Doctrinal Teachings and the Character of General Conference

The honor of addressing a general conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one that I very much appreciate; though I feel somewhat strange in responding to the call that has been made upon me, realizing as I do that these are occasions when the people of God assemble for the purpose of listening to their leaders, and that it is more a time for exhortation and testimony than for doctrinal discourses. Where the time is so limited, and the speakers are so many, it is not to be expected that the privilege can be extended very far. Therefore it is not one that I have anticipated; at least I did not anticipate it until notified by President Smith that he intended to call me. And this is only one of many courtesies, many acts of kindness and consideration that I have received at his hands. ¶

The main reason, I presume, why he has asked me to speak, is because I happen to represent, in a way, one of the general institutions of the Church. Since the opening of the year 1899 I have been connected with the Church historian's office. While I have not been asked to make any report, I will say that that institution, during the period of which I am qualified to speak, has kept pace with the general progress of the Church. It is not my purpose to draw any invidious comparisons between the present and the past. There is no need to do so. We all understand that the Lord's work is progressive, and that it was intended to be. It is no reflection upon the past to say that the present overtops it, that we are in advance today as a people over any former period in our history. When I express the belief that the Church of God, now presided over by President Joseph F. Smith, is in a better condition, spiritually and temporally, than ever before, I do not cast any reflection upon the Prophet Joseph Smith, who founded the Church, nor upon President Brigham Young, his worthy and lawful successor, nor upon any of the servants of God who have in turn presided over this great latter-day work. It is simply a recognition of the general principle of progress, that is inherent in the work of God, and is among the things predestined. So, also, when I say that the Historian's office is in a better condition than it has ever been, I do not cast any reflection upon the faithful services of former historians. But it gives me pleasure to testify to the wisdom, ability and energy manifested by President Anthon H. Lund, the present historian. He has watched over the institution with all the care and anxiety of a father for his favorite child. He has given it what time he could spare from his duties, as one of the First Presidency. He has come early and remained late, and has put in more hours of willing and cheerful toil than any of his subordinates. I attribute much of the present good condition of the office to him and to those who have directed his labors. ¶

I wish I could say all that is in my heart to say. I wish I could utter the thoughts that arise in me as I gaze upon this great congregation. I see men and women from the north, from the south, from the east, and from the west, assembled here for the purpose of being instructed, counseled, strengthened and renewed, that they may go forth from this conference with the spirit of it upon them and within them, to carry the same to the remotest parts of the Church. While contemplating the scene I have mentally compared this multitude to the waters of the ocean, that are taken up into the clouds and sprinkled over the earth, to moisten and refresh the dry places; rivulets becoming streams, streams flowing into rivers, and the waters, through the rivers, finding their way back to the ocean. Why do they continually thus return? Why this eternal round of renewal and progression? It is because it is necessary, in the processes of nature, in the great plan of God, that it should be so. that these waters, which become stagnant and turbid by remaining too long upon the surface of the earth, may be cleansed, revivified, and sent forth again over the face of the globe, to make it bloom with verdure and blossom with beauty. As often as they are scattered, they are gathered again, to pass through the bosom of the "selfpurifying, unpolluted sea." ¶

It seems to me that we can learn something from this lesson, written by the God of nature in the great book of nature. The Latter-day Saints are gathered together periodically in general conference. "My people shall meet together often," the Lord says, to partake of the sacrament, to receive instruction, to be reminded of their duties as Saints, and to have their spiritual strength renewed. When the call goes forth from the First Presidency, "Come to the general conference," it is the duty of the Saints not only in Utah, but also in Idaho, Arizona, in Canada, in Mexico, and throughout the intervening region, to lay aside their everyday labors, and come, as many as possibly can, to these gatherings of God's people, where the stagnant waters of their souls may be purified and set in motion, where they may receive new strength, new energy, and go hence to moisten with the Spirit they here imbibe the dry and barren places; to stir up the people of God, rouse the indifferent, reform the erring, and bless all with whom they come in contact, by imparting to them the good things they have here obtained. "Freely ye have received, freely give.". ¶

What has been the purpose of the scattering and the gathering of the House of Israel? What is the significance of sending into the world a chosen race of spirits, called upon earth the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but known to us to have been the children of God before Abraham was born? They were chosen in the heavens, before they came in the flesh, and were sent forth from the presence of God with a mission. We who call ourselves Latter-day S'aints are a branch of the house of Israel, gathered out from among the Gentiles; we are a portion of that martyred nation, chosen of God and sent upon earth to suffer and endure for His sake and for the sake of all mankind; to bear the oracles of God, and be His representatives in the midst of the human race. Read what Moses says in the eighth verse of the 32nd chapter of Deuteronomy, if you doubt that Israel had an existence before the earthly days of Father Abraham. The passage runs as follows: 'When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel." This was before the birth of Abraham. The Lord had nations upon the earth before that time, and he set their bounds according to the number of the children of Israel . What does this mean, if not that Israel was a pre-existent race, ordained before the world was to perform the great and important mission that has rested upon them all down the ages, and a portion of which is now being performed by the Latter-day Saints, the gathered children of Ephraim. ¶

If this be true of the whole house of Israel, how much more true of those mighty ones who have risen in the midst of the people of God, who have been called to be His prophets and apostles, His spiritual ministers to mankind? If it be true of the Latter-day Saints as a body, how much more true of those whom we sustain as our leaders? What should be our conduct towards them I know what the Prophet Joseph said: "Brethren, in all your kickings and flounderings, see to. it that you do not betray the servants of God; there is no sin that can be compared to it.' "Touch not mine anointed, do my prophets no harm,' 'is the warning word of the Lord that has come down through the centuries. A great lesson is taught, - one that all men would do well to heed, in the Savior's description of the last judgment: ¶

"When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall He sit upon the throne of his glory: ¶

"And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: ¶

And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. ¶

"Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: ¶

"For I was an hungered and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: ¶

"Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. ¶

'"Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? ¶

"When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? ¶

"Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? ¶

"And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these, my brethren, ye have done it unto me. ¶

"Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: ¶

"For I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: ¶

"I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. ¶

"Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? ¶

"Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. ¶

"And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal"— Matthew 25: 31-46. ¶

I learn from these solemn words that God will judge the world by this standard: "How have you treated my servants?" I say it to the friends of these men who sit upon this stand, and I say it to their foes: How will you stand the issue when this test is applied, Inasmuch as ye did it, or did it not, unto these my servants, ye did it, or did it not, unto me? ¶

I bear my testimony that these are indeed the servants of God. I do not need to laud the virtues of President Joseph F. Smith; that has been well done already. But I can say Amen to all that has been said. He knows what I think of him. He knows that I love and honor him and he knows too, I trust, that I do not love and honor him simply because he has been good and kind to me. I love and honor him because God loves and honors him. I hold it to be my duty to sustain any man whom God has chosen to fill any position in His Church, whether that man loves me or loves me not. That has nothing to do with the principle involved. I must be loyal, independently of anyone 's feelings toward me. Doctor Bernhisel was a great friend of the Prophet Joseph. He lived with him in the Mansion House at Nauvoo, and whenever the Prophet came into the dining room, if the doctor was there first, he would arise and remain standing until the Prophet had taken his seat. Joseph asked him why he did this, for he sometimes felt embarrassed by it. The answer was immortal: "Brother Joseph, I love to honor the man whom God has honored." That is the principle upon which we should love these men who stand at our head — because God has honored them, and they are His servants. It does not matter whether they love us or not (though I believe they do); they are the Lord's servants, and it is our duty to stand by them, to defend them, and to lay down our lives for them if necessary. ¶

I have a testimony that President Joseph F. Smith is the right man in the right place; and this not because he is the nephew of the Prophet Joseph Smith, or the son of the martyred Hyrum Smith. It is in his own right that he presides over this people. He is God's man, and has been chosen upon his own merits to hold this exalted position. That is my conviction; and the same with regard to his Counselors, and the Twelve Apostles, and all the leaders of the Church. No mistakes are ever made in the selection of such men. When the servants of God, filled with the Holy Ghost, nominate a man, and the Holy Ghost in the hearts of the people testifies that that is the choice of God, it is His choice. It is impossible for a mistake to be made. Every man that has been called to preside over this Church, or to stand among the leaders thereof, has been pointed out by the finger of God. There was no possibility of a mistake, for the Spirit of Truth does not lie. These men come to the earth with the mission upon them to be prophets, apostles, ministers of life and salvation. They were chosen before the world was to hold these positions; and they were eligible for these offices; it does not matter what their names are here. I believe with all my heart that when men are chosen to be servants of God, it is because of their own worth and integrity, and not because of their names and connections. I remember hearing a brother say that he thought his promotion in the Church was due to the fact that his father, or grandfather, who had passed behind the veil, had exerted an influence for him .there. That may be. but I do not believe it was the main reason. The teachings of the Prophet Alma, in the Book of Mormon, give the real reason why men are chosen to bear the Holy Priesthood. They were ordained, he says, to these sacred offices and callings, by the Lord God, "that thereby the people might know in what manner to look forward to his Son for redemption. And this is the manner after which they were ordained: being called and prepared from the foundation of the world, according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works; in the first place being left to choose good or evil; therefore they, having chosen good, and exercising exceeding great faith, are called with a holy calling." That, I believe, is the principle upon which these men were chosen. They came into the world with the ordination of God upon their heads; and there are others who have been ordained in like manner. High Priests after the Order of Melchisedek, though it may never be theirs to sit among the leaders of Israel. But they are numbered with those whose mission it is to follow the Lamb wheresoever He goeth, and they are here to help prepare the way before the glorious coming of the Son of God. ¶

It is said that without the Melchisedek Priesthood no man can look upon the face of God and live. And yet, Joseph Smith, when a boy of fourteen years, gazed upon the Father and the Son, and it was nine years before he held the Priesthood in the flesh. I once asked President Lorenzo Snow concerning this matter: "Why is it, if a man without the Melchisedek Priesthood cannot look upon God's face and live, that Joseph Smith could see the Father and the Son, and live, when he held no priesthood at all?" President Snow replied: "Joseph did hold the priesthood; he came with it into the world." I believed it before he said it, but I wanted him to say it first. Joseph Smith, as much as any Prophet that ever lived, was ordained a prophet before he came into this mortal life. He held the Melchisedek priesthood in the spirit, when he came here, or he could never have received what he did from God. And these men who have followed in his footsteps are spirits of the same class. The Prophet Joseph declared that every man who has a calling to minister to the inhabitants of this earth, was ordained to that very purpose before the world was. ¶

Then I ask you again, brethren and sisters, can you afford to treat lightly these men, these representatives of God, these ambassadors from the courts of heaven? And I say to those who are attacking them and assailing them, In what plight will you stand, at the day of judgment, when it is said unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it unto the least of these, my servants, ye did it unto me? Amen. ¶