Rejoicing in the Spirit of the Conference

I have greatly rejoiced in the spirit and instruction of this conference and I sincerely trust that during the few moments I occupy this important position I may be inspired of the Lord to say something that will be of value to us, and that will redound to the honor and glory of our Father's work and kingdom. ¶

I have listened with a great deal of interest to the remarks that have already been made, and especially have been impressed with the statements made by President Cannon, who preceded me. Some time ago I attended a meeting at which he spoke, and his testimony was similar to the one borne to us this afternoon, and it made upon my mind a lasting impression. He .spoke of his gratitude unto our Father in heaven for imparting unto him the knowledge that Jesus is the Christ, and that Joseph Smith was and is a prophet of God, "but more important," said he, "than the other is the fact that I know that he who stands today at the head of the Church is likewise a prophet, inspired of the Almighty, chosen of Him to lead Israel and to guide His people." This last expression — possibly not in these words exactly — found an echo in my heart, and as I have stated, made a lasting impression. I believe it to be of vital importance, my brethren and sisters, that we should know that Joseph F. Smith, who, today stands at the head of God's cause upon the earth, is His chosen servant, that he is inspired of God. Thanks to .the Lord, we may enjoy this testimony, and need not grope in darkness. The Lord, in His wisdom, His infinite love and mercy, has indeed made plain the way, and made the provision, whereby each and all of us may know for ourselves whether our President speaks of the Lord or of himself ; whether he speaks as one having authority, and whether the work that he is endeavoring to advance in the earth, and the instructions he gives unto us from day to day, are the Lord's work and His will concerning us. ¶

I remember reading from that learned Professor Drummond, these words : "Obedience is the organ of spiritual knowledge, a most remarkable association," says he, "that has been made by the Master." Jesus Himself made this declaration, "My doctrine is not mine, but His that sent me ; if any man will do His will he shall know of the doctrine,whether it be of God or whether I speak of myself." In other words, he who is in the line of duty, keeping the commandments of God, obeying His requirements and receiving His instruction, upon him will rest the inspiration of the Almighty, the light of heaven and of truth, and he will know it is true, darkness is not in his path. Prof. Drummond, commenting upon this says, "It is a most remarkable association, where we associate obedience, which is considered purely spiritual, with knowledge, which is considered entirely intellectual." But yet the association has been made by the great Master and Teacher. Along this line of thought let me illustrate the importance of the principle of obedience by calling your attention to a circumstance with which you are familiar. The Lord directed the prophet Samuel to say to Saul that he and his army should go forth and slay all the Amalekites, and bring nothing with him on his return home. Saul went out and fulfilled part of the commandment, but saw that which seemed to attract him, and he spared part of that which he had captured, to the displeasure of the Lord and Saul's own destruction. When Saul returned to the Prophet Samuel and declared he had done the will of the Lord, and had kept His commandment, the prophet asked him, "What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?" and Saul undertook to make apology. You are all acquainted with the story, and you remember the words of the Lord through the Prophet Samuel : "Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifice as in obeying the voice of the Lord ? Behold to obey is better than sacrifice and to hearken than the fat of rams." Returning to the sentiment expressed by Prof. Drummond, that "obedience is the organ of spiritual knowledge," just a word of comment on that thought. In the wisdom of the Almighty it has thus been ordained, were it otherwise than that "obedience is the organ of spiritual knowledge," and that to know God, to find out Him and His ways, were left to the learned and the wealthy, how should the humble and unlearned, the poor of the earth receive the gospel? The Lord, in His mercy and love, has made plain the way and easy the path that the most humble and unlearned can find if they seek after Him; they may know Him, if they will, without a college education.great wealth or affluence. They can come unto Him and receive of His bounteous blessings and His love. The Lord has made these provisions, and we as Latter-day Saints should be grateful that the gospel has been preached to the poor of the earth. You remember the Lord said that this was one of the evidences of His divine mission when they who were sent by John the Baptist came and asked Him in reference to His identity, whether he was the Messiah or whether they should look for another. Jesus told them to go and tell John that the lame are made to walk, the blind to see, and the gospel is preached unto the poor; that the gospel was preached to the poor was cited as a strong evidence that He was indeed the Lord. ¶

In order to enjoy the blessings of the Lord we must yield obedience to His will. I was thinking along this line this morning, while listening to the remarks of President Smith, in relation to a vital principle, one of the fundamental principles of the gospel. Obedience to the Word of Wisdom I regard as of very great importance to us as Latter-day Saints, for that word contains a great deal that is of temporal and spiritual value to us, and to the youth of Zion. I consider that every father and mother should set his and her children examples worthy of emulation. When children are taught in the Sabbath schools, the Primary associations, the Religion classes, and kindred institutions, and taught by the elders of the Church that it is the Lord's will that we abstain from those things forbidden in the Word of Wisdom, and then they see their fathers and mothers, whom they regard as the most nearly perfect beings in the world, on whom they rely absolutely for guidance, whose instruction and example is more potent in the formation of their character than any other agency in the world, if they see them in open violation of this Word of Wisdom, what think you is the result upon the minds of those children? I believe that if I have inherited an unholy appetite that is difficult to control, and I am conscious of it, that if I give way to it I will possibly destroy or darken my soul, and drive from me the Spirit of the Almighty, which it is my privilege to enjoy, I should lose no time in doing all in my power to control and root out, if possible, that inherent disposition; or, if I have an appetite, the gratification of which is worth more to me than my children's interests and welfare, I feel and believe that I am an unworthy parent. Every child that comes into my home is not only a child of mine but a child of my heavenly Father, and unto Him I am responsible for the instruction I give to that child, for the example I set and possibly for the result of those instructions and examples ; for them I shall stand amenable to Him. I remember now the words of the Apostle Paul, who said : "We have had fathers of the flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence ; should we not much rather be in subjection to the Father of our spirits and live ?" The essential part of man, nay, the being himself, the spirit, is a child of God ; man is a dual being. We have had fathers of the physical organism ; these physical beings were created, begotten by our earthly parents, but that which thinks and wills, the ego, self or spirit, if you please, the enduring part of man, that which existed in the presence of the Great Eternal One, and came to earth to pass through this mortal probation, this school of human experience so necessary in the providence of the Almighty, that I say is a child of our Father. When He sends a child of His to earth He gives to the parents that which is more precious to Him than all the wealth of the worlds He has created. Sacred, indeed, is the trust, and great is the responsibility that is placed upon those who receive a child of His. I say, then, if my precepts and example are not in keeping with His will and in harmony with His law, and that child of His shall go to destruction, because of my failure to keep the commandments of the Lord, woe be unto me. And if I shall, through my own wrongdoing, transmit an unholy desire or soul destroying appetite, to any child of mine (for I am a believer in pre-natal influences) I shall thus place around that child's neck a millstone, as it were, and possibly that millstone may drag him into the depths of degradation, and I, because of selfish gratification of my appetites, am responsible for his destruction, what think you shall be my condemnation? I regard these things seriously, my brethren and sisters. I consider as one of my most solemn duties and responsibilities, that I shall set before the children that God gives me examples worthy of emulation. Recognizing my own weaknesses as I do, asking God's help constantly in the battle of life, I desire that I may indeed impress upon my children, if possible, the thought that I am at least sincere in my profession. If I can lay deep in their hearts the fountain of faith, make them feel I truly believe that which I am teaching them, that my life is consistent therewith, and I can go to my grave having established in the hearts of my children abiding faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ, His revealed will and commandments, I will feel that I have done more for them than though I had bequeathed them untold millions, or given to them any or all the perishable things of this world. ¶

I feel that the Word of Wisdom is an important law unto this people. If the father and mother in the home feel that they can violate this commandment of the Lord with impunity, they are mistaken. Supposing you teach your children that these forbidden things, set forth in the Word of Wisdom, are hurtful to them, and then you partake of them'; suppose you teach your children that tea, coffee, tobacco, or liquor are hurtful, and you partake of any one of these, in so doing do you not give your children the opportunity to think and to feel that, while you do not partake of the other things mentioned that the law is not so important in your mind as it might be? These things are all in the same forbidden class, included in the same commandment, therefore, do you not give to your children a license, and do you not set before them this example, and impress them with this thought, that the law, after all, cannot be very important, otherwise my parents would not violate it? Either that, or the children will say to themselves, "My parents believe in it, but they are too weak to live up to the requirements of the Lord." Truly you would be humiliated if you were compelled to acknowledge before your children your inability and weakness. It would indeed be humiliating for you to say to your children : "This is the Lord's will ; these things are hurtful, but I am not strong enough, I am not capable of controlling myself sufficiently, and I yield to my appetites." Besides, it would lessen your influence with your children, and lessen the respect they entertain for you, very materially. We should be consistent in these matters ; we should deny ourselves for our children's sake, our own sake, and because of the reverence we have for Him' who is the father of the spirits of our children ; and for the sake of being obedient to the will of the Lord, that we may be possesed of that knowledge to which President Cannon referred, and of a knowledge of the truth of the gospel. ¶

I am delighted to know, as President Smith said this morning, that there is a temperance wave sweeping the country. I sincerely hope that we shall feel its force, and that we shall be found in the stream of its onward progress ; that we shall do our utmost to assist in the accomplishment of the end for which it aims, and that we and our children may derive benefit from this important movement. ¶

In conclusion, I desire to bear testimony that I know that Joseph F. Smith is a prophet of God, that he is now the one chosen of God to lead this people. We can do no better than to seek his counsel and advice, and follow therein. It is no sacrifice »of manhood for us to resolve that we will be obedient unto the Lord, that we will be submissive unto him ; for I take it that obedience is one of the strongest attributes of the noblest men in the world. It was one of the pre-eminent features or qualities in the life of Him who died that men might live. None have been quite so obedient as was He, obedient to the will of His Father. Let us remember His prayer : "Father, if it be possible, let this bitter cup pass from me ; nevertheless, not as I will,, but as thou wilt." I believe that before him passed, in panoramic view, as it were, that which he would have to endure ; in the depths of. woe and bitterness of suffering, He felt that if it were possible that His great mission could in any other way be accomplished than that He should thus suffer, that it might be so; "nevertheless, not my will, but as thou wilt ; not my will, but thine, be done." He is our example in obedience. He was implicitly obedient to the will of his Father, yet He was the greatest Man that ever lived in the world, and, by the way, the most maligned, abused and persecuted Man that ever lived. From' His childhood, yea, from His birth, His life was sought by the powers of darkness. Remember how Herod, the king, sought His life, for fear that he, Herod, would be deprived of his throne by the King Child, if Jesus were permitted to live. Hence, I say, from the day of His birth until He was cruelly suspended between heaven and earth, He was hounded, persecuted and maligned, slandered and abused by those who were in darkness, and by those whose hearts were full of bitterness and prejudice. If He was thus misunderstood, driven from pillar to post, maligned and slandered, He was the Son of God, the Redeemer of the world, the sinless One upon whose lips was found no guilt, if He was thus ill-treated and misunderstood — and I believe there were those so full of corruption, so completely given over to the power of the adversary, that they claimed they did God service in thus persecuting and putting to death the Redeemer of the world — I say if this be true of Him who was sinless, could it not be true likewise that His servants who, though not sinless, are men after God's own heart, that they, too, might be misunderstood, maligned, slandered, and put to death by those who are inspired by the powers of darkness ? I say to you that Joseph F. Smith is a prophet of God. Under God's inspiration he will lead this people aright. My greatest desire is that I may be ever worthy of his confidence, willing to receive his counsel and follow therein; if I can do this I feel sure of salvation in the kingdom of God. ¶

May the Lord add His blessing, and help each of us to secure an inheritance in His kingdom, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen. ¶