( President of Northwestern States Mission.)

( President of Northwestern States Mission.) ¶

The sweetest joy that has ever come to my heart has been in attending the general conferences of the Church. I remember from a child being anxious to come, and having made strenuous efforts in the days of my early youth to save means with which to come to this city for the purpose of attending conferences. It has been to me a joy and a pleasure such as I have never found anywhere else in all the world ; and for the past twenty years, nearly now, I have been to almost every conference of the Church, and have attended the meetings thereof. It has been an education to me in the doctrines of the gospel, and I cannot see how a Latter-day Saint can keep pace with the mighty progress of this work who does not occasionally at least, frequently I will say, attend the general conferences of the Church. And now that I have the privilege of coming to bear a message to you, my brethren and sisters, to help to increase your faith and to tell you of the good things of the Lord to His Church and to His servants, not only in the stakes of Zion but in the world, it becomes even a more pleasant and easy, and a sweeter task, to come to this conference. I have to tell you that the Lord has been merciful and kind to us in our ministry, and is helping us in our work to such an extent that we rejoice to inform you that in the Northwestern States Mission of the Church, comparing our record for the past six months with the same six months of a year ago, with an increase of ten per cent in the number of elders, we have shown an increase of 100 per cent in our sales of the Book of Mormon, 200 per cent in the sales of other books of the Church, and almost 100 per cent in the distribution of tracts, and also 100 per cent increase in baptisms to the Church. Our hearts rejoice in the splendid spirit manifested among the elders and in the kindly feeling of the people towards us. ¶

In the United States there are perhaps five millions of the eighty millions of inhabitants who do not have or hold any association or relations with any Christian church. The latest statistics show that of these eighty millions only thirty millions profess Christianity in any sense. I know the majority is rather greater among those who do not lions profess Christianity in any west than, perhaps, in any other section. Indeed as we go from house to house, it is so common, so frequent that we find those who have no regard for the scriptures. They would just as leave we should teach them from the Book of Mormon as they would that we preach to them from the Bible, because there is a lack of confidence, and a lack of interest and reverence for the scriptures ; and we have found it necessary to assume to some extent, a new line of procedure in preaching the gospel. Indeed, I have noticed since I began fourteen years ago in the Northern States mission to preach the gospel, that there has been a wonderful change. Many people who then would have been willing to listen to the explanation of the gospel from the scriptures will not do so now ; and there are many who, though you may convince them by scriptural argument, still they are unconverted because they do not believe in the divinity or sacredness of the scriptures. ¶

It is taught to us as elders of the Church, and I want to emphasize it to you as we do to the elders, that the work did not begin with the effort of the Prophet Joseph Smith and his associates to find what the scriptures taught with reference to baptism. In fact, as we tell our friends, we do not teach baptism by immersion for the remission of sins because the scriptures inform us that it was the practice of the apostles. Not so ; we teach the doctrine of baptism by immersion for the re- ¶

mission of sins because no less an individual than John the Baptist came to earth, and standing upon the banks of the Susquehannah river, said to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, as he laid his hands upon their heads: "Upon you, my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah, I confer the priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the ministering of angels and of the gospel of repentance and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins," and then commanded them to go down into the water, and the one to baptize the other by immersion, and that for the remission of his sins, and he who had thus been baptized to perform the ordinance for his companion, in the same manner. Upon this we have founded the doctrine, or the practice, the doctrine and the ordinance, of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins. We care not whether these scriptures have been substantiated as divine — it is a matter of little concern, perhaps, or at least not vital, that that was the doctrine and the practice of Christ and His apostles. We lay our hands upon the heads of those who have been baptized, not because the ancient apostles did that, but because the heavens have been opened and messengers have come from God and bestowed the right, the authority, and given the divine command ; that no less personages than Peter James and John, those who held the apostleship, came and laid their hands upon men's heads and conferred upon them the gift of the apostleship and the power to confer the Holy Ghost upon others. We likewise do not have to refer to those scriptures to learn or to testify that Jesus was the Son of God ; for we know that He was the Son of ¶

God though the scriptures had never spoken of Him. Though Isaiah and Jeremiah and the prophets had not spoken in a plain and unmistakable manner concerning His coming and mission among the children of men, he was still the Son of God. In the days of our Savior, there were some that said of Him : "We do not know who you are ; we do not understand you. Moses we know and the prophets we know, but as for this man Jesus, we know him not." Then He said to them, "I will not condemn you, but you shall be condemned of those in whom you profess to believe." And then He opened to them the scriptures and read to them the words of the prophets in whom they professed to believe, how He should come, how the people should receive Him, the manner of His doctrine, and how the world should reject Him, how He should be condemned and lifted up, and He convinced them from the scriptures that they professed to believe, that He was the Christ. But He was the Christ even had He not been able to do this. And so, while we can tell the world these things, and they might to receive them on the statement, proven as we are able to prove them as these things have existed and occurred, still they say "we do not know of these wonderful manifestations, but, James we know, and Peter we know ; they were witnesses of God and prophets and authorized servants." And we have to reply, like Christ said, "We shall not condemn you, but you shall be condemned by those in whom you profess to believe." And then our elders have turned to the scriptures and proved the doctrines to be sustained by the teaching and practice of the apostles, baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, and so on, substantiating it by holy writ. ¶

We have been laboring to establish these things from the scriptures, in which many people profess to believe. But that is not the reason we teach them. Thank God, His truth is always in harmony with itself, and has been indeed in all ages of the world, when it has been properly stated, and not obscured by false interpretations. We regard, nevertheless, these scriptures with all sacredness. There is no people in all the world who have more reverence and love for them than do the Latter-day Saints. We take second place to no people in the world in our regard and reverence for the scriptures ; and yet it has not been upon these that this, God's Church has been founded. They are witnesses that we have the truth. It is in harmony with the truth as revealed anciently. But though those scriptures may be undermined by the scoffers among men, though they may ridicule them ; though professors of religion may repudiate and deny the scriptures, and cast odium upon the doctrines of Christ and His apostles, and show lack of confidence in the commandment of God, that "except a man be born of the water and of the spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven"— though all these things be repudiated in the minds of men, yet it does not destroy or undermine the foundation of God's Church, or of God's truth. It is founded on the revelations of the Lord to men in this age of the world, and it will stand although the scripture may stand or fall. But the scripture will not fall, it will stand. God has given evidences to the world of the divinity of that scripture, and these evidences are in the hands of the ¶

Latter-day Saints. I expect to see the day when the missionaries of the Latter-day Saints will find one of their greatest labors to convince the world that these scriptures are true ; and there are no people upon the face of this earth that have such an amount of evidence to substantiate the truth and the divinity of the scriptures. ¶

They may laugh and scoff at Mormonism all they please, yet, let me tell you, Mormonism is doing more in the world in establishing confidence in the good old Bible than all the religious denominations combined. They have not reached the point of those who refuse to believe in the miracles of scripture, to believe, for instance, that God led Israel through the Red Sea dry shod, that Christ fed the multitude with a few loaves and fishes, or that the dead can be raised, or that angels can visit the earth; but they have duplicated and demonstrated these things, in almost every instance, in this age of the world, and it is a reality, established by good and undeniable evidence. And through and by reason of that, we are proving by our lives, and by the practice of this Church, that the claims of the old prophets concerning the miracles of God, and His goodness to them are true. And then we have the witness of the Spirit to us, convincing to our inner selves, of the statements made by the founders of this Church that they were not mistaken or deceived, but that they actually did see and know what they declared. I have not seen with my own eyes a heavenly being nor the Son of God, yet I believe with much confidence this day, that Jesus Christ does live, and that He did speak to the earth by the Prophet Joseph Smith. ¶

It is recognized in the world that what knowledge men obtain in this world is obtained through the physical senses. The eye conveys to the intelligence of man that which it sees. So with the ear. There is something within that interprets all these sensations. It received its knowledge through the physical instrumentality. The physical instrumentality is not absolutely perfect. It may be that we have been deceived by the eye or the ear. But there is something which understands and interprets the impressions that come to the eye or the ear. When brought into direct communication with the gift and power of the Holy Ghost, knowledge being received both by sight and by hearing and by feeling, that feeling or sensation that comes without the physical senses, and that which is received is not injured, nor weakened or made ineffective by the physical instrumentality, for it is perfect and guides into all truth, and I understand more certainly and more perfectly when the truth can be spoken to my soul in this way. ¶

When Jesus was raised from the dead, some doubted, as you will remember. But the Savior said to Thomas, "Thrust thy hand into the wounds in my hands and in my side." Then Thomas said, after he had done so, "Now I know that thou art the Christ, and that thou hast not deceived us." Jesus said unto him, "Blessed are thou, Thomas, for thou has seen and heard ; but more blessed is he who believeth and yet who has not seen." Is it possible that I can know and believe as surely as Thomas did, and yet have not seen ? Yes, it is possible ; I can know that he lives, and I can trust him. ¶

O, my brethren and sisters, when I think of what God has done for us, in this daily temporal life of ours ; in this being that we have here, the clothing that we wear, the air we breathe, the food to eat, and all are daily given as manifestations of the munificent gifts of God. We think it was a wonderful thing that He sent manna down to feed Israel ; but every day we have as wonderful a miracle in the things that we have to subsist upon in this world as the result of God's munificent gifts unto us. I rejoice in the many things that He has done. Many people ask how they can trust Him, and how they can believe in the Lord Jesus Christ when they have not seen Him, or seen a miracle. You do not need to see Him. There is one thing, if He had done no other, that ought to bring forth such confidence in our hearts, and trust in him, that we could not doubt His love for us. I refer to His most precious of all gifts. I do not diminish any other gift of God to man, but I do value above all other things the gift of His Son Jesus Christ to the world. Which one of us fathers or mothers could stand, with the power to save your dear son from being tortured, and not exercise that power. But let me tell you that you cannot love him like God loved His Only Begotten Son in the flesh ; He who had been with Him, closely associated with Him in His exalted state for ages past, who had been selected as the lamb slain from before the foundations of the world, whom He loved as we know nothing of, and then stand by and see Him in the garden of Gethsemane, weeping over the sins of the world and trying, if possible, to find some other means, that He might escape, and praying, "O Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass." Which ¶

one of you could stand and listen to the pleading of your son, "O spare me, your son," if you had the power to save him, and you would not save him? O, I am not strong enough. Under similar conditions I could not be trusted with the power to step forth and save my loved ones from death. God has not seen fit to give me the power to wield it. When He strikes our loved ones, we could not be trusted with it. We would be tempted to exercise it, no matter what the consequences might be. But here, the Father had the power, and yet He listened to that Son : "O Father, let it pass, if possible. Is there not some other way? Can I not do the work acceptably to Thee without passing through this?" But He answered Him not as to any other way ; and the Son pleaded until, we are told, the blood coursed down His face, so intense was His agony, and He reached a conclusion — "Let it pass, if possible ; but, Father, not my will but Thine, O God, be done." When He had done this, He reached the height of His achievement, after He had submitted Himself absolutely to the will of God, and became in that a pattern to all men. The Father stood by, and watched that beloved Son dragged forth from the garden. Christ was able to withstand the help that was offered. Peter struck off the ear of one of the soldiers, and the Savior said, "Put up thy sword, Peter. Thinkest thou that I cannot even now call legions of angels to my help." But He did not. The Father could have sent multitudes of angels, but He did not. He was God; that was His beloved Son. God saw the crown of cruel thorns put upon His head, and pushed down till it lacerated His brow. He saw, the next day, ¶

when faint and worn from physical exertion, the cross was placed upon the back of His beloved Son. He saw His Son, fainting, fall in the street under the pressure of that cross. He saw that Son next stretched upon the cross, and the nails driven into His flesh. He saw the quivering flesh, wounded and bleeding, of His beloved Son. Aye, He saw the life blood of His beloved Son streaming and gushing out, and He stopped it not. He saw Him next extended between heaven and earth, on either side of Him a malefactor, and listened to the taunts of those who said, "If thou be the Son of God, come down ; thou hast saved others, why not save thyself." I imagine that He had looked upon that Son until even the Father could not stand it, and He turned to some secluded spot and bowed and wept for the suffering of His Son, until, in the last agonizing throes of terrible suffering He cried, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" O, I am so thankful in my heart that whatever doubts may have risen in His heart as He looked upon the suffering of His Son — "Shall I save him, or shall I allow him to suffer and die for the world ?" O, I thank God that He decided in your favor and in my favor, and by that He has redeemed us, made it possible that the grave shall not hold us, and that we can come back into His presence. O, I rejoice in that. And for that manifestation of His kindness and of His love, I shall trust Him. Yes, like Job of old, "though He slay me, still I shall trust Him." He may not answer my prayers in all things that I seek. He may deny me when He sees that I would not profit by the things that I seek. Shall I doubt Him? Shall ¶

I fail to love Him and to call upon Him, because I do not get what I want. Or, shall I feel that He loves me not? No; for this kind manifestation of His loving kindness to me I shall trust Him, though He slay me. I shall still believe in Him, for He has given a manifestation of that love that will last me through all time and all eternities to come. I know, my brethren and sisters, that though I may, and you may, be disappointed in some things, in the end we shall all be satisfied with that which the Lord has done for us. I rejoice in these things, and rejoice in the testimony that I have. It makes me feel that after the sacrifices we have made, and through the earnestness we exhibit in helping to carry this message we will be given a hope and that fullness of love that we cannot help loving the world, or loving the souls of the children of men. ¶

I sometimes think that, if some of our brethren and sisters who have been upon missions could just think a little more of the spirit that possessed them, when they went from door to door seeking the souls of the children of men, to save men, that we would not pass by some of those that we can help here at home. O, how we walked across mountains and through rivers, in stormy weather and under all conditions, seeking for some one to listen to us. We find some of those out in that country where I labor who have been offended here at home. Some one has not treated them just right. They perhaps have been themselves in the wrong ; but no helping hand was reached out for them. They were allowed to be abandoned, and to drift away. Two weeks ago, I saw such a family, that had been wandering out in the Northwest for ¶

ten years, offended because of the action of some of their neighbors, and no helping hand stopped them. After I went through the house with them, and administered to a woman that was sick, O what joy came to my heart as I saw their joy; and they promised me that they would do their first works over again and begin anew. I can point out, all over the country there, people who could be saved and brought into the fold if we would only exercise our own energy a little more. It takes some of our best energy to bring back some of those that we carelessly allow to drift away. Here is a boy, and there is a boy, whom you could save if you sought him enough here at home. I have stood and gazed upon some of the wonderful works of nature, and I could not rejoice in them alone ; I had to talk to the stranger by my side as I have looked at the beautiful waterfall. I have had to speak of them, or my soul could not contain itself, in enjoying these alone. So I feel when I contemplate the glorious truths of the gospel, I must give expression of them to some one else, I must find some of the children of men who will listen to me, and if possible get them to see the beauties that I examine with so much pleasure, that have given me so much joy. But, brethren and sisters, I hope that the spirit of love and of seeking for the kingdom of God, not only in our own interest but in the interest of our brethren and sisters and friends at home shall prevail in our hearts. And those of us who have been upon missions, let us ask ourselves if it is not possible to aid somebody in our own neighborhood and do some good in this direction. I tell you, my brethren and sisters, that it will give you the sweetest ¶

joy. As you know it gave you joy in the mission field, so it will give you joy at home. ¶

I bear witness to you that the leaders of this Church are standing in the right place, and that their counsel and advice to the Latter-day Saints is true, and ought to be followed. I am willing to stand by the revelations of God and the teachings of His servants of this Church, though it may take me within the jaws of death. I will stand up before the world and defend the leaders of this Church in their attitude and in their counsels and instructions to the people. I have confidence in them, that they have not deceived the world. I would rather die, yes, and give my life over and over again, than become a traitor, or be untrue to men in the pledges and the promises that I make, and I know the integrity of these men, that they are true and faithful before God and this people. ¶

May God bless us, that we may have confidence and love for each other, and the fullest confidence for our brethren who are called to preside over us ; and may the spirit of this glorious work grow in our lives and hearts, until we become firmly established, eventually, in the Church and kingdom of God. I ask it in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶