Pulpit

Determination to Be Diligent in Duties

John R. Winder, First Counselor in the First Presidency

1909 April General Conference·First Day Morning Session·1909-04-04

Determination to be diligent in duties, notwithstanding advanced age.

I am delighted, my brethren and sisters, to have one more opportunity of meeting with you in general conference. President Smith asked the question, "What shall we do?" Answering that for myself, what shall I do? I propose to serve the Lord with all my might, mind and strength while I shall be permitted to remain here upon the earth; this is my determination. Every day that I live I feel that I am under renewed obligations to my Heavenly Father for His continued mercies and blessings to me. I often think there is no person, that I know of, who is under greater obligations to the Lord than I am for the many blessings He has bestow-ed upon me during my entire life; and for extending my days until the present time. He has been so kind and merciful to me that I could not, for one moment, be so ungrateful as to fail to acknowledge the hand of the Lord. I expect to occupy only a few moments, but I am glad to have this opportunity of expressing to you my determination to continue in this work, and especially to keep sacred and holy the covenants I have made up to the present time, and seek to discharge and fulfill every duty that devolves upon me, with greater faithfulness in the future than I have done in the past. This morning, as I listened to the words of our President, my soul was filled with delight, and with a renewed determination to perform my duties, just so far as I am able to do so.

It may not be necessary for me to say to you, my brethren and sisters, that this is the eighty-eighth year of my life. Do you not think that the Lord has been good to me? I certainly would be ungrateful did I not serve Him through the remainder of my days, with all my might, mind and strength. I expect to stand by my President, to be on hand to assist him, in my humble way, to the extent of my ability, and as the Lord will give me strength.

While the choir was singing the hymn this morning, this verse attracted my attention:

Lift up your hearts in praise to God; Let your rejoicings never cease; Though tribulations rage abroad, Christ says, "In me ye shall have peace."

May the Lord bless the people of Israel in all their abidings. God bless you all, my brethren and sisters, and may He help me to carry out the determination which I have expressed this morning, to the fullest extent, is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Cite this talkJohn R. Winder, "Determination to Be Diligent in Duties," 1909 April General Conference, First Day Morning Session (1909-04-04). Pulpit Vault, 1909-04-winder-diligent-in-duties. Authoritative print text from archive.org.Pulpit Vault, edition of 23 September 2026 (commit 4bdc6ac627).
Elsewhere in the corpus
  1. 1902The Onward Progress of the Work of GodChristian D. Fjeldsted¶ 6
  2. 1907The Sublime Themes of the Songs of ZionRudger Clawson¶ 6
  3. 1857Self-Government—True Reformation—Character of God—Preaching by the Spirit—SanctificationBrigham Young¶ 6
  4. 1904Peace and GoodwillFrancis M. Lyman¶ 6
  5. 1907Closing Address: God's Blessings Upon the SaintsJoseph F. Smith¶ 6

Passages elsewhere in the record that speak where this talk speaks — nearest first, found by comparing paragraph texts. Each opens at the cited paragraph.