It is a very delightful thing, my brethren and sisters

It is a very delightful thing, my brethren and sisters, to sit and listen to the inspired words that have fallen from the lips of the servants of the Lord, in the remarks that have thus far been made during our conference. It is altogether a different matter to stand up in the presence of this great multitude of people to give instruction that will be for the advantage of those who have gathered together for the worship of our Father in heaven. I feel, my brethren and sisters, necessity for the companionship and direction of the Holy Spirit, that the few words that I utter may be of some value to some of those who are gathered in this holy house this afternoon. ¶

I am very thankful that in the providence of the Almighty my lot has been cast with the people of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints, grateful am I for "Mormon" parentage and for being reared under the influence of the Gospel of the Redeemer of men, as it has been revealed in this latter dispensation, through the great prophet, Joseph Smith. I rejoice in my soul, my brethren and sisters, that the power that was able to take my father and mother from a far off land and turn their faces and feet Zion-ward, is still at work among the children of men revealing to them, and to the sons and daughters of those who planted the work of our God in days gone by the wonderful truth of the things of which we have been hearing. Thank God those children are not to be left without evidence and testimony of the truth of the story that has been related to them so earnestly by faithful fathers and mothers many of whom have now fallen asleep. I have often marveled, at the testimonies of men, as they have borne record in my hearing to the truth of the work of God, and to the knowledge that had been given them concerning the purposes of our Father in heaven. In the days of my boyhood, I have wondered how it was possible that such knowledge could be given to the sons of men. But I humbly and thankfully say, this afternoon, that ¶

I am today possessed with a joy passing all understanding because of the fact that in the providences and kindness of our Father in heaven, the truth that was made manifest to my own parents afar off, and that brought them to this region of country, has also been revealed to me in the very same manner in which it was shown to my parents, and that is by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thank God we can look into the future with confidence and hope, believing that the same God who has inspired the fathers of the past, and who has given saving knowledge to the fathers and mothers of the present generation, will also be mindful of those who are to come in the future, and that the divine revelation that we have heard of from our brethren, will continue to flow from our Father in heaven to the sons and daughters of all future generations. It is the will of the Father that they shall also be made to know that there is a God in heaven, and that He has established the work in which we are now laboring. He has decreed that His work shall gather strength and power, and that it shall attract the attention of many men. God has said it shall gather from every nation under heaven those who are to be saved and they shall be pricked, by the power of God and be led to the gathering place of the people of the Lord. ¶

Some of the things that we have heard, my brethren and sisters, may be classed among the deep things of the kingdom, they may seem to be very great and very wonderful, and yet there are other precious things that are easily understood and seem to be very simple. Let us be very thankful for the things that are simple. We should all ¶

praise God and be thankful for the testimony that has been borne in our hearing that the winning of salvation in the presence of the great creator is but a simple thing. That it is by the doing of little things that do not call for any very marvelous talent, that men and women will eventually work out their salvation and be approved by our Father in heaven. That gives me hope, it gives me courage to know that God will not make any requirement of me that I am not able to meet, if I will but hearken to the counsels that are imparted from time to time, and endeavor to do as best I may the things that are allotted to me to do. I feel that every man and every woman who has named the name of the Redeemer, should take comfort in the thought that God makes no requirement of men, neither of communities, that they are not able to meet. God always provides a way for the carrying out of His commandments and for the accomplishment of all His purposes. ¶

I hope that as a people we will be mindful of the blessings of the Lord that rest upon us so bountifully. Wherever we go, in traveling about among the people, in the north, and in the south, in the east, and in the west, we see that the hand of God has been over the people ; that they are being blest and prospered ; that the people are reaping bounteous harvests ; so bountiful that they scarcely are able to take care of the things that have been given them by our Father in heaven and that are now being garnered from the harvest field. We ought not to be forgetful of the demands of the Lord in our prosperity. We have had reference made in regard to the principle of tithing, to honoring the requirement of our ¶

Father in relation to this great law. I think we ought to be glad to honor God and to give to Him, whatever may be necessary in the observance of His law, that we may have continued claim upon His blessings. We should set such examples before our offspring that they will always remember in the future of their lives, even after we ourselves may be called away from this sphere of action, that father and mother observed the commandments of the Lord, that they were honest with Father in heaven. Such example will surely bear fruit in the lives of the children, and perchance in a time to come, prick their hearts and bring them to repentance, if they should ever be indifferent, or if they ever incline to waywardness concerning the commandments of the Lord. Do you ever think of the feelings fathers and mothers must have, who do not observe the Word of Wisdom, who are not honest with the Lord in the payment of their tithing, when they discover that their children are growing up around them, and are going to places of worship, and to various organizations that have been established by the commandment and will of God for the education of the rising generation, where they are properly taught the things of God. When they learn the necessity of yielding obedience to the Word of Wisdom, and of putting away the things that are injurious to their wonderful physical organizations, they at the same time discover that they have lived in the homes of their parents, contrary to the counsel of the Lord. There must be strange feelings take possession of boys and girls under such conditions. Humiliation also must come to parents when they know the children have discovered that father and mother have not been true to the faith. I think every father and mother should be anxious to so live that when their sons and daughters go out from the home, when they come in contact with officers, and with elders of the Church who are preaching the Gospel of the Redeemer of the world, they will always have something bearing testimony within them : "That is what I have been taught by my father and by my mother; that example has always been set before me in my home. There is nothing strange or new in relation to these things. I have been acquainted with them all my life." I understand, my brethren and sisters, that we are not only to win salvation ourselves, by an observance of the little things, we are also by such example, to win men who are in darkness to the light as it is now manifest. The Word of Wisdom, the law of tithing, the honoring of the Sabbath day, being honest with our fellow men, being good citizens, being industrious, and sober, and upright, these little things, as they may be termed, can be complied with by all men, and their observance make up a perfect character, that sort of character that is required by our Father in heaven, that men may be saved in His presence when they have finished with the battle of life. ¶

I thank God for the thrill that comes into my being as I listen to the testimonies of the servants of the Lord, and that I have no feeling of opposition to the counsels and doctrines that have been given us by those who have a right to teach, but that I have the feeling in my heart that what we have been taught, is true. The counsels as imparted are for my benefit and for ¶

my advantage, and to assist me in winning the battle in which I am engaged. I am thankful for a knowledge of the truth of the work of God and for the splendid history that has been made by the people of the Lord. The more one studies the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the more he discovers in it, that makes him feel this surely is not the work of men, but it must be the work of God. ¶

I plead with men to seek to magnify the authority of the holy priesthood, in the preaching of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, preaching it at home as it is preached abroad. I regret, my brethren and sisters, that there is occasion to cry out to men who have been honored with divine authority, and who have been magnified in the eyes of men, in the preaching of the word of the Lord, to return to the path of duty, and live the principles here at home in the wards and stakes of Zion, that they have taught men abroad in the world to receive. We need to remember that the eyes not only of those who are not of us, but the eyes of those who may have been convinced by our own teaching and testimony abroad in the various missions of the world, rest upon us here in Zion, and that we are responsible for the discourse we are delivering day by day, by our conduct and in choosing the path in which we walk, our example is observed by the people. I would like to invite and plead with missionaries that they shall not only bear testimony when they come home to their people, of the hand of God that has been over them, and His blessing that has attended them, but that they will manifest, year in and year out, that their hearts are filled ¶

with gratitude because of those blessings, and because God has revealed unto them the truth of His Gospel, and has honored them with the power and authority of His priesthood. ¶

There is room for every man to work in Zion. There is a cry in every ward, and with every presiding officer, for help that the youth may be cared for, that the organizations of the Church may be looked after, that the principles of the Gospel may be brought constantly to the attention of the people. We who have received the authority of the priesthood and who have been so marvelously and abundantly blest by our Heavenly Father, should see to it that we are exercising the authority that has been conferred upon us, for the glorifying of the name of our Father in heaven and the salvation of the souls of men. ¶

I rejoice that I have standing in the Church. I bear record and testimony to the truth of the Gospel. I know it is the power of God. I know it has been revealed from the heavens. I know the Father and the Son have appeared upon this earth, in our own time, and that They taught Joseph Smith the way of salvation ; that They also sent holy angels conferring upon Him * the authority of the holy priesthood, ¶

and gave him commandment for the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I have learned this by the manifestations of the Spirit of the Lord to me as an individual, and I feel grateful for this testimony. I pray that it may remain with me, and that a similar testimony may remain also with you, my brethren and sisters. May our lives be fruitful in evidence that God has revealed to us the truth, and may our light and right living lead other men to an investigation of the message that has been committed to men in our own dispensation. God grant that the hearts of many may be touched, that they also may have their feet planted in the straight and narrow way that leads back into the presence of our Father and to the eternal salvation of the human family. God help us all to endure to the end, I humbly pray, through Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶