Report on the Australian Mission

My brethren and sisters, I am deeply grateful for the privilege which I enjoy of meeting with you upon this occasion. During the short time that I speak, I sincerely trust that the Good Spirit which has been with us during conference may direct my remarks, that they may be of such a character that all may be instructed and benefited by our meeting together upon this occasion. This is the first general conference of the Church which it has been my privilege to attend during the past five years, for nearly the whole of that period I have been away from home, presiding over our work in Australia. When you realize the length of time I have been deprived of the privileges that we are enjoying today you may understand, to a certain extent, at least, how much I appreciate this opportunity of meeting with the Saints in general conference. I have enjoyed the spirit of this conference just as much as the remarks which that spirit has actuated. ¶

No doubt all the Latter-day Saints who have been present during the sessions which have passed have enjoyed the conference, the remarks and the spirit thereof, quite as much as I have done, and doubtless great good will result therefrom. There are no other people in the world today who are blessed as are the Latter-day Saints. They have received the truth, and by reason of that fact they ought to be the best people upon the face of the earth. Our lives should be in keeping with the good instructions imparted, for only so far as these instructions are exemplified in our lives are they of lasting benefit to us. If our lives do not conform to the instructions, then, instead of their being a benefit to us, they will result in sorrow, for in the great day of the Lord we shall all be judged by the light which has been extended unto us. The question all Latter-day Saints should ask at the close of this conference should be this, How much of the instructions which have been imparted unto me will I carry out in my life? We are blessed in listening to the words of the inspired servants of God. There is no people in the world today who are blessed with the presence of Prophets, Seers and Revelators except the Latter-day Saints, and this privilege should be fully appreciated by us. But, in carrying out the instructions which these good men have given us, the Lord leaves us free to exercise our agency. There has never been any compulsion exercised upon the Latter-day Saints regarding obedience to the counsels which are given unto them. We are asked to abide by these counsels, but we are not compelled. No other people in the world are more free in this respect than are the Latter-day Saints, whatever may be said to the contrary. ¶

I remember upon more than one occasion, while I have been away from home, in speaking of the calls which are made upon our missionaries to go to the nations of the earth, the question was asked, "Are your young men compelled to go upon these missions upon which they are called?" I have said to those who have asked me that question that we are just as free to accept that call, and discharge the responsibilities pertaining thereto, as we are to remain at home. There is no need of compulsion to be exercised upon the minds of the Latter-day Saints to induce them to do right. We have good and evil presented unto us, but whether we accept the good and refuse the evil, or follow the opposite course, is left to ourselves. The Lord will assist us to do good ; He will assist us to refrain from that which is evil, but He compels no man to do good, or to refrain from that which is evil. This has been the course pursued by the Lord in every age of the world even before the world upon which you and I live was created, and we enjoy that freedom of agency just as well today as we did before we came upon the earth. ¶

I find a few words recorded in the Book of Mormon that I will read. They are found on page 164, 27th verse, chapter 2, second book of Nephi : ¶

"Wherefore men are created free according to the flesh, and all things are given which are expedient unto men. and they are free to choose liberty and eternal life through the great mediation of all men, or to choose captivity and death according to the captivity and power of the devil, for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself." ¶

You will observe that in the age when these words were penned the principle of free agency was extant, and men were just as free to choose the path which led to death as they were to choose that which leads to life eternal. The same principle is taught in other pages of the Book of Mormon. I will read now from page 319 of the Book of Alma : ¶

"I ought not to harrow up in my desires the firm decrees of a just God, for I know that He granteth unto men according to their desire, whether it be unto death or unto life. Yea, I know that He alloweth unto men according to their wills, whether they be unto salvation or unto destruction. Yea, and I know that good and evil have come before all men, for he that knoweth not good from evil is blameless, but he that knoweth good from evil, it is given according to his desires, whether he desireth good or evil or death and remorse of conscience." ¶

Now that is the status of the Latter-day Saints today. They are free to choose that path which leads down to destruction and death, and become miserable like unto Satan himself. We, as Latter-day Saints, can exercise our agency to pursue that course which is pleasing in the eyes of our heavenly Father; when this conference shall be closed, therefore, let us carry with us to our homes, to our firesides, the grand instructions which have been given unto us, and let us carry the spirit by which they have been imparted, and then indeed may we expect them to be effective in our lives. We may rest assured of this fact that, if we want to enjoy true happiness in this life and in the life to come, there is but one course for us to pursue, and that is the path of righteousness, for the path of righteousness has in every age of the world been the path of happiness ; on the other hand, the path of wickedness has, in all ages of the world, led to misery and wretchedness. No man, nor woman, can live a life of unrighteousness and enjoy happiness, for happiness and unrighteousness never did go together, and they never will. ¶

We may think at times that the counsels given by the servants of the Lord run counter to our happiness in life, but that is entirely a false idea, and wrong impression. If you want to be happy in this life and in the life to come, live in harmony with the counsels of the Lord as they are given to us by His servants, then indeed shall we enjoy the greatest measure of happiness possible in mortality. Our Savior said upon one occasion, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." In this respect the Latter-day Saints are exactly upon the same level as are the people of the world. It is not what we profess that will save us in the kingdom of God; it is what we do that will insure us the salvation which God desires to give unto all of His sons and daughters. We should show our faith by our works. The religion we have espoused is the grandest of all religions, and the organization to which we belong is the greatest, therefore, we ought to be the best people upon the face of the earth, and we are. But even for the Latter-day Saints there is much room for improvement. I believe that all of the Latter-day Saints are more or less in this condition, therefore we have need to put into practice the grand teachings which have been delivered to us during this conference. ¶

We have with us a Prophet of the living God, just as much endowed with authority as any man that ever lived upon the face of the earth, having just as much of the Priesthood of God as had Moses, Paul or Isaiah. We have the Twelve Apostles also, as well as the First Presidency, men endowed with power from on high, with all the rights pertaining to the Melchisedek priesthood, and the words of these men should be prized by the Latter-day Saints. Their inspired utterances should be above the price of jewels, and we should endeavor to profit by their teachings in our daily walk and conversation. The measure of our happiness, as I have said, depends upon our allegiance to the laws and commandments of God. Speaking of the missionaries who have gone abroad, in nearly every instance— I know of no exceptions — they will tell you that the happiest years of their lives have been when they were in the nations of the earth proclaiming the principles of life and salvation. And why is this. Because they were then living closer to God than they have been at home. ¶

My missionary experiences have been the grandest I have yet enjoyed upon the earth. Twelve years and a half ago I went on my first mission, and during those twelve years and a half, I have been absent from home eight and a half years, laboring in the ministry, and that time has been the happiest of my life. When I have been released it has been with feelings of regret that I have taken my departure for home. I believe that this is, almost without exception, the experience of all our missionaries. But, need we go abroad to experience that feeling of happiness? God is no respecter of persons, and He is just as willing to bless us at home as in the nations of the earth; His blessings are not confined to any particular locality. It is true that there are blessings which can be obtained only in the land of Zion, but that happiness which comes from doing good is within the reach of every man, whether in Zion or in the nations of the earth. There is no reason why we may not enjoy the same Good Spirit at home, around our firesides, in our wards and stakes throughout the whole Church, that the missionaries enjoy in the nations of the earth. There should be no happier people upon the face of the earth than the Latter-day Saints. We should be the most satisfied people in the world, because we know that we have the truth. The people in the world generally are not in that enviable condition. They hope they are on the right road to salvation, but I have talked with many of them, and they cannot say they know they are right. Whereas, of the Latter-day Saints, there is hardly one amongst them who is devoid of the testimony of the divinity of the great latter-day work, they know this is not the work of man. We have had great men in the Church, and we have today as grand men as ever lived upon the face of the earth, but this is not the work of any man, it is the work of Jesus Christ, and I know it, and all Latter-day Saints may know it for themselves. There need be no dubiety upon this Question in the minds and hearts of the Latter-day Saints. The Lord is willing to bless all of us with that testimony, and without it we can never feel absolutely secure. Trials will come, trouble will overshadow us, and the time will come, sooner or later, when that testimony will be needed by every Latter-day Saint; and when trials come it will be an anchor to them in the hour of darkness and adversity. So long as they remain true to that testimony, to that knowledge, they will never be shaken from the Church, never if they are faithful because their testimony will enable them to endure, and we are not safe without it. As I said, we can all have that testimony, and we may know for ourselves that this is indeed the Church of Jesus Christ, that Being who came in the meridian of time, the Savior of the world, the Redeemer; it is His Church and not the church of any man, and we should have faith in Him and live in harmony with His laws and commandments. ¶

I pray God to bless you. I know that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God, and that all of his successors have been equally Prophets of God. May the Lord bless us, may we serve Him and keep His commandments during our lives, that we may have happiness in this life and increased joy in the world to come, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen. ¶