiration of the Lord. Therefore you should be content. You should not feel to complain, even though one of the Twelve, or the First Council of Seventy, or even the First Presidency, find it impossible to be with you. You should read the word of the Lord from the books, and kneeling down around the family altar, you should commune with the Lord and ask Him for wisdom, judgment and enlightenment. You should depend more upon Him and less than some of us do upon those who constitute the authorities of the church. Then turn your hearts, my brethren and sisters, to the nations of the earth, to the kindreds, and tongues, and peoples, all of whom are the Lord's children, who are scattered throughout the length and breadth of the whole world in untold numbers, many of whom are only waiting for an opportunity to hear the word of the Good Shepherd. Pray not only for yourselves, but for them also. Pray that the door of the Gospel may be opened to them, that the servants of the Lord may be sent unto them, and that those who have this work upon their shoulders of carrying the Gospel unto all nations may be at liberty to go. Say that they may go with your blessing, and that you will endeavor to more greatly appreciate the local authorities of the church, some of whom sit round your own tables and hearthstones, and are your sons, husbands and fathers who hold the holy priesthood. ¶

I was going to read from the Scripture, but I have almost let it go by: ¶

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. ¶

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: ¶

Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. (Matthew 18: 44-46.) Do we appreciate the kingdom of God in this way? Do we value it above all else? Is it more dear to us than the fruit of the field, than the treasures of the mine, than the wealth that can be gathered from all of the avocations and occupations of life? Do we value this kingdom of God even as a goodly pearl, which is beyond price? I believe we do. All else is as nothing when compared to it, and we would gladly, if need be, sell all we had to possess it and make it our own, or at least to become a member in the kingdom. ¶

Now, my brothers and sisters, cleave unto the truth. Lay hold upon the "iron rod," and never release that hold. Go forward steadily with your eyes set upon the tree of life until you are partakers of its fruit, which is the word of the Lord, and which above all else is most joyous to the soul of the righteous man. Be faithful all your days. Prepare yourselves to help in the work of the redemption of the human race; and do not be content to say, "In my heart is a knowledge of the truth, I know the gospel is true, and I rejoice in it," and then stop. Do not stop there. Say that and still more: "O Lord, make me an instrument in Thy hands. Make all Thy servants who have been called of Thee wonderful and powerful instruments in Thy hands, that this same gospel which lighteth my soul, and which filleth me with gladness, may be sent unto all the world, that my neighbor, my brother, Thy children, may rejoice in Thee, even with me, by being brought into Thy kingdom." May the testimony of the truth ever be with you, my brothers and sisters. May the powers of evil never be permitted to tempt you from your duty or from the path of right. The Lord will be with you, and build you up, and make you a power in the world for good; and through us, yes through us, even as through Father Abraham, because of our faithfulness in keeping the commandments of the Lord, shall the whole world be blest and be led to glorify God. This is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen. ¶