Blessings through Obedience to Law

Blessings received only by obedience to law —Observance of Word of Wisdom will increase faith— Obedience to simple laws qualifies for obedience to the higher. — Saloons closing in towns where Saints predominate. — Uplift mankind — make this land Zion. ¶

While I stand here this afternoon I very much desire that the Lord will give me His Spirit, that the words I utter may be His words, for of myself I have nothing that I wish to say, I realize that the time is valuable, therefore I pray that the Lord will bless me that something may be brought forth that will be profitable to this vast congregation. ¶

I rejoice that the President has been inspired to call our attention to section 89 of the Doctrine and Covenants, and to emphasize the importance of it to the Latter-day Saints. We are living in a day when the Lord has spoken again to His people. We, who are members of the Church, who have complied with the requirements of our Father in Heaven, understand perfectly that God lives and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently serve Him. We understand that He has given certain rules and regulations to govern us in this life, and obedience to His requirements insures us His pleasure, and the blessings promised will follow our obedience; but, if we fail to obey His teachings, if we ignore His wise counsels, then we have no promise from Him, and we are wasting opportunities that will not come to us again. I feel the importance of the Latter-day Saints observing this particular law. I believe that by obedience to it, much more faith may be enjoyed by the Latter-day Saints. We read in the teachings of Mormon that if there were not miracles wrought among that people it was because they did not have faith; and he told them, further, that without faith, "awful was the state of man." If we violate the known will of the Lord it is natural that our faith will wane, for the Spirit will not always strive, with us. ¶

There is no blessing that the Latter-day Saints need that they may not enjoy. Our Father has established His work in this day: there is communication between the heavens and the earth, and the inspiration of the Lord flows to His servants who are living righteous lives and complying with His requirements. There is no glorious thing, that man can rightly desire that we may not enjoy within the folds of the Kigdom of our Lord ; but if, as a people, when commandments have been given to us, by Him, and we fail to observe them, then the promise is not to us, but it will be realized by those who are obedient. ¶

We are living upon what is commonly designated by us as the Land of Zion. These great continents of North and South America, have been so named. Millions of God's children reside upon this favored land, and He has said that it shall be blessed as long as the inhabitants thereof keep His commandments and obey His laws; one of which is the Word of Wisdom. In our day the Gospel has been given — not that a few people might be magnified, but that the blessings of our Father might be enjoyed by all His children, for He desires the salvation of each and every soul that has been born into the world. Unto you, my brethren and sisters, has come a knowledge that God lives. All doubt has passed from you, if you have complied with His requirements. You no longer feel, as some of our brethren and sisters of other faiths say, that you "hope" God lives, that you "hope" there will be eternal life for us. If you have done His will, if you have had faith, if you have repented of your sins, if you have been baptized by proper authority, by immersion, for the remission of those sins, and received the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, then do you know that God lives, that Jesus Christ was the Redeemer of the world, and that Joseph Smith was the instrument in the hands of our Father of establishing this latter-day dispensation. With that knowledge in our hearts — which many of our brethren and sisters have not yet received — can we be recreant? ¶

As the sons of God, bearing the Priesthood, can we neglect the invaluable opportunities that are placed within our reach? Can we shut our eyes to the glorious privileges that are unfolded to us by our Father in Heaven? Will we fail in keeping this simple commandment, a commandment that He has said is adapted to the capacity of the weak, or the weakest of all who are or can be called saints? I firmly believe that by reason of neglect of this simple requirement, faith has diminished in the hearts of some of our people. That, by a more general observance of the Word of Wisdom, faith will be increased among the Latter-day Saints, and greater knowledge will flow to us as a result ; for, by obedience to it, there will come a disposition to obey other laws of our Father, and compliance with each insures a blessing. If this law, that is adapted to the capacity of the weakest of us, is obeyed, it will be a foundation upon which may be added many great blesings that our Father will be pleased to bestow, that otherwise we would not be entitled to and could not receive. How can any of us feel justified in ignoring a simple law of God that He, by His own voice, has said any of us can obey? Can we expect to be able to keep a higher law, and be able to attain great exaltation, if we fail to keep this simple requirement? ¶

I rejoice in being able to say that, as I travel among the people, I find a disposition to keep that counsel, given for our temporal salvation. Brother Anthony Ivins and I recently visited the Saint George Stake of Zion ; it was the last visited, and for that reason I specially mention it. The president of that stake (comprising 22 wards) arose in conference and announced to the people that he and his counselors, the members of the high council, and the bishops with their counselors all kept the Word of Wisdom, with the exception of two men. It so happened that, during our visit, we met the two men referred to. We explained to them the position they occupied, that, as leaders among the people, they were unable to teach the Word of Wisdom because they were not themselves keeping it. In humility, and in a spirit of obedience to the desire of our Father they said: "We will make it unanimous, so far as this stake of Zion is concerned; God being our helper we will put from us those things that He has forbidden." If the stake presidency, high council and bishoprics of any stake will keep the Word of Wisdom, and set their own houses in order, they will exert a powerful influence for good, that will be felt in the remotest parts of their field. ¶

Referring to the liquor saloon, Saint George has had a saloon, up to a few months ago, but the citizens concluded that it was too expensive a luxury for that community. They decided that the morals and lives of their sons were worth more than the license money that would flow to the city treasury, and the place was closed up. Since that time drunkenness in that city has practically become a thing of the past, even to such an extent that during their County Fair, which was held prior to the Stake Conference, I was informed by one who was an officer there, that, in the multitude gathered, only two men were seen who gave any evidence that they were under the influence of liquor. The peace and order of the city has been wonderfully improved; and men and women who live there feel to thank their Father in Heaven, day by day, that they had wisdom and power sufficient to put away the thing that had been such a detriment to them. ¶

I take it for granted that all of us who voted to sustain the advice and counsel of our President, understood what we were doing. That it did not mean only that we are willing somebody else should do the work. My understanding of the obligation we assumed was that here, in the presence of our Heavenly Father, we agreed that all the influence we can exert will be used, on the right hand and upon the left, day and night, if need be, to purify the moral condition, and prepare the way for a more wholesome condition among the citizens of this great land. We are not depriving man or woman of any blessing, when we withhold from them that which dethrones their reason and debases their lives. Brethren and sisters, the sisters particularly—God has blest you with power and influence, as he has blest we men; you have the franchise and should exercise it; and in love and kindness you should work for the uplifting of all; in doing this there will flow to you joy and peace, by reason of the results that will follow your efforts. ¶

This grand State of Utah ought not to be one of the last to stand for temperance, it ought to have been first, by reason of the revelation of our Father that has been given to the Latter-day Saints. If this body of men and women will keep the covenant that they made yesterday, it will be only a question of a little time until, from one end of this state to the other, temperance will abound, and there will be a change that shall conduce to the blessing of every man and woman that lives in our midst. I rejoice that these things have been taught to us in this conference. My soul is atune to the word that has gone forth; and as I looked into the faces of men and women in the congregation yesterday, I realized that they, too, felt as I did, that it was a step in the right direction. ¶

This is the land of Zion, blessed above all other lands. Our Father has placed with the people the power to make it the grandest of all nations upon the earth. He has helped to make it such, for verily I believe, today, no other nation under heaven is equal, in privileges, to the nation in which we live. God grant that we may not side-step, that we may not back-step, but that, day by day, with our faces turned toward righteousness, we may go steadily onward, serving the Lord, keeping His commandments, and fulfilling the requirements that He has made of us. This is our Father's work. The land that we live in is blest above all other lands; God has decreed it—only so far, however, as the people upon it are righteous. He has given us the Gospel, which is the power of God unto salvation. It has been taught to us in plainness; He has given us power to keep its laws; He has given us the privilege of proclaiming them; He has broken down the barriers wherever the Gospel has been proclaimed. Here in Zion, with hearts filled with joy and gratitude for the blessings we receive let us evidence, by our lives, that we do know that Jehovah is at the head, that this is not the work of any man, but that it is the work of our Father. ¶

May the Lord strengthen us for our labor; may He qualify us for our ministry; may He give us strength to keep His commandments day by day; and may we seek to apply in our lives the glorious principles He has revealed, that by and by, from this portion of His vineyard, may radiate peace and righteousness, that others observing our good works, may be constrained to glorify our Father in Heaven. May the Lord continue His blessings upon us; may those who have assembled here take to their homes the influence of this blessed occasion; and, day by day, may we consecrate our lives for the blessing and the benefit and the uplifting of our fellow-men, using the intelligence with which God has blest us to overcome evil and plant, in the place thereof, righteousness and truth, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶