My brethren and sisters, I am

My brethren and sisters, I am here this afternoon because I was requested to be here. I always prefer to sit in the audience rather than ¶

to occupy a place upon the stand. I am entirely relying upon the Spirit of the Lord to assist me in this position this afternoon. I know that if I say anything that will be of interest to us, or be beneficial, that it will be through His help, because in and of myself I am inadequate to successfully occupy such a responsible position as has been allotted to me here. ¶

There is a passage of scripture that very often comes to my mind. It is a passage that I think of a great deal, as it seems to me of great importance to all mankind: "This is eternal life to know Thee, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent." In other words, if we attain to the greatest blessing that is in store for mankind, that of eternal life, it is absolutely necessary that we gain for ourselves a knowledge of the Father and of the Son, a knowledge of their attributes, of their characteristics and of our relationship to them, as mortals here upon the earth. I want to say, my brethren and sisters, that the key of this knowledge has been restored to the earth in this dispensation. It has come through the restoration of the Gospel to the Prophet Joseph Smith. We are fully aware that, at the time when this great revelation was given unto this young man, actual knowledge of the Son of God and our Heavenly Father was not in existence in the world. There was no religious denomination teaching the truth concerning those holy Beings. Mankind were being taught that God, our Heavenly Father, was a Being or a something that was not tangible, that He had neither body, parts nor passions, that He was some mythical being that we could not and ought not to be able to behold, or comprehend. I am justified ¶

in saying that, at the present time, by virtue of this key of knowledge coming to earth in this dispensation, and through the proclamation thereof by our humble elders, who have been sent to the world to preach the Gospel, the doctrine of a bodiless and passionless God, and a throneless heaven, is not so prevalent, and the truth is taking the place thereof. ¶

One of the great testimonies that has come under my observation, is the change that is taking hold of men's minds concerning religious principles and doctrines. Great men have come forward and advocated a principle that borders on the truth that has been restored to the Latterday Saints. They have not got it from any of their creeds, because it is not taught in any of them ; but they perceived a glimmer of light, and they have put forth their views along these lines, and it appears that they are approaching a true and correct theory and idea concerning God, our Eternal Father, and Jesus Christ whom He hath sent. ¶

These wonderful conference gatherings, are also a testimony to me, and I do not know where you could go in all the world and see anything equal to this that is before us today, these wonderful gatherings of people from all parts of the earth, we might say. ' They have come up here according to appointment, to be instructed in the ways of the Lord. They have left their labors, their business and their worldly affairs behind them. They spend their own money, and give their time and means to come here and hear instructions from the Lord, that they may carry them back to the people with whom they associate in these United States, and abroad also. We do not gain converts through holding religious revivals, or on account ¶

of being able to send men into the world who have acquired ability to preach the Gospel; but we send, largely, young boys and girls who are inexperienced, and they humble themselves before the Lord, and carry this message to the world. It is through their humility, their cleanliness of life, their honesty of purpose, that mankind are attracted to them, and listen to the truth they proclaim. There is no organization in the world that conducts its proselyting along lines like these. They would be afraid to send their young men and young women into the world as we do. I venture to say that if they sent such missionaries among the Latter-day Saints, we would be the cause of their returning home with their religious views largely expanded, at least. ¶

This work is growing. We can hardly comprehend its magnitude. In the state of Idaho, where I live, there are from seventy to seventyfive thousand Latter-day Saints, and we are increasing. The influence of the Church is being felt ; it is extending, results are beginning to be known and noticed, and we are glad to say that we see and realize good coming therefrom. We are doing all in our power to maintain the good influence of this great work that has been entrusted into our care in the state of Idaho. We are progressing. I can state to you in truthfulness that Idaho, the state of my adoption, has today upon its statutes the most drastic, honest, clean-cut, effective temperance legislation of any state in this nation. I want to warn those who do not live within the confines of that state that, after the fourth of next May, if you visit us it will be unlawful for you to cross the line into Idaho "with anything in the way of intoxicants in your possession. I am thankful for this. I feel that we have now, to this extent at least, been enabled to throw safeguards around our young people, that they will not have these temptations to intemperance placed before them, and we will be enabled to devote our attention to other lines of improvement. We have ample opportunity for advancement along other lines, but this is a good start. I believe, my brethren and sisters, that one of the evils we should remedy in the communities of the Latter-day Saints, as well as elsewhere, is the vicious forms of dancing. The methods and styles that are being adopted in that line, in a great many instances, are abominable. We who hold responsible positions, and have received the priesthood of the Master, should exert our influence and efforts to eradicate this evil. We ought to be as energetic in driving all evil things from our midst as the Savior of mankind was in driving the money changers out of the temple. ¶

I hope and pray that we will be enabled to fulfill our obligations in these responsible conditions, and handle the problems confronting us honestly and conscientiously, that good may result from our efforts ; and mav the Lord bless us to this end. May He give us strength to do our duty. May He bless us with wisdom and understanding, that we will be enabled to see and comprehend our duties and thwart the enemv of the souls of our people. May His testimony be with us, that we mav grow in faith, that we may prosper and advance spiritually. Mav we gain for ourselves a knowledge of the Father and of the Son. and thereby secure the great blessing of eternal life, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen. ¶