Truly the Song of the Righteous Is a Prayer Unto the Lord

Truly "the song of the righteous is a prayer unto the Lord." I feel that we have been highly favored this afternoon in our services in this hall, in listening to the sweet singing and music that has been furnished by the Murray choir; indeed, the singing that has been furnished during the former sessions of this conference in the great Tabernacle; as well as here, has been an inspiration to all those who have attended. ¶

I have rejoiced very much, my brethren and sisters, in the privilege that I have of attending this conference, listening to the testimonies and the instructions that we have received from the brethren. I rejoice very much in the testimony that we listened to at the morning session of this conference, by President Joseph F. Smith, the man who is the mouthpiece of the Lord unto us at the present time. I rejoiced in the testimony that he bore concerning himself. I have watched his life for more than fifty years, and he voiced my sentiments when he mentioned that period of his own life. I have looked upon him all my life as being a model of purity, as being the most absolutely just man that I have ever known. I have admired him for his sterling integrity, his great strength of character, his inspired mind, and for his ability to get, I believe, nearer to the Lord than any man I have been privileged to know in my life. I hope that those who comprise the membership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints appreciate this man as does your humble servant, that we appreciate all our brethren who stand as leaders in Israel, and that we show our appreciation of them by acting upon and carrying out their precepts, and following their splendid example. ¶

I rejoice very much in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. My heart has been made glad this afternoon, in listening to the stirring remarks of the previous speakers, brethren who are in the midst of the battle in this great work, mission presidents who are laboring in the field in the forefront of the fight for righteousness. It is safe for us to listen to their testimonies and to accept their counsels, because they are men of God, laboring for the gospel of righteousness, and they enjoy the inspiration of the Almighty. The gospel will bless us at home, the same as it has done for many of us in the mission field, if we will only apply ourselves in the same diligent manner. The reason why some of us do not feel as good, perhaps, as those who have been out in the mission field as messengers of salvation, is due to the fact that we are not as active at home as we were when we were abroad. If Ave will continue missionary work, take upon ourselves the duties and responsibilities of disseminating the gospel at home, we will enjoy the missionary spirit in our lives, and the Lord will bless us and inspire our minds, will strengthen our memories, and cause us to expand in our intellect and feelings, and increase in wisdom, and in understanding of His divine will and purposes, so that we will not be at a stand-still at home, as, I am sorry to sav, some of our brethren are who have returned from active missionary life. ¶

We have heard this afternoon of the field there is for missionary ¶

work here at home. How true that is, and yet some of our brethren who were active in the world fail to appreciate this fact, and are not as active at home as they might be. I remember a young man to whom I listened as he bore his testimony after returning, and in one of his remarks he said he was thankful that his preaching days were over. I wonder if there are many who feel the same way after returning home, thankful that their missionary days are over? It has been said by one of old that the "race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong, but to him that endureth faithful to the end." We may run swiftly, and do an exceptionally splendid work for two or more years, as our missionaries do ; but if, when we come home, we forget the Lord, fall back into the ways of the world, and give way to weaknesses that some are addicted to before they go into the missionary field, we will not enjoy the Spirit of the Lord at home. ¶

I believe, my brethren and sisters, that it is our duty, as Latter-day Saints, that we should kneel down in our homes morning and night, and pray to the Lord to prosper His work upon the earth. I thought today while sitting here that, in a sense, the Lord cannot prosper this work unless we will take hold of the duties and responsibilities that rest upon us as consistent members of the Church, as faithful men and women. This Church cannot be better than its membership. When speaking with men in the world that say the "Mormon" people are all right, that they find no fault with the rank and file of the "Mormon" Church, but complain against leading authorities of the Church, I feel in my soul to wish that all the members of this Church were nearer to coming up to the standard of those men who stand at the head of the quorums of the priesthood. There is plenty of room, it seems to me, my brethren and sisters, for us to make an improvement in our lives as members of the Church. There is a great responsibility resting upon every one of us. It seems to me there is no other church in the world that has to meet the responsibility of the action of the humblest member of that church to the extent that is true of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. When there is one member of our Church, in the communities in which we live, that goes astray, or brings upon himself reproach, he does not suffer the contumely alone, but the stigma is cast upon all members of the Church who reside in that locality, and some even blame the whole membership of the "Mormon" Church, and claim that it is the fruits of "Mormonism." While this is not a proper view to take, it is the view that many in the world take, and I presume that, to some extent, they are justified in that view, because we hold up a higher standard than does any other religious organization in the world. ¶

We claim that our Church has been organized by divine direction, that the Lord Himself has been instrumental in bringing forth this work, that is known in the world as "Mormonism," and that He has revealed the glorious principles of truth that we have accepted as our rule of faith and our guide. We claim that we are constantly receiving revelations from the Almighty, that we are guided day by day by those revelations, and that we have in our midst prophets, apostles, and inspired men. Now, ¶

you can see readily how much better we ought to be than the people of the world • it is quite natural for them to look for more from us than from people who are not able to make such professions. It would be a victory for the adversary if he could induce the Latter-day Saints to forget their high calling, and come down to the standard of their fellow men in the world ; the enemy of righteousness would then have accomplished his purpose. It is his design to impede the progress of this work. He cannot do it, as far as the majority of this people are concerned. I feel sure it is impossible for him to overcome the high authorities of the "Mormon" Church, because of the purity of their lives and the devotion that they manifest to this work of the Almighty. I believe it is not possible for the adversary to come into this congregation, nor any other congregation of the Latter-day Saints, and successfully combat this work. That is not his plan of operation; his plan is to influence the individual members of the Church, some of us with discontent, some with fault finding, some with a failure to pay tithing, some with neglect of one duty and some with another, until we lose the spirit of the work and forget our high calling and destiny. ¶

Now I feel that, as members of the Church of Christ, we ought to examine ourselves, each one of us, and find out where we and our families stand, see that our boys and girls are being taught in the fear and nurture of the Lord, and that they are being preserved from those evils that are extant in this age of the world. I believe with all my heart that we are living in the hour of God's judgments, "and that the adversary is spreading before our young people those temptations that, if he succeeds, will lead them away from Christ and from His work. I feel that we cannot be too careful, circumspect, and conscientious before our families, to preserve our integrity and fidelity, and make every possible effort that our children may grow up around our firesides, free from allurements and infatuation that would cause them to fall. They should be made to feel in their souls that their father and mother are honest, and that there must be something in this work, something that has induced them to willingly make sacrifices, and that they do make them cheerfully for the gospel's sake. ¶

I pray that the Lord will bless us,, that the spirit of this conference may be taken to our homes and may sink into our hearts, and that we may realize the great obligations that rest upon us as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints. I trust that we will constitute ourselves missionaries at home, first with our own households and then with the families of those that are around us, our friends and associates. We find, in the stake in which I have the pleasure to live, that there are thousands of good, honest men and women coming in from the eastern states, and from other parts of the country, casting their lots with us in the new lands that are being opened up for homes, and I find that there is the best field for missionary work, perhaps as great as can be found anywhere in the world. ¶

We have a great many men in the Church who have the spirit of the gospel with them, but they are never prepared, financially, to go out into the world and preach the ¶

gospel. They are willing to go if they had the means, but they never get the means to enable them to respond to a call to go abroad. Now we are going to get around this fall, up in Cassia stake of Zion, and we are going to call a hundred or more of just such men, and give them a mission in that stake, give them some books and tracts, and send them forth among the people to preach the gospel. In this manner, I believe the people will be benefited, and our brethren who engage in that work will be benefited, and good results will come to the great work that we are engaged in. ¶

I rejoice in the testimony of Jesus. I know that the gospel is true, and I know that it will save all those who shall endure faithful unto the end. I hope that we will remember the duties and responsibilities that rest upon us, and that we will do our full duty as members of the Church of Christ, which I ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶