Fifty Years a Latter-day Saint

(President of Pioneer Stake.) My brethren and sisters, I feel very grateful, indeed, for the privilege of being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Upwards of fifty years ago I became attached to the "Mormon" Church ; and from the year 1863, in which I arrived in the City of Salt Lake, I have been a steady worker, though not so active as I would like to have been, in the Church. In the light of fifty years experience, or over, there is only one regret upon my mind, that is that I have not done more good, and been more useful in the hands of the Lord in helping to establish His work. ¶

We are told by the Redeemer of mankind that "no man knoweth the things of God save by the Spirit of God," and that is the only means through which we receive a testimony and knowledge of the truth of this work, If there was no other evidence today that Joseph Smith was a prophet, that would be sufficient to convince me that he was sent of God. The doctrines that he taught, the promise that he made to the people, that if they would do the will of the Father they should know of the doctrine whether it was of God or whether he spoke of himself, is also 'convincing proof to me. I can testify for myself that, after being baptized for the remission of sins, I received a knowledge of this work, that it was of God, that Joseph Smith was a Prophet sent of God, and that every revelation that is recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants is evidence of the divine mission of that man. I have never in my life from the day I was baptized into the Church until now, read anything that would compare with the revelations given in the book of Doctrine and Covenants and the Book of Mormon. The light, the intelligence, the wisdom and the understanding that are communicated in these revelations to Joseph Smith, in his early youth, are inspiring to me. He grew rapidly in wisdom, and accumulated knowledge and understanding that were surprising, beyond anything that we have on record outside the history of the Redeemer of the world. ¶

Men and women, if they will live their religion and keep the Spirit of God, will not deny the truth of this work. Men or women when they sin will lose the testimony of the Spirit of God, it won't stay with them, and we are ourselves to blame if we get into this condition. It is not the Lord; it is not His servants or any one else, but the agency that we received from God is the cause of it, in that we were given to do as we please, and that agency permeates the spirit and genius of this work. When we come up before the Almighty to receive sentence for the deeds done in the body, how will men stand who have borne testimony of this truth and afterwards denied it? Can they say that they never had this testimony? Not so, but they will come under heavy condemnation from the Lord. ¶

There is everything in this work to encourage men and women to be loyal and true to it. We will grow, we will increase in faith, in humility and in every good work, while we cherish and cultivate the Spirit that comes from the presence of our Father. Let us be faithful; let us be true Latter-day Saints. Let us look after our children There is an immense work to be done in this city and in all the stakes of Zion. There are many thousands that need to be looked after, We want to save our posterity, our boys and girls, by setting before them a good example, teaching them correct doctrine, and leading them, by the influence of the Spirit of God, in the path of life and salvation. May God help us in this work, that our boys and girls may grow up in the faith of the gospel, and become mighty in the hands of God in the establishment of His great work in the earth. This is the greatest desire of my heart, to see the children grow up to be true and faithful Latter-day Saints. ¶

God bless the Latter-day Saints, and bless our brethren who stand at the head to direct the affairs of this work in which we are engaged. I pray that God will sustain them in the future, and bless them even more abundantly than He has done in the past. I have all the faith and confidence possible in these men, I wish to sustain them by every word and deed of my life, because I know that they are men of God, and that they seek the interest and welfare and blessing of the people, not only of the Latter-day Saints, but, as Brother Ellsworth has told us, they seek the salvation of all mankind. This spirit of liberty and tolerance should exist in all of us, to labor for the benefit of the children of men. The mission that we have today is broad and deep, and it takes into consideration the whole human family, no matter what race they belong to. We have got to labor for their redemption. It is the work that the Savior commenced, and that is handed down through Joseph Smith to you and to me. May God help us to faithfully perform the work that He has assigned to us, individually and collectively, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶