Every Saint Entitled to a Testimony

I appreciate, as a very great privilege, this opportunity of meeting with such a large congregation of Latter-day Saints and, possibly, with some of our friends and neighbors who are not Latter-day Saints. ¶

We had a very profitable meeting this morning, and the key-note was given to us in regard to the building up of our state and of the sections of country already occupied by the Latter-day Saints. I have felt, for a long time, the necessity of advising our brethren and sisters to stay at home, to stay in our state of Utah and in other nearby sections that have been selected for the gathering of the Latter-day Saints, where stakes have been organized, and where wards, in great numbers, have been established. It is not a good thing for us to have the spirit of wandering from one state to another, or from one stake to another, or from one ward to another. It occurs, occasionally, that moves are necessary, but as a rule it is better to stay settled and established, developing our farms and our business affairs, establishing homes, and becoming solid, stable citizens of our common country. I believe it is a bad habit that the brethren sometimes get into, of moving about, roaming about and losing their standing and fellowship in the Church, and making new acquaintances instead of remaining settled and fixed in the country — especially, as suggested by the President, this morning, in our own country. Utah is not yet thickly populated. There isn't a city, nor a county, in the state, that I think of at the present time, that is thickly populated. There is plenty of room in our state — in Salt Lake valley, Weber valley, Utah valley, Juab, Sanpete, Millard, Beaver, Iron, and all the southern part of the state, as well as in the northern part. ¶

Everywhere, there is plenty of room in Utah, but it is rapidly filling up with our friends and neighbors from abroad, and it will be well for us, my brethren and sisters, to heed the counsel given this morning to stay at home and locate, that we may occupy this land and develop the resources of our country. We do not need to go abroad for mining facilities; we do not need to go abroad for coal mining, gold mining, silver mining, lead mining, or copper mining. We have as fine prospects and as profitable opportunities in this state as can be found in any of our neighboring states. Every little while there are openings and opportunities in agricultural lines; new sections are being opened, and the water is being better controlled. I think I shall be perfectly safe in saying that for the future our great work will be to take care of the water that we have and utilize it properly, so the lands of our state will be suitably irrigated. There is plenty of moisture; the country is desirable, and it is fruitful, and if it is not occupied by the Latter-day Saints, it will be occupied by our friends who are not Latter-day Saints, because it is inviting. All the measures and points of superiority in our state are being appreciated and our friends are coming in with their capital. We do not object to their coming; we have no objection to that, but we want to stay ourselves and share with them the good things of which these mountain valleys are so fruitful. ¶

We want to stay at home. Our mission carries us abroad a great deal to preach the Gospel, but we will find an ample field for preaching the Gospel right here at home, for those who are not able to go abroad. We have in the field, now, an army of a couple of thousand men, or more, and we expect to keep that army up to that standard —the standing army of the Church of Jesus Christ. We want to keep it up to two thousand men, or near that; and possibly increase it as we can. As we listen to the reports of the presidents of missions, when they come to see us twice a year, at least the presidents of missions in the United States, we discover that they all want more missionaries. There is no section of the country that is satisfied. They are all calling for more brethren: We want more German speakers; we want more Scandinavian Elders, or those who speak the language of that country; and Elders who speak Dutch, French, and Spanish can be used to good advantage. We are in need of a great deal of help, and I thought of this matter when I looked over the congregation, this morning, and saw such a large percentage of brethren. I do not think I have ever seen the congregation so well supplied with men as this morning. Whether the storm kept some of the sisters away, or not, I cannot say, but at any rate the brethren braved the storm and seemed to be here in very great numbers. I want to ask my brethren, with whom I am particularly interested, the Seventies to prepare for this work. We want you ready for missionary work. We want the Bishops to supply us with plenty of Seventies, for the Seventies are at their service, ready to be called upon. We want our brethren, particularly the Seventies, to be out of debt and in condition to preach the Gospel. We are in great need of experienced and trained men. The brethren complain that they are getting too large percentage of the young men, who have never been in the missionary field before, young men as young as twenty, and under twenty, years of age, and from that to twenty-five, who have had no training at all, except what they have had at home. We would ask the Bishops and presiding brethren that when requisition is made for ten, twenty, thirty, or forty men, you send us at least one-third of trained, experienced and tried men. Unless you do this, our presidents of missions will not be satisfied. We want to see the time when the field will be pretty well occupied with men who are seventies, who are consecrated and dedicated to this calling and ministry, having had training, so they may go out into the world representing the Lord, being His witnesses — men who know the Lord lives, for every Seventy who has done his duty fairly well is entitled to that testimony; so is every Elder and every High Priest entitled to that same testimony, to know that God lives, to know that Jesus is the Christ, that He lives, and that He is the Redeemer of the world. All Latter-day Saints are entitled to this testimony and witness. ¶

If there be doubts or misgivings in the hearts of any of the Latter-day Saints, in regard to the truth of the Gospel as revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith, I would like to say that it is our own fault. That would be evidence that we had not quite done the will of the Lord, for all who do the will of the Lord, we understand, will know of the doctrine. They will not only know of the doctrine, but they will know of the divinity of the Church; they will know of its authority. They will know of the Father; they will have a witness, for the Son will bear witness to them of the Father, and the Father will bear witness to them of the Son; and the Holy Ghost will bear witness, to all Saints, of the Father and the Son. So, no Latter-day Saint ever need to be without a testimony. It has occurred at times that Elders, over conscientious, have been afraid to bear testimony that they knew the Gospel was true, that they knew the Prophet Joseph was sent of God. They have been fearful lest they might bear testimony to something that they did not know to be true. Now, all Latter-day Saints are entitled to a witness and to know, and I thought, just in connection with this, I would read one or two verses from the ninety-third section of the Doctrine and Covenants: "Verily, thus saith the Lord, it shall come to pass that every soul who forsaketh their sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am, "And that I am the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world; "And that I am in the Father, and the Father in me, and the Father and I are one." ¶

Every Latter-day Saint is entitled to this witness and testimony. If we have not received this witness and testimony, my brethren and my sisters, I want you all to remember that the fault is ours and not the Lord's; for every one is entitled to that witness, through faith and repentance, forsaking all sin, baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, and the reception of the Holy Ghost through the laying on of hands. Now, if any of our brethren and sisters have lived for years without really knowing, being thoroughly satisfied and thoroughly convinced, just as positive as of anything in life, that this work is of God, if they have lacked that witness and testimony it is their fault, for it is not possible for a man to do the will of the Father and not know the doctrine. If we do His will, we shall know. We cannot avoid knowing, any more than we can avoid anything else. We know by what we see and hear and feel and taste, if our senses are involved and are convinced; and so it is with every one who has done the will of the Father. Let us, my brethren and sisters, see to it that we be not satisfied until we are so established in the Gospel, with a knowledge of the truth, that we shall be unshaken and stable — not like the wind and the waves that come and go, but serene and settled and established in our faith, so that nothing may occur to arouse questions in our hearts and minds in regard to the Gospel of the Lord Jesus, or in regard to our heavenly Father, but that we shall know that He lives, that we shall know that Jesus is the Christ, our Redeemer and Savior, and that we may realize what He has done for us. He has not made requirements of us, nor given us commandments that we are not able to keep, for it is quite possible for us to meet every requirement He has made of us; and thus we may approach the injunction that He made, that His disciples should be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect. ¶

No doubt, our heavenly Father, as well as the Son and the righteous who have gone before us have done their duty, and done their best. That is what is required of us. Our responsibilities are great; the requirements made of us in the world today are very exacting; though we be modest, and hesitate in standing before congregations of people, as is the case with many of our brethren and many sisters, also, to advocate the Gospel at home and abroad, yet there is one most eloquent sermon that we are all competent to preach wherever we are, in our own homes and families, in our own neighborhoods, and abroad, and that is the sermon of correct and proper example. We can be moral, upright, true, and faithful. We can love one another; we can deal justly by one another; and we cannot please God without all these virtues are developed in us. We cannot please the Lord with any one virtue, although the Apostle Paul made this declaration that without faith it is impossible to please God. It is not possible to please the Lord with faith alone. A genuine, living faith, never goes alone; it always produces works; it moves upon intelligences, and requires them and propels them to works of righteousness. So that if Paul declares that without faith it is impossible to please God, I think I can just as safely say that without works it is impossible to please God. I may also say that without faith we will not work, and we have not worked without faith; we have labored just in proportion to the faith that we enjoy. Our works in the future will determine the measure of our faith, for if men have faith they work. If men have faith in the principle of prayer, they will pray; if in the principle of tithing, they will meet their tithing obligation; they will pay their tithing just according to the measure of their faith. That is what you and I have been doing in the past, and it is what we will do in the future, according to the measure of our faith. So will we meet that requirement, according to the measure of our faith. So will we repent of our sins, and work righteousness, serve the Lord and honor Him, and make good use of the opportunities that He places in our way. ¶

Not only is the field to be filled with missionaries abroad, for that seems to be the field assigned particularly to the Seventies and to the Elders— the Seventies particularly are expected to go out into the field and be traveling Elders all their lives—but the greater field, that is, the field that can be occupied by greater numbers, and always will be, is the home field. It is becoming more important, by reason of the process of gathering, not only the gathering that we are doing as Latter-day Saints, but the gathering of other people into our borders, into our neighborhood, and into our nation,— for they are coming from all nations and from all peoples. They are to receive the Gospel and be taught it in the United States as well as in the outside world. They are to receive it in the states and territories, wherever the Latter-day Saints are located, and it will be carried to other parts. It is our duty to preach the Gospel. That is our chief calling— to preach the Gospel by word, to preach it by our conduct throughout our lives. Nothing is stronger, nothing is more real, or more reliable and substantial than the good example that men set in their lives. ¶

I want to say just a word of commendation for our brethren who are at the head of our missionary work abroad, for our brethren who are at the head of our stakes of Zion and of our wards and quorums, and all the brethren and sisters who are at the head of the various associations. I believe that the Church has never been in better condition than it is today, that we are making good progress, good headway, and that the secret of our success and improvement lies very materially in the fact that the presiding brethren and sisters lead in their good examples — not alone in their preaching and in their teaching and the like, but they are living better lives. I believe we are living better and doing better than we have ever done before. I believe more of us are sober, steady, and temperate; more of us are faithful and are struggling to set good examples before the departments that are entrusted to our care. That is my observation in my traveling, and I believe it is the observation of my brethren who travel in all the stakes of Zion. I believe the same is true of our brethren abroad, in all the missionary fields. The reins are being held fairly close and safe, and our brethren are being better trained and are more faithful. The training and schooling they have at home has its influence upon them and is preparing them for the ministry. We are in the ministry at home all the time; there is a field of labor on every hand. We need to have no trouble because we cannot go abroad. Some may be anxious to go abroad, and there is plenty of labor abroad. We will welcome all the brethren that can be furnished; we can employ all that the Bishops can send us. We can employ them all and give them plenty of opportunity abroad; and when that is done, and every man is satisfied with going into the field, we will have the greater army, the very great majority of all the priesthood and of all the people here at home, in the home missionary field. ¶

I want to exhort my brethren and sisters — not only the Bishops and the presiding brethren and leading sisters, not only the prominent men in official positions, and those in the quorums of the priesthood, — not only them but every Latter-day Saint, is required to set a good example and preach the Gospel by example and precept. We are expected to use our tongues to talk, and we are to labor faithfully here at home, just as faithfully as though we were abroad, and our lives should be just as blameless here at home as would be possible if we were in the mission field. ¶

Every man who has received the priesthood has a mission and a ministry to perform — from the last deacon ordained to the first man who bears the priesthood and holds the most lofty position in the Church. It is just as necessary for the deacon to be pure and upright, to perform his duty and be active in his field of labor, under the direction of the Bishop who presides over him, as it is for the brethren who stand in responsible positions in wards, and stakes, and in the presiding quorums of the Church to perform the duties devolving upon them. It will take just as good living to save one of us as it will to save the Prophet. We must serve the Lord and honor Him; we must be pure in our thoughts, in our words, in our conduct, and seek to be in communion with Him and honor Him continually. If men do that, they will have joy in this life. We will have a taste of heaven before we get there; in fact, we will have a little heaven here — and it is a good thing to have it commence here. If we get a little taste of it here, we will have a good deal of faith in the heaven of the future. I am pleased to say that we are surrounded with splendid material, splendid men, a splendid body of young men who are being developed and trained — those who go abroad and those who stay at home. Our organizations, our auxiliary associations, our educational institutions of higher learning, and our splendid district schools. ¶

Great efforts are being made for the education of the people, and our opportunities are just as fine as can be found in any state surrounding us; in fact, I think we average well with the United States in that regard, and we have as fine specimens of boys and girls as can be found; they are healthful, strong, and with good constitutions. If they are but taken care of and properly trained, so that they will love literature, love to learn, love to labor— for it takes hard work and lots of it — they will become useful, upright men and women. It takes hard study and application to prepare ourselves for the work we are expected to engage in. We must learn the Lord, and be acquainted with Him; to learn His Spirit, and know the operations thereof, that we may not be deceived by men, that we may not be deceived by spirits that are abroad in the earth. The Lord is at hand, and ready to sustain us and to inspire us and qualify us for the responsibilities that rest upon us. ¶

I thank the Lord for the conditions that prevail today — the conditions that are right and pleasing and proper in His sight. There are conditions that we regret, of course, and I suppose there will be for a long time. I presume there are conditions that the Lord has always regretted in fallen men; and He is anxious for their salvation, as we are anxious for the salvation of our own children. But we have our agency, and, Latter-day Saints, if we examine ourselves, we will find that we have obtained the measure of faith according to the way we have devoted ourselves and exercised our agency in the service of the Lord. Our faith will grow with cultivation; our love of literature, our love of learning, our love of intelligence, wisdom, judgment, morality, and purity, will all increase with cultivation. If we live as we ought to live, for a few years, it becomes easy for us to live a proper life and to crucify the appetites that have afflicted us and caused us trouble and sorrow; and we are soon able to control our tempers, our passions, and every evil influence with which we are afflicted, and we can exercise such control that we can require ourselves to do just exactly what is right, whether other people do as they ought or not. It is the duty of Latter-day Saints to do what is right; and the right will prevail. It will prevail with individuals; it will prevail with the community; and it is found, I believe, quite generally with the majority of men and women. They love the right, they love the truth — I believe. They are not always enlightened; they do not always comprehend the truth and understand it; they are not always able to discern it and know it, but what they think is right and just and proper, I believe, prevails in the minds of the children of men. In fact, I believe that all men, as a rule, are more good than they are bad. I believe there is more good in man than there is wickedness, more righteousness, more of the love of truth and charity, justice and mercy. I believe these virtues prevail, in men quite generally; yet there are very serious vices, no doubt, among people; but, as a rule, I have faith in men, faith in humanity, and it gives me faith when I discover that the Lord has had faith in His children, and that it has been pretty well determined that not many of them shall be finally lost. We cross the track in our wandering, on our crooked way as we are traveling, but finally we will be brought back, and the Lord has declared unto us that very nearly all of His children will be saved. There are but few that will be absolutely lost, and that will go with the sons of perdition. Nearly all will be saved in some degree of glory and salvation, just according to what they have earned. That is what we shall receive finally. ¶

The Lord has laid down His life and shed His blood and prepared the way for His people. He has done this for everybody — not for Latter-day Saints alone, but for every one of the children of God. There is not one born in the earth but what is entitled to receive and enjoy salvation, and the Lord will bless and redeem and save all that can be saved. As long as men will repent and reform and do better, the Lord will remember them; He will not forget them, and they will never be lost sight of; but, blessed are they who seek the Lord early and walk uprightly before Him. As quoted by the President, this morning: "He that seeketh me early shall find me, and shall not be forsaken." That is the word of the Lord. What a fine thing it is when the boys and girls seek the Lord early, and where they commence in early life to serve Him regularly. It comes so natural for them when they are taught by their parents and led by the example of their parents and the spirit of the Lord. For His Spirit is conferred upon them early in life; it is about the first thing they are entitled to receive — the Spirit of the Lord, at the hands of His servants, when they start life. Jesus Himself set this example, for in His day the little children were brought to Him, and He took them in His arms and blest them, that they should have favor and fellowship with the Lord, and receive His assistance in their infancy. He arranged to have them taken care of, that Satan should never be able to carry off little children, but that they should be preserved and redeemed by His blood and offering. We must become like them; we must be led by the Spirit ' of the Lord; we must be entitled to forgiveness and have freedom from sin and transgression. We have a big struggle in this life, but our obligation and undertaking with the Lord has been to serve Him until the end of our mortal days. Let us try to do that, or, rather, let us do it! Let us have faith that we can do it, and then there will be no serious difficulty, for it is easier and better to be saved than it is to be damned. Of course, it is a downhill road, I suppose, to be damned; and an up-hill road to be saved; but it is easier and better to travel uphill than down-hill in sin and transgression. Let us serve the Lord and honor Him; let us set a good example to the world, that they may find among us the most temperate and practical people that there are to be found — in business matters, in spiritual matters, in Church matters. Let us preach the Gospel to the world; let us serve the Lord and live according to our professions. Let us keep the Sabbath day holy, and do all the things that He has commanded, that we may be entitled to enjoy from the Lord the gifts of the Holy Ghost. That is the exhortation that I feel to present to this great gathering of Latter-day Saints on this occasion. I believe it is good doctrine for our friends as well. The way has been prepared, and the Lord has so arranged that all who serve Him and keep His commandments shall know the doctrine. They shall see His face and know that He is. We shall all know the Father and the Son, through our devotion and faithfulness to the end of this mortal life of ours. Let me so exhort you, my brethren and sisters, and pray that God may bless and lead us gently in the ways of righteousness and truth. Let us sin no more, for it is not necessary, and it is quite possible for us to do just what is right. I trust we may do so and enjoy the outpouring of the Spirit of the Lord abundantly, in all our labors and ministry at home and throughout the world, through Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶