Gratitude for Priesthood Unity and Progress

The meeting was called to order at 2 p. m., President Joseph F. Smith presiding. ¶

The choir sang the hymn : ¶

Lo! the mighty God appearing, From on high Jehovah speaks! Eastern lands the summons hearing, O'er the west His thunder breaks. ¶

Prayer was offered by Elder J. Golden Kimball. ¶

The choir sang the hymn : ¶

We're not ashamed to own our Lord, And worship Him on earth; We love to learn His holy word, And know what souls are worth. ¶

I am very grateful, my brethren and sisters, for this privilege, and I cheerfully respond to the call made upon me, believing that I have, the confidence, the faith and the prayers of my brethren and sisters ; and I ask a continuation of these favors at this time, in my behalf ; praying that the Lord may inspire me to say those things that will be for your edification as well as mine. ¶

I rejoice that I have a name and standing in the midst of this people. How great you look to me this afternoon I can hardly tell you. The immense capacity of this building filled with human beings, your faces all turned toward the speaker, is, indeed, an inspiring sight. I am grateful to the Lord for this conference, for this grand assemblage of His children, for the united vote that you gave this morning, and in respect to questions on doctrinal points that were given you to answer this forenoon. The way they were answered is in strict keeping with the spirit of the faith you have adopted. When President Brigham Young entered the Salt Lake Valley in 1847, he raised himself upon his elbow, in the carriage of Brother Woodruff, where he was reclining, and looked over the valley, from the mouth of Emigration Canyon, and said : "This will do ; drive on, Brother Woodruff ; this is the place for the gathering of the Saints." That saying was prophetic, as manifest in the events which have transpired since that vision to the prophet of the Lord, and evidenced in the prosperity that has attended the people. Their united faith has drawn them together in greater numbers year by year, and so I believe it will continue to be. ¶

In relation to the document that was read in your hearing yesterday, I endorse every word of it now in my testimony as I did in my vote yesterday. I am delighted with the prospect, which I consider is brighter today than ever before, that the whole world shall learn of the faith of this people ; and our probable future destiny will be studied with greater interest, I believe, by the thinking people of the world, than it has been heretofore. The truth of the old song is evidenced to me today: "Zion is growing; give us room that we may dwell." If this were not so, I think that some of us would feel very much disappointed. The work of the Lord is destined to make progress; it means progression. In the common parlance of the times, this work "has come to stay," and, having come with this purpose, it must grow ; it must extend, because it cannot stand still. If there is any project that comes to a stop, retrogression, a movement backward, is the natural condition that ensues. ¶

In regard to the beautiful exposition that was made this morning of the hymns we sing, I was delighted with the statements made by Brother Clawson, and the allusion to those hymns by Brother Grant and others. I was also interested in the reference that was made to the sacred purpose that the Saints have in their hearts, while diligently laboring in the stakes and wards of Zion. ¶

My brethren and sisters, I believe firmly in the doctrines you have so honestly announced today to be your convictions, that the God of heaven lives, that He is our Father, the Father of our spirits, the Creator of the universe ; that from His presence we have come to our earthly probation; that He chose His well beloved Son, Jesus of Nazareth, to be the Savior of the world. He was the only begotten of the Father. That is the stand we take in regard to the matter of relationship between God the eternal Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. As Brother Smoot properly observed today: If any of our Sunday School children, ten years of age, had been in that congregation of ministers, and had been asked the question : "Do you believe in a personal God, of body, parts, and passions ?" every Sunday School child would have answered that they do believe in such a God. They have been perfectly taught in these matters, and so have the Saints, not alone by the doctrines of the Church, but we also endeavor to individually obtain a living testimony that God lives, that His Son Jesus Christ lives, and that the Holy Ghost is a personage of spirit. We believe in the passage of scripture which gives an account of the baptism of the Savior. John was baptizing in the river Jordan, and the Savior came to him and asked for baptism, but John forbade him, saying: "I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me ?" and Jesus said : "Suffer it to be so now, for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness," and so he suffered Him, and they went down into the water. As they came up out of the water and stood upon the bank of the river, a voice was heard from heaven, saying: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased;" and the Holy Ghost descended upon Him in the sign of a beautiful white dove. ¶

In a Sunday School gathering in the city of New York, not long ago, (not a Latter-day Saints' Sunday School, however), a young lady teacher approached the minister who was presiding over the school, and asked : "How shall I teach God to my children — the class that I am teaching?" The minister replied: "You must teach God according to the intelligence of those whom you are teaching." The lady replied that this did not answer her question. Then the minister appealed to the congregation, and asked if there was any one present who would answer the question of the lady; and it is said that a "Mormon" elder who was present volunteered this information on the subject: He referred them to the first chapter of Genesis where God declares that He "created man in His own image, and in His own likeness— male and female, created He them." This was in keeping with the teachings of Scripture, and no doubt satisfied the query that was in the mind of the lady, as no further questions were asked. We have declared in our articles of faith that "We believe in God the eternal Father, and in His Son Jesus Christ and in the Holy Ghost. We believe that mankind will be punished for their own sins and not for Adam's transgression." This doctrine is in perfect accord with the teachings of the Holy Scriptures, and harmonizes with the divine teachings given through the Prophet Joseph Smith in the day and age in which we live. When the Savior was upon the earth he gave the promise : "If any will obey the doctrine that I teach he shall know whether it is of God, my Father, or whether I speak of myself. It is the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ that this people have been called to teach, and to exemplify in their lives. Although there has always been some opposition to the truth, ever since the Church was organized, that has not, however, resulted in staying its progress. The Church of Christ, the ordinances of God's house, and the organizations of the Holy Priesthood are upon the earth, and they will remain until they have accomplished the purposes that the Lord has designed. ¶

It was fortunate for us, my brethren and sisters, that the Church was organized under the protection of the constitution of this great government. This grand constitution and government was established under the inspiration of Almighty God by our revolutionary fathers, and we have had the privilege of living under these favorable conditions, and becoming numerous and strong; and the State in which we live is now one of the bright stars in the galaxy of our national starry host. We are proud of the State of Utah; we are proud of the products of Utah. We are proud of our boys and girls, and we are not afraid to compare them with any that the world can produce, for moral, physical, and intellectual strength. The Gospel net has gathered people from many nations of the earth, we are therefore a cosmopolitan people, and the mixture has produced a race of men and women gigantic in health and physical powers, as well as in moral and intellectual development, and their understanding of Gospel philosophy. There was no cold, dead response, no myth, no shadow in the answers on Gospel philosophy that were given this morning. Every man and woman knew what they were declaring. They understood the questions they were answering. They knew in their hearts that God lives, and that Jesus is the Christ. They also know that Joseph, the prophet, through the inspiration of the Almighty, brought to pass the organization of the Holy Priesthood upon the earth; that Zion is being built up, and Israel is being gathered, through the efforts of that mighty prophet and those who have followed him. " ¶

My brethren and sisters, I pray the blessings of the Lord upon you. I testify that the Gospel is true. I know that my Redeemer lives. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, and that we are being led under the prophetic influence of the Spirit of God today, by His servants who preside over us. Amen. ¶