My beloved brethren and sisters

My beloved brethren and sisters, I have faced policemen in Germany, Austria and Hungary, but I do not believe that I trembled so much as I tremble this afternoon in standing before you ; and I hope and trust that the Lord will bless me with His spirit, that I may be enabled to say a few suitable words this afternoon. I appreciate more than I am able to say my standing in the Church of Christ. I have a testimony burning in my bosom that tells me that this is indeed the work of God, that God is directing His work here upon the earth. ¶

I am pleased and honored to say that I reside in the Cache Stake of Zion. We have many things there to be thankful for. I don't know of a valley in all the world, that I have visited, that is so blessed as Cache Valley. You only need to ride through the country and see our crops, the bounteous harvest. The people are being blessed on every hand. The Lord is blessing the earth for their sakes ; and I do hope and pray that the people will appreciate the great blessings that the Lord is pouring out upon them. ¶

We are farming in Cache Valley scientifically. We have a fine lot of educated farmers; they are raising splendid crops of beets, and grain ; and when you compare the condition of the farmer of today with that of twenty years ago, I say that we have a great deal to be proud of and grateful for. ¶

The conditions that have brought about the blessings that we are enjoying today, in a great measure, come through those great institutions that have been established in our valley, the Agricultural College ¶

and the Brigham Young College. Those two institutions are doing a wonderful work in educating our young men and young women in farming and dairying. As has been stated today, this is the temporal part of the building up of the kingdom of God upon the earth, and I deem it as one of the essential features of this great work. ¶

We look with pride to the presidents of those colleges ; they are doing a splendid work. We have professors in those institutions who come from many parts of this great nation, and I want to say to you that when these men leave our institutions, they are better men than they were when they came there. The spirit of the Gospel is impressed upon the students of those institutions, and they go from our city filled with the spirit of faith in the gospel. In a great degree they are being taught scientific principles, but they naturally partake of the spiritual influences that are to be found in our city. I am very thankful for this. I am very thankful, my brethren and sisters, for the good support that these college men are giving us in our state. I want to say to the people who are sending their children to Logan to be schooled, that we have a system there, in all of our wards, whereby our young men and young women can be looked after, to become active in the organizations of the Church. Whether they be of Latterday Saint parents or not, we are looking after their best interests. ¶

I was very favorably impressed this morning with the remarks of one of the mission presidents, when he spoke of a young man who was preaching the gospel on a street corner in some eastern city, and he said that he was a poor boy. His mother, ¶

I believe he said, was a widow, and the boy scarcely knew where the next meal was coming from, at the same time, he said, that when he stood before the congregation he was fearless, and bore a marvelous testimony of the Gospel. I want to say to the Latter-day Saints my experience has been that when you send your boys out into the mission field, ■ if you will clothe them with the Spirit of God, the spirit of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and let them leave their money at home, let them go into the mission field depending upon the Lord, that they will be blessed and they will give the Lord an opportunity to bless them, they will give the Lord an opportunity to show them what they can accomplish if they will put their trust in Him. I am an advocate, and believe in the first principle as our fathers did, to go unto the nations of the earth and trust in the Lord, and go without money and without price. I have demonstrated beyond all question of doubt that the Lord can and will take care of our young men. He will take care of us when we go into the world to represent Him. ¶

I pray that the blessings of the Lord may continue with us. May we be united in our supplications to the Lord that He will bless our prophet, that He will bless all those who are called to preside over this great work here upon the earth, this is my prayer and I ask it in the name of the Lord, Amen. ¶