Honor to Parentage and the Sanctity of Marriage

I believe that all who have been fortunate enough to be in attendance upon this conference have rejoiced in the spirit of it. I believe that God has looked down upon us in our assemblies in approbation, and that He has poured out upon us a very rich portion of His Holy Spirit; and I believe that the angels have rejoiced with us. I believe also that the faithful fathers, of whom witness has been borne by faithful sons, have also been filled with joy in seeing the integrity, faithfulness and devotion of their sons and grandsons. ¶

I could have wished that the spirit might have directed that others of our brethren of the presidencies of stakes might have been called to address the Saints. Those who have spoken have spoken under the divine inspiration of the Lord; and it has given the Latter-day Saints an opportunity to judge of the character, the caliber, and the quality of the men whom the Lord has sought out and chosen to preside over the various stakes of Zion and mission fields. There are between fifty and sixty other presidents of stakes, who are the peers of the brethren who have spoken; and I rejoice in the strength and in the integrity of these servants of the Lord. If time would permit there are many of the bishops who could also give a splendid account of themselves, if called upon to do so. This power of the priesthood is not only enjoyed and exercised by the general authorities of the Church, but the same power is held and the same authority is wisely exercised by presidents of stakes, and bishops of wards. I may say, further, that there are hundreds and thousands of men who do not hold these responsible positions of presidency, but who do hold the priesthood and are exercising the authority of it in honor and righteousness among the Latter-day Saints. ¶

Underlying the remarks of many of the brethren can be found that great law of God, that commandment which He recorded with His own finger upon the tables of stone, namely, "Honor thy father and thy mother that thy days may be long in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee." We have seen exemplified, in the lives of the brethren who have been called upon to address the conference, a complete and full obedience to this law and commandment. They have spoken in praise and thanksgiving of their fathers, and of the faith of their fathers, and have testified that they likewise have the same testimony of the truth and the same determination to stand firm, steadfast and true to the covenants and obligations of the gospel. I rejoice in this fact, and I may testify that this is not confined to those who are termed authorities in the Church, but it is general among the Latter-day Saints. There is always in the heart of the faithful Latter-day Saint gratitude to God, if he or she were born of parents who were faithful in the Church; and there is always great joy and happiness in being conscious of the fact that we ourselves love the truth and desire to be faithful and true. It is not so much that we honor our fathers and our mothers that, individually, our days may be long in the land which the Lord our God has given us, but that the whole people, as a people, might live long, and that as a people we might have peace and happiness in the land, in fulfillment of that great commandment which the Lord has given. ¶

There is one other thought that I would like to bring before this congregation before I take my seat, and that is upon a subject that is of vital importance to the young men and young women, and to the fathers and mothers of Israel; namely, the subject of marriage. I have been impressed, during this conference, by the wonderful record made by the men who have addressed us, in the matter of family life and honorable, righteous living. I believe there is no other place in all the world where you will find so high a standard of moral, upright living as is found among this people, and I attribute this very largely to the sacredness with which we regard the institution of marriage. There is entirely too much loose talk in the world today in regard to the marriage relation, entirely too much divorce, entirely too little regard paid to the sacredness of the home and of the family relationship. I was reading, a short time ago, a statement made by a governor of one of the states, in which he said that in that state had the record in divorces, that out of every seven marriages there was one divorce. Now, I would like to say to my brethren and sisters of the Latter-day Saints, we ought to have respect and regard for that great and vital principle and doctrine of marriage. We should advocate it among our young people in the spirit of righteousness and sacredness, and never speak of it in the spirit of levity or funmaking, or do that which would discourage young people from entering into the marriage relation, or that would discredit that relation. There are far too many of our young people of marriageable age unmarried. I do not know the reasons why they remain unmarried. Many young men fear that they are unable to support a wife, build a home and care for a family. Many young women have the same fear, that the young man will not be able to support them in the manner that they are accustomed to; losing sight of the great fact that their fathers and mothers, perhaps, have come up from the beginning, even in poverty, starting very low indeed in the scale of possession of this world's goods, but by frugality, sacrifice and skimping themselves, practicing rigid economy, they have eventually achieved success in life and reached a reasonable degree of prosperity. Young men ought to be willing, with the help of God, to undertake this great responsibility, if they have health of body and a willingness to work and earn a living; and young women, who can find honorable and virtuous young men so determined, ought to be willing to accept them and help them, be helpmeets to them, and not seek to marry only that they may have someone to earn money for them that they can spend in pleasure and extravagance. I would like to read, in this connection, just a paragraph from a discourse delivered by one of the early apostles in this dispensation, upon this subject. I read it because I feel that the doctrine and the principle could hardly be expounded more beautifully. I recommend this paragraph to our young men and young women, and to their fathers and mothers, and advise the latter to commence early teaching their children to prepare themselves for the duties and responsibilities of life, rather than for merely enjoying those foolish and worldly pastimes and pleasures after which so many seek. ¶

"Let that man who intends to become a husband seek first the kingdom of God and its righteousness, and learn to govern himself according to the law of God, for he that cannot govern himself cannot govern others. Let him dedicate his property, his talents, his time and even his life, to the service of God, holding all things at his disposal to do with the same according as He shall direct through the counsel He has ordained. In selecting a companion let him not look wholly at the beauty of the countenance, or the splendor of the apparel, or the great fortune, or the artful smiles, or the affected modesty of females, for all these without the genuine virtues are like the dew drops which glitter for a moment in the sun and dazzle the eye but soon vanish away; but let him look for a kind, amiable disposition, for unaffected modesty, for industrious habits, for sterling virtue, for honesty, integrity and truthfulness; for cleanliness in person, in apparel, in cooking, and in every kind of domestic labor, for cheerfulness, patience, and stability of character, and above all for genuine religion to control and govern her every thought and deed." ¶

That is the doctrine of the gospel of Christ, that I would like to present for the consideration of the young men and women; that young men contemplating marriage should contemplate it in a spirit of prayer and devotion to God and to service of the Lord, and that young women should prepare themselves to be such as described by Brother Orson Pratt in his discourse from which I have selected this paragraph. I would say to young men and women that they should honor their fathers and mothers, and should seek the counsel and advice of their parents in such important steps as marriage. It is one of the most vital and important moves that young men and women can make in life. Upon it depends more of joy, more of happiness, more of peace and genuine satisfaction than can be found in almost any other thing in the world, where the union is entered into in the spirit of truth and righteousness, and a determination to fulfil the laws of God and of nature. On the other hand it is a step fraught with trouble, sorrow, misery, and unhappiness when it is not entered into in this spirit and for this purpose. Young men and women must determine that they are willing, with the help of God, to endure whatsoever experiences come to them in life. The responsibilities of marriage are great, but where love abounds, there will be happiness and joy unspeakable. So, likewise, in that relationship, they will be called upon, in all probability, to undergo very sorrowful experiences, that will bring sadness to their souls and try them severely; yet all these things can be endured if the love that should exist does exist in the hearts of those who have plighted their faith to each other. ¶

"My house is a house of order, saith the Lord, and not a house of confusion." Brother Penrose read that passage this morning. That relates not so much to the little ordinary noise, and disturbance, and confusion that we may find sometimes in homes, or in communities. It may cover that point, but it has a more deep and a much wider meaning than that. That home where the furniture may at times be deranged and the children may create din with their lusty shouts, that is not confusion, that can easily be remedied. That home wherein a son rises up in rebellion against his father, and against the order, rules and regulation of the home, there is confusion. That community where one man lifts himself up in opposition against his brother in the priesthood, and opposes its authority, creates confusion; but this passage of scripture was given, more particularly, in connection with the revelation that the Lord gave upon the great subject of marriage. There is no thing in the world that can bring about such great confusion as promiscuous marriage and divorce; the woman being married a half dozen times, and being divorced a half dozen times, bearing children with each husband; that, I say, brings about confusion; and the same it is with the man who marries and is divorced, time and time again. It is a most immoral condition; and the issue therefrom are without father or mother, and without name, almost, in this world, and surely will be so in the next. ¶

Our young men who marry gentile girls create confusion. They marry not according to the law of God. They are not joined together by the holy spirit of promise, they are joined together for only a little time, to be severed and separated after this life. They have no more claim upon one another; and the children that may have been born find themselves likewise without father or mother, or relationship in the world to come, and this is confusion. It is as it were the forging of a chain of unwelded links, that is easily broken and scattered, and is not in accordance with the law of God. No young man can marry outside of the Church, except he dishonor his father and mother, and the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the command of God as given in the revelations of the latter-day. The same it is with a young woman who marries out of the Church. She marries unhappiness and misery, separation and disintegration, loss of husband and children in the world to come, and loses happiness and peace of mind and heart here; and it is unfortunate. I would like to call attention to this great principle and plead with our fathers and mothers to more thoughtfully and thoroughly teach these doctrines to their sons and daughters; that such dishonor to the latter, to their parents, to the Church of God, and the principles of righteousness may not be shown, and that the incident misery and unhappiness may not be or have to be endured. Let our young men and young women marry in the Church, and in the holy places that God has set apart where that ceremony may be performed. Let them marry as the performance of a part of their sacred religion, because it is a religious rite, and marriage without religion will never be a success but must spell failure sooner or later, both in time and eternity. ¶

Now, if you would have your children rise up, in a later day, and take the stand toward you that our brethren, the presidents of stakes who have addressed us, have taken towards their parents, you will honor your fathers and mothers, and the gospel to which they have been true all their lives here. I thought myself, what a terrible thing it would be for a man to be born of parents so unequally yoked together as one to be a "Mormon" and one a Gentile. He would have to say: My father was a Gentile; my mother was a Latter-day Saint; or, My mother was a Gentile, and my father was a Latter-day Saint. I was born without the covenant; my parents were not sealed by the holy spirit of promise and by the authority of God. I have no father and no mother in the hereafter, except, through the blessings of the gospel, my mother may be given, and I with her, to some good man, by the holy priesthood for eternity. That, to me, would be a terrible condition. ¶

My brethren and sisters, I want to say and can say, as my brethren have said, I love, honor and revere my parents, and I trust that my children after me can say the same thing, and God be pleased that their children after them, to the latest generation, can rise up and declare their fathers blessed. ¶

May God bless the Latter-day Saints; may they look into the doctrines of the Church and the holy principles of righteousness, the principles of heaven, of truth, as they have been revealed, and practice them in their lives, revere them, honor them, and live by them, that they may be blest of God and exalted in the land which God has given us, and exalted too, in due time, in the presence of the Father with the redeemed and sanctified, in a saved and a glorified condition. I ask this blessing for the Latter-day Saints, each and every one of us, in the name of Jesus. Amen. ¶