Knowledge of God possessed by the Saints

Knowledge of God possessed by the Saints. — Individual effort to conform to God's laws. — God's Church and servants guided by inspiration. — ¶

Some persecute the Church ignorantly. — Remarkable development of the Church in future. — Blessings invoked upon the choir, the congregation, the Saints, this Government, and all nations. ¶

I very greatly desire the assistance of the Spirit of the Lord, which has been so generously enjoyed by the brethren who have occupied the time. In my heart there has been the same feeling, the same faith and inspiration that the brethren have enjoyed ; and while I speak to you I trust that you may discern that we are united, that we see alike, that we have the same spirit, the same faith, and are indeed the servants of the Lord. I have not only discovered this fact in connection with my brethren who are the chief elders of the Church, but I have discovered the same in the chief elders of the stakes of Zion, the presiding brethren, and they discover it in all the quorums and associations of the priesthood and of the people, as I have felt it in the councils of my brethren. ¶

I am sure that this great multitude of people, including the overflow meetings, numbering possibly fifteen thousand souls, today, is an evidence that the Lord is pleased with His people as a whole. There may be individual instances and cases, as has always been, and no doubt will be to the end, of those who do not have the favor and ap- ¶

proval of the Lord in their conduct ; but, quite generally, the overwhelming majority of the Latter-day Saints enjoy a rich measure of His Spirit. You will remember that the Lord made the statement during His ministry, as you will find in the seventh chapter of St. John, that the work is the Father's, and that if any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it is of God, or whether it is of man. I desire to make this impression upon the hearts of those who are before me today, that the secret of the success, and the measure of union enjoyed by the Latter-day Saints, is in consequence of their doing the will of the Father, and that all who have so done not alone know of the truth of the doctrines but they know the Father, they know the Son : and the Holy Ghost has borne record to the hearts of the Latter-day Saints, and has established a testimony within their souls in regard to our heavenly Father, in regard to His Son, and in regard to the Holy Ghost. Every individual member of the Church has that testimony, so far as he or she has done His will and kept His commandments. If there is anything lacking of strength and faith in their hearts, they may be weak in that testimony ; but the secret of the strength of this Church, with its less than a half million members, possibly, in the world, is due entirely to the faith of the people, the faith with which God has endowed them. The measure of that faith is just in proportion to their devotion and faithfulness ; and it grows stronger with the people. ¶

There is permanent improvement and advancement among the Latter-day Saints, when you make allowance for our waywardness, our ¶

transgressions, and sins, and the like. The Latter-day Saints are a magnificent people, gathered together from the nations of the earth, choice men and women of an independence of character, and of stamina and faith, who are willing to labor for the building up of the kingdom, willing to make all the sacrifices that are necessary, which they have done up to the present, and will do to the end. So far as we have failed and are faulty, we believe in the principle of repentance and reformation, individual repentance and individual reformation which is attending upon our lives. I confess that every member of the Church has a struggle in this fallen world. We have trials ; we live but just a little season, not very long, in this life, less than a hundred years, and we find that it occupies our attention and our best efforts in order to subdue our weaknesses and inclination to go astray ; but the Lord is merciful and patient with us. He has endowed us with a witness and the spirit that bears record of the Father and the Son, as the Holy Ghost bears record of the Father and the Son. We recognize the truth of that testimony ; so do we know the spirit ; we comprehend it, we feel it, and when we come together on occasions of this kind, in a multitude, as we are gathered today, there is a vibration in the heart of every member of this Church and a testimony in regard to the truth. We do know — we know individually ; the father does not have to know for the son, nor the son for the father, nor the mother for the daughter, but each individual soul is entitled to know the Father, and to have that witness, for the Father is revealed by the Holy Ghost. That spirit which bears rec- ¶

ord of the Father and the Son, also bears record to us of His own divinity, bears record to us of the divine mission of the Prophet Joseph, as we have heard the testimonies here, so strong, and so beautifully given in this conference. ¶

I have been overwhelmed with the inspiration of the Lord and the testimony of my brethren, and so have you. I know that this congregation, and all the people who have been here and have listened, have felt the overwhelming influence of the Spirit of God in their souls, and they have a testimony. If I were to ask the question here, how many there are who know that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, and that we enjoy the Holy Ghost, the inspiration and revelations thereof to our souls, this congregation would raise their hands, as they have done today to sustain the authorities of the Church, unanimously, and there would be no opposing vote so far as Latter-day Saints are concerned. We have not reached perfection, but we hope to reach it. We are laboring for that end, to do the will of God, and to be perfect as He is perfect. That is the design and object of our living and being, and to perform our duties faithfully and well. We are under the guidance of the Lord. He has gathered the people and has established them. He has established this Church, and it will remain and abide here, its home is here. The Lord has brought us here, and has sustained us here. He has brought you as well as He has brought me ; every individual member of this Church has been brought here by the Lord. His inspiration and Spirit have rested upon the people, and they have been gathered together. ¶

God's servants have been inspired ; ¶

they have been guided by the inspiration of the Lord, and this Church has been directed by Him. He always has at our head, and will always have at our head, from this time henceforth, a man through whom He can speak. That man is faithful and true, he is reliable and trustworthy, and he is known. The people know him, the people understand and know the voice of the true shepherd. They are not mistaken; they are never mistaken, if they listen to the voice of the true shepherd; and we have the true shepherd. We have the man who represents God, whose words are as the words of the Lord, spoken for our guidance, for the guidance of the kingdom, for the establishment of the work of the Lord, for sending the gospel to the world, to open up His work throughout the earth. The Lord always has His servant, and He speaks through him ; and we listen. When we listen, we are edified, we are instructed, we are then correct in the position that we take and the work that we perform either at home or abroad. I thank the Lord for this. This work does not belong to a few brethren ; it does not belong to a few of the brethren who have presided over us. It never did belong to the Prophet Joseph and his brethren, nor those who have succeeded him. They have been the servants of the Lord ; but the work is the Lord's ; the kingdom is the Lord's ; and the kingdom will be taken care of by the Lord, and He will preserve it, and He will not allow us to go very far astray, for we are surrounded by those who know and can understand the truth and comprehend the spirit. If we are inclined to go astray, we will soon be brought back. If we make mistakes, we will ¶

be corrected. If we go wrong, if we transgress, we will be reproved, of course ; and the Lord will regulate the kingdom, and He will use His servants in the various fields. ¶

At home our stakes are increasing— sixty-one stakes, all represented, I believe, with possibly one exception, all represented in this great conference — sixty stakes of Zion, and representatives of very many of the missions of the United States. It is astonishing to note the inspiration and spirit that we find among this people. The people of the world are discovering the fact that they do not possess the Holy Ghost ; they are discovering the fact that they have not revelation and inspiration from the Lord. There are many men — thinking men, men of ability, men of judgment and experience, and scientific men — they are discovering that they are without God in the world ; that is, that He is not with them, that they have not a testimony. I have this to say of the ministers of the gospel throughout the earth, I accord to every minister, so far as I am acquainted with them, or know anything about them, the belief that they may be honest in their efforts and in the doctrines that they put forth, possibly with the very best light they have. But, they are blinded, conscientiously and honestly blinded, no doubt, as we have had experiences of that kind in the days of the Savior, as well as with men associated with this work in modern times. You remember it was referred to yesterday, by one of the brethren, that Saul of Tarsus, afterwards Paul the apostle, was a conscientious man, an honest man, but in the darkness of his mind, in his waywardness and lack of information, his lack of the spir- ¶

it and understanding of the gospel, he delighted in the persecution of the saints, and he indulged therein. He encouraged the persecution of the saints until his eyes were opened and until he saw the light. That will be the case with us. There will be Pauls raised up among us ; there v ill be men of just such experiences, and, no doubt, there have been already men with experiences of that kind, who have not known the truth, and have felt they were doing God's service when they were trying to destroy the saints, working against us and working against the Prophet Joseph. Many of those people who have persecuted us from the inception of this work have been conscientious and honest, and thought they were doing God's service. Of course, there may have been others who knew better, men who were wilfully wicked : I do not care to say about that ; but many have; in their ignorance, fought against the truth. There have been men with strong prejudices; they believed that we were deluded, and they are against us quite unanimously, because we have entertained the doctrine, the word of the Lord to the Prophet Joseph, that their creeds and doctrines were not pleasing but were really an abomination in the sight of the Lord. ¶

Now, these were not the words of the Prophet ; but they were the words of the Son of God to the Prophet. He did not know — he could not tell anything, in his early life, in regard to these matters, but the Lord manifested to him that His church and kingdom were not upon the earth. The Lord gave the keys of authority and power to the Prophet Joseph; He revealed the truth, the plan of life and salvation and the Prophet Joseph laid ¶

12b ¶

the foundations of this work, as Jesus told him to do ; for, as the Father said, "This is my beloved Son ; hear Him," and he listened to Him. He heard the Savior's voice, He saw Him and knew Him; and the Savior impressed Himself upon him, as did the Father, and he stood up in the midst of the world to declare the truth. He stood almost alone. Occasionally a man came to the rescue and helped him, assisted him in the translation of the Book of Mormon and the like ; but even after the establishment of the Church and its organization, it was difficult for him to find men to stand by him, to be truthful, to be true and faithful. It may be said he trod the winepress alone, as nearly alone as was the Son of God Himself, so far as that is concerned, for the Savior had about Him men that were trusted and more reliable than did the Prophet Joseph. True, there was a Judas with the apostles of the Lord Jesus ; but there were quite a number of brethren who fell by the wayside, men upon whom you would have thought the Prophet could have leaned for support, Yet, he was faithful and true. The Lord was with him and sustained and preserved him until the foundations of this work were laid, and until men were prepared to take up the work and carry it along — Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Lorenzo Snow, as well as the Prophet who is with us today. These men were developed under the inspiration of the Lord, and they have been surrounded by men that were trustworthy, honorable and reliable, men who have upheld their hands, and they have been successful. They will be successful to the end. ¶

The Lord will take care of His ¶

kingdom and sustain His work. He will send this gospel to all the world, and the world will receive the doctrines, eventually, and the Lord will inspire their hearts and prepare them to accept the truth. Great men will rise up and receive the truth that has been advocated and brought into the world through the inspiration of the Lord upon the Prophet Joseph Smith. Men do not now acknowledge or recognize from whence it came, but finally it will be known, and the Lord will manifest to them the truth. Strong men, great and powerful men will be found among the nations of the earth, who will sustain this work and come to its rescue. It will be magnified and enlarged and established among the children of men. It will never grow less. It has quite an appearance today among the Christian denominations of the earth, but it will be still more remarkable in the future. The Lord will magnify us, and strengthen us, and establish His kingdom upon the earth. That is my testimony, and I wanted to bear this testimony in connection with the testimonies that have been borne today and in the other sessions of our conference. From the opening address by President Smith, every man has borne testimony to the truth. These testimonies are reliable and they are in force in the earth among the children of men. We have had the doctrines of the gospel laid before us so splendidly and simply. ¶

Now, I feel to bless this congregation, and I think I had better bless this choir, President Smith. Oh, I love this choir, these brethren and these sisters here, Brother Evan Stevens and his assistants, and the organist, Brother McClellan, and his assistants. God bless you, my ¶

brethren and sisters, every soul, every girl and every boy, every wife and mother, father and brother ; God bless this choir. There is no such choir anywhere else in the world, and there is no such congregation anywhere else in the world. We are just a little people, not half a million; that is all there are of us; yet, there is nothing to compare with this on the face of the earth. You can't find such a sight anywhere as I see here today. Thank the Lord for His blessings. ¶

The Lord bless these brethren, the members of the Twelve, the chosen twelve, faithful and true. They will endure and be faithful and true to the end. May the Lord bless the seventies, the highpriests and presiding brethren in the stakes and in the quorums and councils of the priesthood, at home and abroad ; and the sisters of all the associations and societies ; God bless them. God bless these brethren and sisters here and in this gallery, all around here, all Latter-day Saints, faithful and true. We have our weaknesses, but these are fairly faithful ; these are the choice brethren among us, choice people ; and yet, when you go into the stakes of Zion, President Smith, we find them by thousands — thousands, just as good as these. God bless the Latter-day Saints everywhere, and may He pour out His spirit upon them. God bless our friends and neighbors who live with us, who come in here and are helping us in the development of this great state and country. God bless them, and God bless the people of this nation that has preserved us and given us protection and allowed us such glorious privileges. ¶

It is wonderful that we have been allowed to establish the Church of ¶

Jesus Christ in the earth; it is wonderful ; and this nation will be blest of the Lord, and the people thereof will be blest, for their generosity and goodness. Men in high places, as the president, and others that are legislators for the nation and are executors for the nation, and the judges and all will be brought to favor Zion, and God will bless them and preserve them, and preserve this nation. He will preserve this nation, and other nations that have given us recruits for we have come from all the nations of the earth, nearly all, everywhere ; and we will yet come from Russia, and other parts of the world, and from South America and other parts that have not yet been proselyted. The Lord will move the obstacles, and He will send His gospel ; He will preach the gospel Himself by His Spirit and power among the children of the earth. May we live and be worthy of the trust confided in us. ¶

Brethren, be humble and faithful, and do not forget the Lord, and do not forget your prayers, and remember the prayers that are acceptable to the Lord. The prayers of faith will save us. The prayer of faith and the prayer that is the sincere intent of the heart will bring forth the blessings of the Lord. The reason we are not answered better than we are is because we are not as sincere, possibly, in our prayers, and our faith has not been mingled with our prayers as it should be. I pray that faith and the spirit of the Lord may abide richly in the hearts of the people, that the blessings of the Lord may be upon all the brethren, upon the Presiding Patriarch, the Presiding Bishopric, and the brethren who officiate among the people, and may He pour ¶

out His blessings upon the heads of the saints everywhere. ¶

God bless you, my brethren and sisters, and keep you in the faith, and help us all to be true. God bless President Smith, that he may be healed from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet. May He bless Brother George Albert Smith, and any others of our brethren who need the blessings of the Lord. May His Spirit and the healing power be upon them. May He bless the Presidency, President Lund and President John Henry ; God bless these brethren, that they may dwell in the fellowship and favor of the Lord; and grant that we may always know the truth, as we know light from darkness, and heat from cold, I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶