Fear Not, Only Believe: Faith Amid Assaults Upon the Church

My brethren and sisters, those who have attended the sessions of this conference can testify that the Lord has been with us. He has manifested Himself to us again this afternoon, and I am sure He will continue to do so during the remaining part of this meeting. ¶

Several thousand faithful Latter-day Saints have come together, with prayerful hearts and with a desire to be fed with the word of life, to be built up in their faith and strengthened in their desire to serve the Lord ; where this is the case it is absolutely certain that they will not go away hungry. Of course, the thought does come to an individual who may be called upon to speak, that because of some delinquency on his part he may not have as much of the Spirit of the Lord as he would like, and consequently no man, at least no thoughtful man, ever attempts to address a congregation of the Latter-day Saints without a feeling of fear in his heart. I can think of nothing more appalling or terrifying to me than to attempt to address this people without the assistance of the Spirit of the Lord. It would be impossible for me, through any power which I have or any ability which may be mine, to instruct those who understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ quite as well, or in many cases very much better than I do. ¶

I believe the Lord designs that we should exercise our faith for those who are called upon to address us, ¶

because by its exercise it becomes stronger, and if there ever was a time in all the history of the Church when Latter-day Saints needed to have their faith strengthened it is at the present time. Surrounded as we are by the temptations and allurements of the world and with all the responsibilities of life which rest upon us ; it is of absolute importance that we grow in faith and in the knowledge of the Lord, and in the knowledge of His plan concerning us, because unless we do we simply cannot succeed. While the Church will of course go on to fulfill its grand destiny, those who do not cultivate faith, and do not have this principle in their hearts, will fall by the wayside and will not be able to keep pace with the Church itself. There are many examples in the scriptures of how faith comes to those who ask for it and who endeavor to earn it by pursuing an upright life. Christ said, "Whatsoever thing ye shall ask of the Father in my name, believing, ye shall receive." My prayer constantly to the Lord is to give me faith, to give me a knowledge of His plan and purposes, to help me to understand the part which I should perform in the carrying out of that plan. ¶

We have heard a good deal during this conference about the things that are being said of us. We could not endure those things, nor stand to be ridiculed and assailed, unless we understand the future to some extent, and have an assurance that the Lord will overrule all things for the good of His people. You all remember the occasion when one of the rulers of the synagogue came to Jesus and asked Him to come to his house because his daughter was dying. With His usual sympathy the Savior consented, and when they were on the way they met a messenger from the house of this man who said to the ruler, "Trouble not the Master, because your daughter is dead." The man no doubt was overwhelmed with grief. But what did the Savior say to him ? I think in all the scriptures we cannot find a more beautiful saying, no sentence more full of meaning than the four simple words of the Savior, "Fear not, only believe." And that is the statement of the Lord to us in this day. We can take it to ourselves. "Fear not, only believe." And if we have this assurance in our hearts it matters not what the world may say, we can stand aside and watch the Lord work this thing out. I do not mean that we should stand aside in idleness, for we must do our part. But we need not worry regarding what they say, because the Lord will take care of those who assail His work. That is my testimony. I know this is His work, and that those who make war upon it will be held responsible for what they do, even though the results of their efforts may be overruled for good. ¶

As has been testified by Brother Ballard, people enquire concerning our doctrines because of the assaults which are made upon us, but even if the Lord does overturn these attacks to our good, it will not relieve those who make the attacks from responsibility. The Lord is with us, He is with this work, and He wants us to "believe and fear not." I presume there are few. if any here who have ever listened to the audible voice of the Almighty. We are not permitted to behold His person, but we do see Him in all His marvelous creations, see Him, if we ¶

have faith, as distinctly and with as much assurance as though He stood before our natural eyes ; and as though we were able to see His person, to behold His face and to touch His hand. To those who understand the Gospel, and the whispering of the Spirit of the Lord, He is visible in all these things, and we are able through the influence which He gives us, through our prayers, to hear His voice, though it may not be audible to our natural ears. I bear testimony to you, my brethren and sisters, that God does live, that He rules, and that He will overturn all things for the good of this people. ¶

Before I conclude, I want to say one thing in regard to what has been said by several of the speakers in this conference, and which was dwelt upon so splendidly by Brother McKay this morning. My heart rejoiced in listening to his remarks. I thank the Lord for what has been said regarding this question, the Word of Wisdom, and the evil of the saloons in our midst. For my part I have always been opposed to them with all my soul, and with all my strength, and my desire is to maintain that same position in the future. I realize that speaking on this subject will not accomplish the work. If we succeed we must do something more than speaking, we must be up and doing, we must get into this battle, and fight and fight, and organize and work, and if we do not do that, I feel very certain we will not succeed. ¶

May the Lord bless us and help us to accomplish all that He designs us to do in this life, and finally save us in His presence, I ask it in the name of Jesus. Amen. ¶