Spreading the Truth in the East

(Late President of Eastern States Mission). ¶

About eighty-nine years ago, a young man, possessing that childlike faith that knows no doubt, as the result of an earnest, humble prayer, received a visit from the Father and the Son. The first question that he was privileged to ask was, "Which of all the denominations or churches is right?" This was a boy only 14 years of age ; but whether men are old or young, whether they are learned or unlearned, they must each ask this very important question, when they have a desire to be reconciled to God, or to find the true philosophy of life. And those who are not asking themselves this question have not ceased to do so because of the simplicity, but rather because of the complexity of the question. There may be some who are not asking the question, "Which of all the denominations is right," but if they are not, they are trying to find for themselves, or carve for themselves, a path through the forest of theory, a road through the desert of doubt, without a chart or compass, or without ecclesiastical leadership. Without some knowledge from a divine source, it would be impossible for any one from the various philosophies of life to determine, and be able to answer this question. There are some who are susceptible to the impression of the Spirit, some who know and feel the truth through intuition, inspiration, and revelation. There are others, like Thomas, who need to have some lines of reason so tangible that they can be led up to the door of knowledge that they may knock in order to have it opened unto them. It is probably for the guidance of this class of people that the Master said, "By their fruits you shall know them," and that the Apostle Paul said, "Whatsoever you plant, that shall you also reap." Hence we know, from these two unquestioned authorities, that there is a natural law prevailing in the spiritual world, that our salvation comes as natural as corn grows; that character grows just as other products may grow, in harmony with natural law. ¶

But which of these two rules are you going to apply to determine what you shall do? Without doubt, the test of every flower or plant, or blooming tree, is eventually in the fruit that it bears. But the farmer, in order to be even ordinarily successful, must be able to determine long before the fruit is ripened, yes, before the flower has bloomed, and even before the tiny shoot has broken through the soil, he must be able to determine what the harvest shall be. So, too, in our lives we may be able to judge something by the fruit, but if we wait until the fruit is going to ripen in our own lives, it is too late then to change the harvest so far as you and I are concerned. We want to know the kind of seed we are going to plant. ¶

When it comes to a test of the various seed stores, the various agricultural departments, etc., it is not in the catalogues, it is not in the pictures they paint, but it is in the seed that they furnish. So. too, in the various churches, it is not the virtues they proclaim that you can judge by. It is in the seed of eternal truth that they are able to implant; and I feel certain, my friends, that if you will get down to these seed truths and then apply your reason and see what the result will be, you can determine fairly well what the fruit of any system may be. Some of these truths have been referred to by President Rich. They have stopped planting some of the old errors that have heretofore been planted in the hearts of men. Before leaving this analogy I would like to make this remark upon it: There is no man in this congregation but knows a good peach or a good apple when he sees it. But why don't all gather good apples and peaches ? It is because you are too lazy to get the right kind of seed to plant; you do not get the right kind of trees to put into the soil ; you do not prepare the soil as you should. You know what a good horse looks like ; why don't you have good horses? You are too careless to get the right kind of stock to start with ; you do not have the right kind of horses. So too, in examining the various churches. They go into this church and hear a fine sermon upon virtue, and say, "Anyone can believe that, that is true. They preached virtue before Christ, and from the days of Adam down to the present. Every man knows virtue." But, it is to get the seed that will produce it. I venture to say that, you can go into a community where every man and woman is a drunkard and preach that drunkenness is better than temperance, and you will be run out of that place. Stand up in a place where vice abounds, and preach that vice is better than virtue, and you would be howled down, because, instinctively, men seem to know what virtue is, even when they have lost it. ¶

Although they have preached charity for hundreds and thousands of years, yet we have not practiced charity. And why is it? It is because the right kind of seeds have not been planted. We can talk about charity. You can talk about the age of the brotherhood of man. But that age will never come until it is preceded by that inherent belief that there is a real relationship existing between us. One of the greatest ministers of the age preached a sermon some time ago in New York City. It was called the greatest sermon that has ever been preached on the island, since the time it was bought from the Indians for about $25 worth of trinkets; and it is in harmony with what Brother Rich testified to you. He said "How long have we heard the old slogan of 'miserable sinners,' 'depraved wretches,' 'created things!' But if you ever get anything great out of men, you must make them believe that there is something great in them ; and if you make them believe they are just 'created things,' 'miserable wretches,' 'everlasting sinners,' waiting an eternal and everlasting torment and damnation, you will never get anything great out of them. If I had a boy that was going to be a chimney-sweep, I would want to make him feel that he was good enough to sweep out Vesuvius." He then related anecdotes and stories of the power that belief had over the actions of men, and then he said: "We cannot too strongly insist upon the idea that we are in reality the sons of God; that we are not 'created things,' but that we are begotten spirits. If you make a man feel that he is a tramp, he will be a tramp. If you make him feel that he is a king, he will be a king. Make him feel that in reality he is a son of God and he will strive to be like his Father." Humanity is much alike the world over, and whatever seed of thought is planted, it is bound to crop out into action. In the age when they believed, in eternal torment, when they thought that a man was a heretic when he differed from others in belief, that the Lord, the great Creator, was just waiting until he passed the portals of death to plunge men into an eternal punishment, they thought, of course, they were only doing a little of God's service in administering a little of this punishment before they went over there, and to give them a warning. It was not their natural meanness, it was only a natural product of the seed that was planted. Can you see the difference between a truth and an error implanted in the mind? One that you are simply a "created thing ;" the other, the idea that you are a begotten spirit. That one great revelation is working a reformation throughout the world, the eternal truth is being implanted in the hearts of men, that God is an eternal being, that He is actually the father of our spirits. Following out that idea, we gradually come to feel that if God is our Father, Christ is really our elder brother, and we are all brethren, and sisters, Until men feel this, they will never act like it, because where there is no relationship understood, there will be no obligation acknowledged, and where there is no obligation acknowledged, there will be no conscience, because conscience is the obligation that we feel one toward another. Regardless of creeds, regardless of dogma, regardless, perhaps, of revelation we feel instinctively a kind of relationship to each other. But just to the degree that the idea is hazy or uncertain in the minds of men, just to that degree will our actions be selfish and insincere. You can test it. Suppose you meet a man, he is, perhaps, in prison, he has no way of helping himself. If he happens to be your own brother, you give the last dollar to help him out of trouble, because you feel that he is a part of yourself. Suppose that he is your cousin, you say: "let his brother help him," You do not feel much obligation. Suppose he is your forty-second cousin, do you feel the same obligation? You will feel that he is your brother only to that extent that you will acknowledge the relationship. There is very little conscience between the white man of Europe and the yellow man of Asia ; there is no relationship acknowledged between them. There was no conscience between the black man of the south; and his white owner, because there was no relationship acknowledged between them. And just to the degree that this idea, this great, grand truth, revealed through the modern Prophet, becomes generally understood, and fully felt, to that degree will we come nearer to this age of the brotherhood of man. ¶

Suppose that instead of preaching, instead of believing in eternal punishment, that God's anger endures forever, you implant in the hearts of man that God's mercy endures forever, that you implant in their minds the idea that Christ designs to save the whole world, that whether men are recreant in this world or not, whether they come to Christ here or not, whether they have had an opportunity to hear him or not, that, though they may suffer for the sins they have committed, infinite punishment will not be permitted for a finite sin; when they have faith in Jesus Christ, when they have complied with these conditions, when they repent of their sins, when they turn toward God, that His mercy will be extended to them. Why, you never could treat a man that did not happen to believe or see as you do, as you would treat him if you believed that. Supposing that one principle had been implanted in the minds of men in the early days, do you think there would ever have been an inquisition? Do you think they would have invented those terrible torment machines in order to punish men? No. Their hearts " would have been full of charity, full of toleration. ¶

If men always had believed in continuous revelation, if children had been taught in their Sunday schools, "We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the kingdom of God," do you think the Christian would have wanted to kill the Mohommedan simply because the Mohammedan brought the truths that he had in competition, as they thought, with the truths of the Bible? Mormonism is prepared to receive every man's truth, to receive all revelation that God may send through whatever channels He may use, and through every window light may shine into this darkened chamber of humanity in which we live. Truth does not conflict with truth. ¶

You know that men have been preaching; charity throughout all the ages. Was the Christian ever charitable to the Jew? No, the Pharaohs of Egypt, the Czars of Russia, the Kings of Assyria, the godless inquisitors of Europe all united to exterminate that race of people. But when the Gospel was restored, one of the first things the prophet did was to send men to Jerusalem. To see what they would pillage and rob and take from them? No, he sent the men to bless the land, and dedicate it that the Jew might again have a home and a nation; and we feel kindly toward the Jew. Why? Because we can feel our relationship to him ; and we pray for the day when the Lord will remember His promises to them, and that they may turn and repent of their ways. The Indian too, how was he treated by the Christians even of this Christian nation? They thought it almost as lawful to hunt and kill Indians as buffalos ; but when the priesthood was restored, and this Book of Mormon was given to us, we learned that we played with the Indians in the tents of Jacob. Our fore-fathers played together around the tents of the old Israelities, and we again feel friendly toward the Indian. Brigham Young said, "It is cheaper to feed them than to fight them," You will never see a Latter-day Saint who understands that record that would kill an Indian. I believe that one of our people would rather kill a white man, because he feels he is more his equal, than the Indian in his weakened condition. What causes that difference of attitude? It is not because we are different people; it is because of the seeds of truth that are springing up in our souls and bearing the harvest of charity, and toleration, and fellowship. ¶

Mormonism has a message of love and peace to all the world, to the Jew, and to the Gentile, to the Indian and to the heathen, and whether they are high or low, we feel that relationship to them. If they are weak, they need our help, if thev are high, we only rejoice in it. And we owe this fruit of charity to the seeds of Gospel truths that have been implanted in our souls. Unless men have that knowledge of one supreme God, unless they do know their relationship, they cannot possibly know their relationship to each other, and without knowing their relationship to each other, without feeling that relationship, that brotherhood, the age of the brotherhood of man never could come about; but by feeling it, by really believing it, it never could be staid. If we can convert man to it, until right down in their souls they believe and feel that one eternal truth, then the success of the world, the triumph of righteousness, is secured. I hope that, as Latter-day Saints, we will appreciate this heritage of truth that has been given to us, and that we who have enlisted under the standard of righteousness will glorify the cause, and continue to fight under that flag until righteousness shall triumph, until the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our God, whose right it is to reign. ¶

I bear my testimony to you, my brethren and sisters and friends, that I do know that Jesus is the Christ, that Joseph Smith was a prophet of the living God, and that the Gospel had been restored to the earth in this day and age of the world. As President Joseph F. Smith said this morning, and as Brother Ellsworth testified, all of you who are under the sound of my voice can receive this same testimony, by applying the principles of the Gospel to your lives. ¶

I ask God's blessings upon you all, that He may seal upon your minds the truths that you have heard in this conference, and I ask it in the name of Jesus. Amen. ¶

Prof. Elihu Call sang the favorite hymn, "O my Father, Thou that dwellest." ¶