Seemingly trivial things important to

I have enjoyed the remarks of our President, and I believe we will all be united in praying for him that his cold may leave him, and that his speaking to us may have no bad effect upon his system, for we all rejoice in hearing his voice and listening to his advice to the Saints. What he has told us is very essential to our salvation. They are not trivial things, they are the steps by which we can ascend. The steps of a ladder may be trivial in themselves, but we have to use them if we want to get to the top, and the steps he alluded to are necessary for our development. ¶

He said our adversary is not dead. This is true, men are traveling through the states, berating the Latter-day Saints, accusing them of things that have never entered their hearts. Our young men who go out on missions are astonished to hear such things about their homes, things that never came to their knowledge before, but they have to go abroad to learn what a bad people the Mormons are! Why have you and I joined a people so despised by the world? Our answer is, We joined this Church because we were convinced that it was the Church of Jesus Christ. We are told in holy writ that "This is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent." This shows the great importance of religion, for religion deals with the knowledge of God. Some may take it in their hearts to speak lightly of the necessity of religion ; I have heard such people say : "If we do right to our neighbors and do not take advantage of them, that is good enough religion for me." That is certainly a good course of conduct, and religion inculcates that doctrine upon all, but we are all looking forward to eternal life, and if eternal life is to know the only true God, we must seek to know Him, and hence the necessity of religion. ¶

There are so many religious denominations in the world, and the question arises, How shall I find the correct one? Paul tells us there is but one true faith, that none is allowed to preach any other gospel than the one he preached : for if one should do so, he says : "Let him be accursed." It is therefore of vital consequence to know which is the true religion. The Lord has not left us without means to know this for ourselves. We have His word, which we can study, and it was written by men inspired by the Holy Ghost. While we are convinced of this, we do not believe that the word of God as contained in the sacred books is able to authorize men to officiate in the ordinances of the Gospel. The word of God is for our guidance, but we need the living oracles to direct and guide us and to administer the ordinances. ¶

We joined this Church because we had investigated its principles, and we found that the teachings by the Prophet Joseph Smith were like those given by the Savior and His apostles formerly. I want to say that similarity is not a perfect test, for it might be possible for some reformer to imitate the outward form of the Church as given in the New Testament, and then establish a church, but even such likeness would not make it a true church, it would be a mere man-made imitation, which would be valueless, for ¶

the Lord says: "But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrine the commandments of men." The true Church must be established by authority of God, and there must be the life of the Holy Spirit in it. The Holy Ghost must be conferred upon the members by the ordinance ordained for its bestowal, and when the Spirit is received it will testify unto the recipients that they have obeyed the demands of the true Gospel. Now we have not feared to tell men that this is the Gospel of Christ, and that those who would obey it should know for themselves that they have obeyed His teachings. We have applied the same test which He gave when those who listened to Him were loth to accept His teachings. He said to them, "If any man will do His [the Father's] will, he shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God, or whether I speak of Myself." We have tested the teachings of the elders who came to us by doing the Father's will as declared by them, and we have verified what they have promised. We went into the waters of baptism, and became members jof the Church of Christ ; we received the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, and it bore witness to our spirit of the truth, and that what was done was accepted by our Heavenly Father. For this reason we can say with Paul, that we are not ashamed of the Gospel, for we know it is the power of God unto salvation ; doubt and darkness have fled and we have felt that we are in communion with our Heavenly Father and with the Son. Feeling this assurance and having this testimony for ourselves, what manner of men ought we not to be? How grateful we ought to show ourselves, to our Heavenly Father for this knowledge. Men may deride us, mock at us, but what does it matter? We know we have the truth. ¶

I want to say. to my brethren, with this testimony in your hearts don't feel too secure and think, "I have done all that is necessary, I know I have entered through the door into the kingdom of God, and I need not fear." Remember that if we shall obtain our salvation we must work it out in fear and trembling. Every day has its duties. It is not the one who enters through the door that shall be saved, but it is he who endures to the end, and enduring and overcoming are the lessons which we must learn. If we overcome ourselves, and everything that is contrary to the word of God, if we endure affliction, trials and persecution for the Master's sake, then we shall realize the promises made to the faithful. ¶

Let us examine ourselves and ascertain our real condition. Are we alert and zealous for the upbuilding of the kingdom of God, or has the desire to build ourselves up temporally taken away our zeal for the upbuilding of the kingdom of God? I am afraid that too many are seeking too much the things of the world, and forgetting that which is of greater importance. Remember that the things of the world we must leave behind us, but the good works done here upon the earth will follow us, they will be riches which we have laid up in the treasury above. Don't be afraid that you shall lose your reward for the good that you do ; records are kept both on earth and in heaven, and every good act you have performed will ¶

be remembered, and rewarded. On the other hand we are told by one who had authority to say so, that we shall give account of every idle word spoken, and if we shall be accountable for every idle word, what about evil acts and evil doings? They certainly will stand against us. ¶

Latter-day Saints, honor the covenants you have made with the Lord, serve Him earnestly and faithfully, and idon't let anything shake your faith. The one who has lost his faith has lost more than the world can give ; hence the necessity of our valuing at its true worth what the Lord has done for us. ¶

I was pleased to hear the President relate about the teachers that came to his daughter's home. I hope that the teachers all through Zion, will do like those teachers did. Let them sit down with the people and learn how they feel, pray with them and try to buiid them up. Let us receive the teachers when they come to our houses and tell them we are ready to have them teach us. The teacher's duty is to teach the people in the house he visits, whether the head of the house holds a high position in the Church, or none at all, and he should not fear to do his duty because he thinks that the person visited may know more than he. He knows what he is called to go and teach, and let him do this in humility. Before he starts out let him pray to the Lord to be with him, and he will bring joy and edification to those in the homes he visits. ¶

I am afraid there is a carelessness manifest among us in attending our meetings. In some stakes we find that there is a much greater percentage attending the sacrament meetings than in others. Don't let ¶

us neglect this duty and stay away from the house of the Lord on His Holy day, but go there and worship Him, partake of the sacrament, and renew our covenant with the Lord, then we shall receive strength to perform our duties. Some excuse their absence from sacrament meetings by saying that they are afraid they might partake of the sacred emblems unworthily. Well, if you have any such fear in your hearts, see to it that you put yourselves in a condition that you know you can partake worthily, and remember also that it is a commandment to us that we shall go to the Lord's house and partake of the sacrement. If we stay away or avoid partaking of the sacrament, we are . cutting ourselves short of the blessings we could enjoy; in fact such a course will cause spiritual starvation. Go therefore to the house of worship, pray for the man that speaks, and he will be able to convey unto you that which you desire to know, and to build you up in your holy faith. The Lord will be with him. I urge you to attend your meetings, and to the performance of the many other duties that rest upon a Latter-day Saint. It is the only way to feel happy and satisfied. ¶

Remember the President's advice to us about fast offerings. What a beautiful custom it is to fast the first Sunday in the month, and then spend the means that it would cost for food that day to help the poor. Jesus laid great stress upon helping the poor. He knew how liable we are to love the things of the world, and He asked those who had means to remember the poor. Now the Lord has blessed us with means, we may not be of the rich of the earth, but He has blessed us with the necessities of life, and we can spare ¶

enough of them to help our brethren. ¶

Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. Remember to worship God first and foremost and not seek other gods. Mammon is a god that is very much worshiped nowadays. Don't let greed and lust of property draw your minds away from that which you ought to attend to. Your last thoughts at night ought to be prayer and thankfulness to our Heavenly Father, and when you wake let your thoughts ascend to Him and seek His aid and assistance during the day, and do as the Prophet Joseph says, let us get acquainted with our secret chamber also and go there and pour out our hearts to our Heavenly Father. ¶

I want to say a word concerning giving heed to the servants of God, and not to those who are putting themselves forward as teachers, who have not been appointed under the priesthood. Ever since the first days of the Church we have found men who have set themselves up to teach and lead the people. You remember that Brother Hiram Page had a seer-stone through which he received revelations, and commenced to teach the Saints false doctrines. In a revelation to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery the Lord declared that these revelations were not of Him, and a conference of the Church found them to be false. We know at the time of the Prophet's death that many different schisms arose and men went away from the body of the Church. What became of them ? Did they succeed ? They are not known today, and we can point to the different ones who have apostatized from the Church and tried to lead the Saints astray, and we find that they have not been successful. I want to read one saying of the Prophet Joseph's : ¶

"I will give unto you one of the keys of the mysteries of the kingdom. It is an eternal principle that existed with God from all eternity: The man who rises up to condemn others, finding fault with the Church, saying that they are out of the way, while he himself is righteous, then know assuredly that that man is in the high road to apostasy, and if he does not repent he will apostatize, as God lives." ¶

A man was telling me yesterday of a visit he had made as a teacher, and he found a certain man that goes around and holds meetings with people who says that he believes all that the Prophet Joseph said, but the Church is gone somewhat astray, and he is going to be the man mighty and strong to reform the Church. I am surprised that men will listen to him. These words of the Prophet which I have read tell us that those who find fault with the Church and with those who are called to lead it, will apostatize. They may say they will not apostatize and that they believe what is taught in the Church, but they will add something else that is false and erroneous. They try to make people believe that they are very humble and are preaching the truth, and yet they declare that there is going to be a falling away of the Church as formerly. Let me bear this testimony to you, that there will be no falling away of this Church. This dispensation is not going to end as the others have ended. It began with revelation as the others did, but it will continue until the reign of Christ will be introduced upon the earth, and the Lord has said that He will not give it to any other people. ¶

I see the time is going. I want ¶

to warn you against such influences. When men try to lead you astray and set you up against the priesthood of God, you be on your guard ; don't let seductive spirits and influences turn you away from the true path. Make it a matter of prayer, seek the Lord earnestly, do your duties and you will see your way clearly and not be led astray. May the Lord bless you, my brethren and sisters, help us to serve Him who has been so gracious to us, who has given us a knowledge of Himself and of the true plan of salvation, I ask in the name of Jesus. Amen. ¶