CLOSING REMARKS. Testimony of Church members equal to that of their leaders

CLOSING REMARKS. Testimony of Church members equal to that of their leaders. — There are not and can not be dupes or slaves in the Church. — Our doctrines are truth and righteousness, demonstrated by the Holy Scriptures. — Enemies of Mormonism set up and fight "men of straw." — Earnest invocation of blessings. ¶

I shall not attempt to address you at much length. The most that I could do, this afternoon, would be to emphasize and endorse, without recourse, every word and sentence and sentiment that has been spoken or expressed during the sessions of this conference, from the first to the last. I believe, with all my soul, in the testimonies that have been borne ; and what pleases me most of all is the fact that there are present here today hundreds of men and, ¶

perhaps, thousands of them, and women too, in this vast congregation and others who have been in attendance at this conference, who can bear the same testimony that has been borne by the speakers who have addressed us during this conference. Some people in the world appear to have a great deal of sympathy for the poor, deluded, innocent, honest, deceived, down-trodden and misled Latter-day Saints, as they seem to regard them, and at the same time they have fierce judgment to pronounce upon their "wicked and designing leaders." I wish to say to our friends, here, that there is no man nor set of men on earth today that can mislead this people very far out of the path of rectitude, righteousness and faith in the divine mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith. It can't be done. Why ? Because they know the principles of the gospel, as well as their leaders do. They have borne testimony of this truth to the world, almost to a man. ¶

We send out to the nations of the earth two thousand elders every other year, practically, and they go abroad to the various nations full of faith and the spirit of this gospel, full of the testimony of Jesus Christ, which is the spirit of prophecy. They go out with the spirit of the gospel in their souls, to bear testimony to the world, and they do bear that testimony to the world, and they come home ripened in the knowledge of the truth, confirmed in their convictions, established in a knowledge of the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and no power beneath the Celestial kingdom can turn them from it, except they transgress the laws of righteousness themselves. Other men cannot turn them aside ; other men cannot con- ¶

found them. They know the truth for themselves ; they have learned it in the school of experience, as well as by the gift and power of the Holy Ghost upon them. They know the truth, and the truth has made them free. There are no slaves, there are no dupes in this Church ; there are no men nor women worthy to claim an honorable standing in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who are not free men and free women in the highest sense of the word. What will be the result? The result will be that we will teach the principles of the gospel that we have received, that we have learned to be true, to our children, and we will endeavor to have them taught to our children's children to the latest generation, that our children may grow up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, in the knowledge and in the love of the truth as it is in Christ Jesus. We will teach our children to be pure in heart, to be honest and upright, to be virtuous and God-fearing. We will teach them to observe that greatest and most glorious moral law of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which if men obey it they cannot look upon adultery or upon any deadly sin with any degree of allowance. We will teach them that God rules, of right in the hearts of the children of men, in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and overrules in the nation of which we are a part, and in the nations of the earth. They are all subject to His power, and will bow beneath His rod when He shall determine to scourge the wicked, to punish the ungodly, and to judge those that hear the truth and will not receive it. God will judge the nations of the earth and the people of the world, and He will mete out ¶

justice and judgment and righteousness unto them ; we do not have to do that. ¶

I thought it had long ago been determined that our enemies, those who are fighting against the gospel, against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, had abandoned the thought that they could successfully contend with us on scriptural ground. With but very few exceptions, they have long ago abandoned that thought. The poor unfortunate gentleman who made his blunder, on this point as referred to by Brother Ivins, must have been raised somewhere in the backwoods, and had not yet awakened to the fact that his coworkers against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had long ago abandoned the hope that they could prevail against "Mormonism" on scriptural ground. They can't do it. They can and do contend against the Bible and the New Testament ; they can and many do deny Christ ; they can and many do deny His resurrection from the dead and the glorious redemption that He has wrought for the world through obedience to His word and law ; they may do all that, but they cannot successfully meet us on scriptural ground. Why? Because we believe in the scripture ; we are established upon the scriptures of divine truth ; we are built upon the foundations of apostles and prophets. Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone. They cannot uproot us nor overturn us by the scriptures ; it can't be done. ¶

Now, what means are they using and what means have they been using, for years, against the Church ? Ridicule, contumely, falsehood, slander, misrepresentation ! Men that fight against the ¶

Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints build up "men of straw" and slaughter them. They advance ideas that do not belong to us, that we have never held, that we do not advocate, that are no part of our doctrine or religion at all. They conjure up these propositions in their own minds, and then proceed, with all the eloquence and fervor of their souls, to tear in pieces and destroy the images of their own minds. They do not fight Mormonism — they can't, without they fight God and the truth ! The moment that men attempt to fight this Church they fight God, they fight the principles of His gospel and His truth ; they fight faith in God, faith in Jesus Christ, faith in righteousness, faith in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, faith in every principle that exalts and uplifts and ameliorates the condition of man in the world. If they undertake to fight us they fight these principles, because we have espoused these principles. They are our principles, and they are not principles of error, of injustice, or unvirtue, or of ungodliness. We do not espouse any such doctrine as that, neither do we teach it, when we are in the faith and fellowship of the Lord. ¶

I did not expect to talk so long. Why are you here today, my brethren and sisters? Why have you sat here and stood here, many of you, throughout the sessions of this conference? Because you know that the words that have been spoken to you, by your fellow servants and associates in the priesthood, have been words of truth and soberness, that is why you are here. That is why you came to this conference and remained here and kept the good, quiet order and paid the attention that you have. Who will ¶

turn you away from the path of righteousness, from the testimony that you possess, from the knowledge that you have of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is, indeed, the power of God unto salvation? Who can do it? ¶

I endorse every word of blessing that has been pronounced by President Lyman, here, this afternoon. The Lord bless this people and all the people of the earth who desire righteousness and love truth. Especially, may the Lord bless these my brethren upon whom rests the responsibility of directing, guiding, and counseling the people over whom they are called to preside. May the spirit of presidency, of great wisdom, of fatherly kindness, of love unfeigned, and of charity brood over you, sink into your hearts, lead you to do good among the children of men, and to lift up your fellow servants and associates and the members of the Church among whom you labor, to the highest possible standard of virtue, honor, and righteousness. That is your mission, and you are qualified to do and fulfill the work required at your hands, if you will only seek the spirit of the gospel and abide in it and in the spirit of your calling. ¶

The Lord bless the fathers and the mothers in Israel, and their sons and daughters. May He keep our sons from error, from wicked ways and from temptations that beset them in the wicked world in which we live. May the Lord preserve the virtue, honor, and purity of our daughters, that they may be pure as the angels in the presence of God, and worthy to bear sons and daughters who shall abide in the truth, and who shall bear off, to the last, the kingdom of God, triumphantly, throughout the world The ¶

Lord bless our fathers and mothers, our brothers and sisters. May He bless those who preside, those entrusted with responsibility in the Church, that they may magnify their calling, honor their Lord and Master, honor the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, for, as it has been said, if this is indeed the Church of Jesus Christ, then to be a member in it is greater than to be an emperor or a king. For in membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints we have assurance of deliverance from sin here, and we have the promise of eternal life now and evermore, and if we are faithful to our covenants, there is no power beneath the Celestial kingdom that can take from us the crown of glory that awaits those who are faithful before the Lord. God bless you, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen. ¶