Report on the Southern States Mission

(President of Southern States Mission). ¶

The remarkable growth of the Church is a splendid tribute to its leaders. We testify that our leaders are prophets, seers and revelators. The members of the church are entitled to be guided by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, if they live their religion. When men act under the influence of the Spirit of God they do not go astray in doctrine, or in their daily walk and conduct. I rejoice in the glorious truth that the work of the Lord is growing. It is being strengthened in the stakes of Zion, and in the world, in the missions. It is growing daily. Hundreds are being added to the Church, and are receiving the same blessings and gifts that you, my brethren and sisters, received and enjoyed when you entered the Church of Jesus Christ. ¶

The work of the Lord, which the world designates as Mormonism, is constructive in its nature. It is man only that has drawn the line between things temporal and things spiritual; all things belong unto God our Heavenly Father. Jesus said that God was not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live unto him. The Latter-day Saints are taught that in their temporal affairs they should serve the Lord, on the farm, in the mill, in the mountains, and wherever men are called to labor. By an exemplary life they can proclaim the gospel ; their good works glorify their Father in heaven. ¶

Last year there were baptized into the Church, in the Southern States Mission, 842 souls. Many of the people in the beautiful south land are rejoicing in the work of God. School houses and churches are being thrown open to the elders, and people are calling for the messengers of life and salvation. We cannot furnish elders enough so that all may hear the glad tidings of great joy. Thus, you see, there is a great work mapped out for the members of this Church to equip themselves for the important mission to preach the gospel unto every nation, kindred, tongue and people. ¶

As I said, the gospel is constructive in its nature and teaching. In South Carolina, there dwells the remnant of a once powerful tribe of Indians, the Catawbas. But vice and wickedness which, unfortunately too often follow in the wake of civilization, invaded their peaceful abodes and, from a tribe of 6,000 they have dwindled down to 100 in number. Two-thirds of this remnant now belong to the Mormon Church, and we have established a day-school and a night-school in which to teach them, both old and young. We have organized a primary class, religion class, relief society, and Sunday school, in which those people and their children in whose veins flows the blood of Israel, may be taught more fully in the ways pertaining to life and salvation. ¶

I am reminded of a saying of Alma, which is recorded on page 319 of the Book of Mormon. It seems to foreshadow, as it were, the scope of the glorious work of this dispensation. It seems to indicate to the Latter-day Saints that their work is not to be confined to one city, nor to one country. It is true that the Prophet Joseph Smith was a descendant of forefathers who fought in the Revolutionary war; that the founders of this Church were patriots and Americans; that the gospel was restored upon American soil, and that this restored gospel may be called an American religion. But it is also true that it is more than American, it is worldwide, because our message is to every nation, kindred, tongue and people. Alma says : ¶

"O that I were an angel and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people; yea, I would declare unto every soul as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption, that they should repent and come unto God that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth. But, behold, I am a man, and do sin in my wish: for I ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me. * * * Now, seeing that I know these things, why should I desire more than to perform the work to which I have been called? Why should I desire that I was an angel, that I could speak unto all the ends of the earth? for, behold, the Lord doth grant unto all nations of their own nation and tongue to teach his word; yea, in wisdom, all that He seeth fit that they should have; therefore, we see that the Lord doth counsel in wisdom, according to that which is just and true." ¶

It is the destiny of this gospel to be preached on the islands of the sea, and this is being done today on many of them, by faithful servants of Christ. The Lord has decreed that of every nation there should be men who would preach the word of God in the nation's tongue, in language that their people could understand. We are living in the day of the fulfillment of prophecy, in an age when the glorious truths of the Book of Mormon are being confirmed and proven to be true. The Prophet Joseph Smith was only 25 years of age when the translation of this book was completed. How did he know that the gospel was to be preached unto every nation, in their own tongue? How did he know, except by the spirit of revelation, that you Latter-day Saints would raise up sons unto the Lord who would be instructed in foreign languages and, leaving their mountain home, would go forth and preach the gospel in Germany, Russia, Scandinavia, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and on the isles of the sea preaching in the tongue of the people to whom they are sent? This prophecy is being fulfilled. There are now in the Southern States Mission more than a dozen young men who were born in the sunny South, who, after they were baptized into the Church, came up to the "mountain of the house of the Lord " and after being more fully instructed in the words of the God of Jacob, they went back to the land of their birth, where they were received with gladness and their labors have been effective. They have preached the gospel with ability, and in faith, with great success. I believe that from Japan, Germany, Russia, and all countries on the face of the earth will come, forth men who, having obeyed the gospel, will preach the glad tidings of great joy unto the people of their respective countries, and bring many souls unto a knowledge of the gospel. This is a reason why the Latter-day Saints have cause for rejoicing. We are living in the dispensation of the fullness of times. O how our hearts should rejoice to know that the divine mission of Joseph Smith is being proclaimed every day of our lives, and in almost every country on the earth. ¶

Now, have we something to do? Yes. I believe that the most precious treasures God has given unto us are our children. Without children life would be dreary, it would be deprived of one of its greatest pleasures and one of its greatest responsibilities. I believe that joy and responsibility are closely associated, they cannot be separated. The man and woman who shirk responsibility, are heedless to the call of duty and humanity, are not living up to the high ideals God has placed before them. ¶

I was reading an incident, a short time ago, of a woman who had been shipwrecked, and in the storm her two little children were swept away and drowned, and she was rendered unconscious by being struck on the head by a piece of wood. She was taken to a hospital, and when she came to consciousness, in response to the queries of her friends, she sent this telegram : "I am saved, but saved alone." She was saved alone. How will parents feel if they are saved alone? If a man and his wife are saved, and they have neglected to teach their children the principles of the gospel, how will they feel? Is it possible for a father and mother to enjoy the felicity of heaven when they realize that by their indifference, and neglect of parental duty, their sons and daughters, untaught in the principles of the gospel, and in some cases not baptized for the remission of sins, have taken a downward path? I repeat, can a father or mother feel happy in heaven if their children are not with them? ¶

I rejoice in the glorious associations which the gospel brings to us. We hear people say sometimes that, if we love God we will be saved in the day of judgment. But, love is the fulfilling of the law. The truest evidence of loving our children is that we teach them the principles of the gospel, and bring them up in the fear of the Lord. The deepest anguish and sorrow comes when men and women see their children going astray. The saddest cry is that which is wrung from the hearts of many mothers in this fair country: "O where is my wandering boy tonight?" ¶

God is not going to be mocked. If He established the gospel for the salvation of men, as we testify, then it is the only thing that will bring us unto eternal life. If a man fails to obey the principles of the gospel, how can he say that he loves God? Jesus said, "If ye love me, keep my commandments." What other church teaches the glorious doctrine that man is made in the personal image of God ? What other church proclaims that faith, repentance, and baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, and laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, are essential unto salvation? Jesus said: "It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." Man has no authority to cut off from the gospel the principle of baptism ; he cannot deny the gift of the Holy Ghost. He has not the right to say to his fellow creature you may obey one principle of the gospel and discard another. The Redeemer said that we should live "by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." This is the gospel that the Lord enjoins us to teach unto our children, and that we are taking unto the nations of the earth. ¶

The Lord inspired Luther, Calvin, Knox, and all other great reformers, to teach the children of men that measure of truth which He designed they should have; but today the fullness of the gospel has been restored to the earth, and we are basking in its glorious sunlight. Some people say, "Is not the religion of my father and mother good enough for me? They were good people, and if I can live to be as good as my father and mother, I am satisfied." But, in that, men and women deceive themselves. Our fathers and mothers lived up to the best light they had before the gospel was restored. They obeyed God to the best of their ability, when they lived up to the measure of truth He gave unto them. But the Lord in this day hath spoken unto the people and commanded that they should obey the fullness of the everlasting gospel. This gospel means much more to you and me. It teaches the eternity of the marriage covenant ; that father, mother, and children shall be reunited in heaven, if they live pure lives and work for the salvation of their fellow creatures. And so, I say it is essential to obey the gospel that has this glorious power. At the last day it will be well for us to be able to say that we belong to the Church of the Son of God, that has and exercises the power of uniting husband and wife for time and all eternity, cementing family ties so that they will exist for ever. When I think of these glorious blessings, I say, Thank God for the gospel. I want to live up to its teachings, so as to gain the exaltation which it will surely bring unto the faithful. ¶

Brethren and sisters, let us not be discouraged. Despair cometh from beneath, but hope cometh from above. The Lord is our Father. He is carrying this work on to a glorious consummation. God grant that you and I may not fall by the wayside, but that when the end comes, when we pass to that sleep from which the Lord, in His own due time, will awaken us, God grant that we may all meet together, firm in the faith, rejoicing in the true gospel and the reward of the righteous; which is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen. ¶