The Temporal and Business Duties of Priesthood Leaders

The leaders in the Church at home necessarily men of business, as well as counselors in spiritual affairs.— In the building up of Zion, temporal matters must receive great attention.— Joseph Smith and Brigham Young notable examples of temporal and spiritual inspiration.— Z. C. M. I and the sugar industry tangible evidences of the benefit of following the advice of the Church leaders. ¶

Brethren and sisters, I desire, the few moments that I may occupy, to be guided by the Spirit of the Lord in my remarks, that I may be inspired to say something that shall be edifying to those who are present. This is a very large congregation. We have representatives here this morning, I presume, from all the stakes of Zion, 55 in number, and representatives from many of the missions of the world, of which there are 21. We have representatives also from a great number of the 600 or 700 wards of the Church. There are before us a good many of the presidencies of the stakes of Zion, and I would like to say a word in relation to these leading men. They are very practical men, well acquainted with the affairs of life; men of experience, and understanding, occupied in various avocations; men who are called to be spiritual and temporal leaders of the people; men who should be and no doubt are, able by their experience, to give counsel and to direct. Among them are farmers, stockmen, contractors and builders, masons, carpenters, blacksmiths, merchants, lawyers, educators, literary men — and all of them preachers of the Gospel. They are so situated that they must provide for their families and educate their children, and of necessity they have adopted these various callings, either as professional men, tradesmen or mechanics. This is all very well and good, and proper, we think. They do not give their entire time to the Church because they are not situated so they can. I presume there is enough work in the Church to take their entire time, if they could give it, but they cannot give it, and it may be that the Lord does not design at present that they should do so. For this reason they must be practical men, acquainted with the affairs of life and be prepared to give counsel when it is sought. ¶

Now, brethren and sisters, there is a spiritual side to the Gospel, and there is a temporal side, and it is difficult to find a dividing line. I do not know that there is any dividing line, if so, I have never been quite able to discover it. I suppose we may say firstly spiritual and secondly temporal, and then again, perhaps, firstly temporal and secondly spiritual; for the last shall be first and the first shall be last. These men, by their experience, are qualified to be spiritual leaders of the people, to expound the Scriptures and teach them the way of life; and their experience also qualifies them to be temporal leaders of the people, and to give them counsel in matters pertaining to their temporal interests. We have colonizers among these presidents of stakes — men who can blaze the way in the wilderness and subdue the soil, and in part subdue the elements also; who can build up the country and successfully establish the Saints, by the wisdom of their counsel, in these new countries. There is one president of a stake (I do not know but he reported the fact at one of our conferences) who took hold of a business enterprise that was something like $20,000 in debt. It was given into the charge of this president of a stake, this spiritual leader of Latter-day Saints, and inside of two or three years, by his wisdom, experience, and ability, the enterprise was pulled out of debt. The customers were invited to come and trade on a cash basis; the counsel went from that president to his people to do their business on that line, pay as they went along, and the result was as stated. I take it, brethren and sisters, that such is a part of the Gospel, at least it seems so to me. I hope every president of a Stake, and Counselor, and High Councilor, are teaching this doctrine to the Latter-day Saints, and encouraging them to get out of debt and keep out. That is a part of the word of the Lord to the Latter-day Saints. This practical man has given us a splendid illustration of this; and if he was able, by the skill and ability which God had, given him, to pull that business out of its embarrassment, surely he was in a position to give counsel to others in the same direction. This is only one case. These other Presidents of Stakes who sit before us, with their Counselors, are also leading, practical men. They are not one-sided, not narrow-minded, they are not men of only one idea, but they have comprehensive views of life. So it seems necessary, in the providence of God, that these men should engage in the affairs of life, and be practical. ¶

It is much the same with the missionaries whom we are sending out into the world. Some of them, it is true, are very youthful, some unmarried; but many of them are men of experience in temporal as well as in spiritual affairs. Our missionaries are not trained theologians, they have no diplomas from theological seminaries; but they are picked up just as we find them. They are taken from the workshop, the store, the farm, the schoolroom, the office, from the various avocations of life, wherever the Lord selects them, and they are sent abroad to preach the Gospel. But many of them, perhaps the majority, are practical men. They are not mentally floating around in the clouds, away "beyond the bounds of time and space," they are in the world, dealing with worldly things, as well as with spiritual things. It often happens that our missionaries sit down and expound the scriptures, and teach the word of eternal life, and then, if occasion requires, turn from that exalted employment go into the field, take hold of the plow and turn a furrow, or go to the carpenter's bench and engage in building. This is often done by our missionaries when help of that kind is needed, and perhaps cannot be obtained otherwise by those who are interested in the Gospel. In Samoa, on the Sandwich Islands, or on other islands of the sea, if a meeting-house is required the missionaries assist in building it. When it is built and furnished by the work of their own hands, they enter the pulpit and preach the Gospel. I call that good, practical religion. It appeals to me, and I admire it. I am happy to know that our Elders are not ashamed of honest toil. I am happy to know that these Presidents of Stakes and their Counselors, the High Councilors, the Bishops of Wards and their Counselors (who are just as practical every whit as the Presidents of Stakes) are not ashamed to engage in honest labor. What would you think of a President of a Stake with his coat off, clad in overalls, following the plow, turning up the soil, cultivating it, and then, after a hard day's toil, going to a conference, or a meeting, and preaching the Gospel of Christ to the people of his stake? Would you not think it a commendable thing? Could he set a better example to his people than that? I think not. I rejoice in such things. This is Zion, brethren and sisters; and Zion is not only the pure in heart, but it is a location, also. Zion consists of cities, towns and villages, containing buildings for various purposes; and eventually it will include the holy city and the mighty temple of God which is to be built. Those are temporal affairs. It means hard work, application, devotion, sacrifice of means and time; and it will require the physical and spiritual strength and power of the people of God. Zion is to flourish upon the hills, and it will be made to flourish in just this way. ¶

Another thing, brethren and sisters. (I am not going to tell you something you do not know, I am simply going to remind you of something that is familiar to you). I have spoken of these leaders in Zion who stand at the head of stakes and wards, and who preside over the people in the church. I have been saying to you that they are practical men of affairs. Now let me say to you that the general authorities of the Church are included among those practical men, and have been so from the beginning. Have they been spiritual men? Yes; the Lord knows they have been and are spiritually-minded. Have they been temporal, practical men? Yes; the Lord knows, and you know they are and have been. You take the Prophet Joseph Smith, the great prophet of the nineteenth century. We have been told here, and it is true, that the Father and the Son appeared to him. God spake to him, and gave mighty revelations and glorious manifestations to the Church through him; yea the divine revelations that are published in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, and I tell you we have not yet begun to appreciate their depths. I doubt if we can fully comprehend them in mortality. They are all true, all from the Lord, and have been accepted and adopted by the Church. We understand them in part. We have glorious glimpses of the future through these revelations. Was Joseph Smith a spiritually-minded man? Yes. Was he a temporal, practical man? Yes. Besides his labors of a spiritual character, he engaged in the founding of cities, in establishing the Latter-day Saints in their homes, advising and directing their labors and movements, temporal as well as spiritual. He founded the beautiful city of Nauvoo, and was the mayor thereof. Joseph Smith, the prophet, mayor of the City of Nauvoo! Yes, and lieutenant-general of the Nauvoo Legion, a military man, and he had the spirit and courage of a great leader. He was a leader as a military man, as a temporal man, and as a spiritual man. He was broad and liberal in his views; and if he had not been disturbed and interrupted in his plans, Nauvoo would have been one of the most glorious cities ever founded in this country. The people there are now anxious to have us go back and give them the benefit of some of the practical things, which they see we are doing in this country. President Brigham Young, who succeeded Joseph Smith, was a Practical man. He was a Prophet, Seer and Revelator, and he was a financier and colonizer. There was a wonderful combination in President Young's character. He was just the man suited to the times, fitted to the occasion; was right on hand when God wanted him. How intensely practical was Brigham Young, and yet how spiritually-minded! I do not know that we ever had a man in the Church who, in some respects, was more spiritually-minded; certainly no man was ever more practical in his views and counsels. I could not do justice to the Prophet Joseph Smith, or to Brigham Young, if I stood here and talked for 10 hours, the theme is too big for me. But we know many of the things that these men did. One great practical thing that President Young did was the establishment of that splendid institution near the corner here known as Z. C. M. I. He sought to develop the principle of co-operation among this people. He counseled it, directed it, and gave his soul to the movement so far as it was necessary. He impressed its importance and advantages upon the hearts of the people. And what a terrific struggle Z. C. M. I. had! It almost went under during the great panic of those early days, and its stock went down to about 35 cents on the dollar. Where is it now? Why, it is soaring so high that it can scarcely be obtained. It is away beyond par. Brigham Young counseled the Latter-day Saints to hold their Z. C. M. I. stock and not to sell it. That is what this practical Prophet said to the people, and those that followed his counsel did well, because the stock has been steadily advancing, and the institution is most powerful and influential today. It has been able to steady the market in this country and to regulate prices. Of course, there are other strong institutions here, not only among the Latter-day Saints, but among our friends in this city; but Z. C. M. I. dates back into the early years, and it was a great movement, in fact, it was ahead of the times. During the past year Z. C. M. I. did a business of about four and a half millions of dollars, and it is giving employment to about five hundred persons, and is paying to these employes about $250,000 every year. In view of these facts you can answer whether Z. C. M. I. is essential to this country and people, whether it is helpful to them, whether it is worthy of their sympathy and support. ¶

A word in relation to the manufacturing departments of Z. C. M. I., which, it seems to me, are, very important factors. I do not know whether the Latter-day Saints fully understand it or not, but it should be known that it is quite an extensive feature of the business. Last year something like 80,500 pairs of boots and shoes were manufactured by Z. C. M. I. — a product of home industry, made right here! Is not this a satisfaction, and worthy of our attention and thought? Then there is the overall department. I read in the Deseret News last fall, from a report made at the Fair, that Z. C. M. I. had manufactured something like 216,000 dozen pairs of overalls in the past year. They had taken the denims, cut it up, and made it into overalls, giving employment to the people, helping to sustain their families, as well as adding to the success of the institution. And this great principle of co-operation and home manufacture was set forth by Brigham Young; but that is only one instance of his practical work and teaching. ¶

Those who have succeeded President Young have also been practical men. Brother John Taylor, in an early day, under the direction of President Young, brought sugar manufacturing machinery from France, and an effort was made to establish the sugar industry in this country. But the machinery then was very imperfect and could not be used to advantage. Thousands of dollars were expended in its purchase and to bring it across the water and the plains in order, if possible, to establish the sugar industry here. That is a temporal matter. Would you call it commercialism? Whatever you call it, I know it is a glorious thing, and very practical. The motive was to benefit and bless the people, and put them on a self-sustaining, self-supporting basis, so that this would indeed be Zion to them. But this question of manufacturing sugar did not end with the efforts of President Young and President John Taylor. It was too important, it could not rest, so it comes up again, like Banquo's ghost. Like the Phoenix, it has arisen from the ashes of the past, and has become a settled industry. But few among this great congregation know the effort it cost to establish these sugar factories in the land. Many sleepless nights were given to consideration of this subject by Presidents Woodruff, George Q. Cannon and Joseph F. Smith. This question of manufacturing sugar rested upon them tremendously. It was like an inspiration, they could not get away from it. They called the Presidents of Stakes and their Counselors together (I remember it very well) and appealed to them, and through them to the Church, to give this enterprise heartfelt support and approval. And when it seemed that it must be abandoned circumstances being such that it looked as if the enterprise would fail, and the Church being involved so that it could not altogether render the help needed, a few of the leading brethren would not relinquish it, and the President of the Church said it must not fail. My brethren and sisters, you know the result, you know in general the status of this great industry. I could not speak in detail of all the sugar factories, for they are multiplying on every hand; but I will speak of the Utah Sugar Company, because that is the pioneer company in Utah, and it includes the factories at Lehi and at Garland. Let me tell you something of what they did last year. They manufactured something like thirty million pounds of sugar, from sugar beets grown upon our soil. These beets were not imported from distant countries, they were grown here by our farmers. What a tremendous power that is for good in the temporal affairs of this people! Think of the effort that has been put forth! Think of what it means to the community! It means that something like 450 employes were engaged in this work, and that $178,000 was paid to these employes, to help sustain them and their families, to provide food, raiment and education for their children. It means that something like $620,000 was paid out in cash to the farmers of this State for beets. Could you put your soil to better use! Could you cultivate it more profitably, you farmers of the State? Here is $620,000 realized by the people to help them, and to build them up temporally. I call that Gospel. The world may call it what they please, I call it a part of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Twenty-five thousand dollars was paid to the railroads of this State for the transportation of beets; $36,000 was paid for labor connected with the raising of beets by the factory, making a total that was paid out on the beet account alone of something like $682,000 —all for the good and benefit and blessing of the people of Zion. That is one of the ways Zion is being built up. ¶

So I say that our leaders of today are practical men, spiritual and temporal men. They are prepared to give counsel to the Latter-day Saints in all matters that interest them in the building up of Zion. I rejoice in it, and it is just as much a testimony to me of the truth of the Gospel as any testimony I have ever had. Yet I know that this is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God. I know that these practical men who have succeeded him — Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Lorenzo Snow and Joseph F. Smith — have been inspired leaders of the people, Prophets of God, and they have been and are worthy of our support, both temporally and spiritually. God bless you. Amen. ¶