Diligence in Keeping the Commandments of God

My brethren and sisters, I rise before you this morning in response to a call from President Smith, and I can assure you that it is with a feeling of great timidity, and unless our Father shall come to my support I feel wholly unequal to the task that has been assigned to me. I feel now, as I have always felt, deep interest in the great work of our Father in heaven, which He has instituted for the salvation of His children here upon the earth, and a testimony of its divine truth burns in my heart at this very moment. To me the meetings of this conference have been in very deed spiritual feasts. The Spirit of the Lord has been poured out abundantly upon Hi|s servants who have addressed the congregations, and I feel that the people themselves entertain the same view that I have expressed. Indeed the gathering of the people this morning is a sufficient guarantee of this truth, and I rejoice that even this great Tabernacle is not sufficient to hold the Latter-day Saints who have come up hither to hear the word of the Lord, insomuch that it has become necessary, notwithstanding ;the fact that the elements have been somewhat threatening, to hold an overflow meeting in order to accommodate the people who have come in such great numbers to hear His holy word. It speaks well for the faith and for the interest that the Latter-day Saints have in the work of the Lord. ¶

It has been said, during this conference, that the Latter-day Saints are a peculiar people, and sometimes I have wondered in what did this peculiarity consist. Wherever we go we find that we are somewhat different from the rest of mankind, so much so that we are pointed out and observed. In fact, we might say we are the observed of all observers when we go out into the world. Many times people have accosted me and spoken in reference to our missionaries. When I was in the missionary field they have said to me, "Your men are different from ours; they seem to be a different class of people." Why is it? Is it not the effect that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is producing among the Latter-day Saints? In our own community we do not realize the great change that has taken place in us since we have become identified with this peculiar religion. If we are living in harmony with the teachings of the Gospel it will have the effect to make those peculiarities still more pronounced. There is an influence that goes with the Gospel of Jesus Christ that is felt among the people of the world with whom we associate. I do not wish to convey the idea that we have so far advanced and become so perfect that we claim to be holier than the rest of mankind, but I do wish to convey the idea that there has been an effect wrought upon this community as a direct result of our religion. It has opened the eyes of our understanding. It has caused us to look at life from an entirely different aspect. We have been enlightened by the power of the Holy Ghost that was conferred upon us when we entered into covenant with the Lord. The peculiarity that is mora prominent with us than all others is the spirit of love. The spirit of the Gospel is the spirit of love, and there have been exhibitions of that love in the whole career of the Latter-day Saints. ¶

In pursuance of this quality which so distinguishes us from other peoples in the world, our young men leave their fathers and their mothers, their wives and children, and go out into the world without remuneration to proclaim the glad message of great joy. Oh! what a wonderful manifestation of love towards their fellow men. "Where in all the world can such a thing be found, other than among the Latter-day Saints? There may be isolated instances of great devotion on the part of men who are sincere and honest in their motives, but where upon the face of the whole earth will you find a whole community who are willing to make this sacrifice because of the love which they hold toward their fellowmen? Th^ spirit of this work, the spirit that impels these young men to go out into the world, distinguishes them wherever they go and manifests itself in the spirit of love. You do not hear of the missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints being full of hatred and venom and seeking whom they can destroy; you do not find them laying traps, or disseminating falsehood, or doing that which will bring their opponents into discomfort. No; you will find them laboring for the salvation of the souls of the children of men. You will find them going from door to door, holding forth upon the corners of the streets, and encountering all kinds of opposition. You will find them proclaiming the fact that God has spoken from heaven and restored to earth His everlasting Gospel. You will find them traveling without purse and without scrip, oftimes going hungry and submitting to great indignities and privations. These are not acts of men filled with the spirit of hate, but they are impelled by the spirit of love, a spirit to benefit and bless their fellowmen. There is a spirit of peace that acompanies them in their ministrations; there is an influence, which they carry with them that they themselves seem to be unconscious of. They do not realize the great force and influence that is with them when they go out into the world. The influence that impels the Latter-day Saints, as I said before, is the spirit of the Gospel, which is the spirit of love. God is love, and if we possess His Holy Spirit it will manifest itself in acts of love. I do not know how I can more specifically illustrate the feeling that is possesed in such measure by the Latter-day Saints. Nevertheless. I will say this, that the man who is in possession of the Spirit of the Lord carries with him an influence that is a strange thing in the world, and it will cause those who come in contact with him to recognize the fact that he is different from the majority of mankind. ¶

In the 121st section of the book of Doctrine and Covenants you will find these words: ¶

45. Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men. and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly, then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God, and the doctrine of the Priesthood shall distill upon thy soul as the dews from Heaven. ¶

46. The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy sceptre an unchanging sceptre of righteousness and truth, and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee for ever and ever. ¶

In these words you find a corroboration of that which I have said. If the Latter-day Saints will allow their hearts to go out in sympathy and love for their fellowmen, and especially for the household of faith, their faith will grow stronger day by day, they will increase in the knowledge of God, and their confidence shall wax strong Id His presence, and this doctrine of the Priesthood shall distill upon their souls as the dews from Heaven. Their whole being will be lit up by the power of the Spirit of God, and this power will make itself felt among the people of the world. This is the great advantage we have received in yielding obedience to the Gospel. It is in this regard that we are different from the rest of mankind. That is not saying there are not millions of good people upon the face of the earth who desire to do the will of the Lord. But I would say to such that if they will also accept the truth as it has been revealed from Heaven, the same power, the same gifts and the same influence, will distinguish them from the rest of mankind. It is the marvelous power of the Holy Spirit; the doctrine of the Priesthood distilling upon the souls of those who allow their hearts to go out in sympathy and love toward their fellowmen, and who manifest that love in going out into the world to proclaim the truth as it has been revealed from Heaven. It is the same love that imbued the Savior of the world when He gave His life for the salvation of men. Greater love than this hath no man, that he will lay down his life for his friends. It is that love that impelled the Prophet Joseph Smith to lay down his life and to go as a lamb to the slaughter. It is that love that impels the servants of the Lord in this day to take their lives in their hands and go into the world, which is so full of hatred and prejudice against the work of the Lord. Those whom we find in the world rising up against the Latter-day Saints, what justification can they find in that? What spirit is it that imbues the men and women who disseminate falsehood and misstatements, which have the result of arousing prejudice and hatred toward the Latter-day Saints? What spirit is it that impels men and women to raise their voices against men whom the/ know to be honorable and men of virtu-i and integrity, for the purpose of blackening their characters, and making them appear in the eyes of the world men of the vilest character? ¶

Contrast this spirit with the sp-rit that animates our missionaries. It seems to be the heritage of the Saints to be hated of the world, and to have all manner of evil spoken against them falsely. It was so in the case of the Savior Himself. It was so with other Prophets and holy men who have spoken under the inspiration of the Spirit of God. It is that which has helped to distinguish them in the different periods of the world's history. They have always stood out prominent among the inhabitants of the earth, and their names have been had for good and for evil in all the world. The name of the Savior Himself was had for good and evil. The prophets of God have been despised and hated and .stoned to death. They have been spoken of both good and evil. The Latter-day Saints in this day and age of the world, are no exception. They are spoken evil of by those who possess an evil spirit, and they are spoken well of by those who are honest in heart. ¶

Having said this much regarding the peculiarities of our people, let us, my brethren and sisters, continue to be a peculiar people. Let our influence be felt wherever we go. Let it be said of us that we are indeed a peculiar people, in this, that the love of God abounds in our hearts, and that we seek to build one another up, not to tear down. When we come in contact with the world let them feel that we have no spirit of hatred toward them, no spirit to tear them down, but that m the depths of our hearts we desire to save their souls and to do them good. I know that this Gospel is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the power of God unto salvation; that through the instrumentality of the Prophet Joseph Smith it has been restored to earth, never again to be taken away and never again to be thrown down; that those whom God has chosen to stand at the head of His people today are inspired of Him and possess the spirit of their calling. God help all to attain this testimony for themselves, and may we uphold and sustain His servants with all our hearts, is my prayer through Jesus Christ, Amen. ¶