The word of the L,ord quick and powerful—

Brethren and sisters, we have come up this morning, as we did yesterday, to hear the word of the Lord, and whether he speaks by his own voice or the voice of his Spirit or by the voice of revelation, his word is plain, simple, direct and emphatic, and he invariably speaks in the language of the common people that all may understand. It is said of his word that it is quick and powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword to the dividing asunder of both joints and marrow. The Lord never indulges in idle talk but his sayings are deep with meaning. As an illustration, it is said of him, when he was upon the earth, that he went up into the mount and his disciples gathered around him, and he taught them, saying: ¶

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven ; blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted; blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth; blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled; blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy; blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God; and Messed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God." ¶

I submit to you, brethren and sisters, that these words of the Savior are impressive, far-reaching and comprehensive in their character, and if they were closely followed, would be a sufficient guide through life. On the other hand, the Lord was terrible in his denunciation of the wicked. He said upon one occasion : "Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites. For ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men, for ye neither enter in yourselves, neither suffer ye those who are entering to go in. Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocites. For ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretense, offer long prayers. Therefore, ye shall receive the greater damnation. Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites ; for ye compass sea and land to make one convert, and when he is made ye make him two-fold more the child of hell than yourselves."- Now, it would seem from this that the Lord despised a hypocrite, one who pretended to be one thing and yet was another, and he pronounced against all such a woe. ¶

The word of the Lord in these latter days, my brethren and sisters, as it has come to us through the Prophet Joseph Smith — and he was a great prophet — is plain, simple, direct and emphatic, and given in such language as formerly used that all may understand. I refer you for a moment to a revelation given through Joseph, the Seer, in Zion, in Jackson county, Missouri, August 7, 1831 : "Behold, blessed, saith the Lord, are they who have come up into this land with an eye single to my glory according to my commandments ; for them that live shall inherit the .earth, and them that die shall rest from all their labors and their works shall follow them. They shall receive a crown in the mansions of my Father, which I have prepared for them. Yea, blessed are they whose feet stand upon the land of Zion, who have obeyed my gospel, for they shall receive for their reward the good things of the earth and it shall bring forth in its strength. They shall' also be crowned with blessings from above; yea, and with commandments not a few ; and with revelations in their time, they that are faithful and diligent before me." ¶

Brethren and sisters, what a comprehensive saying is this. There are two things connected with these words that impress me deeply, and that is this, blessed are those who have obeyed the gospel and, secondly, who have come up to the land of Zion — Missouri was the land of Zion. I take it that this is also the land of Zion, and we are here in the midst of the stakes of Zion, and the word that was given to them might well be given to us. I think it was intended for us. It mattered ¶

little whether they lived or they died. If they died, they were to be blessed and were to enter into the mansions that were prepared for them, and if they lived, the earth was to be blessed for their sake, and it was to give forth in its strength; and, moreover, and what is of far greater importance, they were to receive the revelations of the Lord not a few. But now, it would seem from a further reading of this revelation, that it was not alone sufficient for them to have obeyed the gospel and to have come up to the land of Zion, for the Lord gave them a further commandment and in it he told them five important things that they should do and he told them at least three very important things that they should not do. He uses the word "shall." It was not that they may not do those things, or that perhaps it would be wise that they should not do them, but he says thou shalt not do them. Theni again he says of the other things : Thou shalt do them. These were the things they were not to do : Thou shalt not steal ; thou shalt not commit adultery, nor kill, nor do anything like unto it. Now, it sometimes happens that when a person finds a thing, he may pick it up on the street, he may pick it up in a building, but he has found it and he assumes that it is his by right of discovery. It is not his ; he has stolen it, and the Lord has commanded against this sin, whether he finds a thing that does not belong to him or whether he has taken it of his own accord. It does not belong to him, and it ought to be returned to the owner. Adultery is the deadly sin of this age, and was the deadly sin of other ages. This great evil has led to the separation in thousands of instances of husband and ¶

wife, and it is perhaps the great cause, and the greatest of all causes, leading to divorce. The Lord has said to his people, Thou shalt not do it. You know that in early times, in the days of the Pilgrim Fathers, if it were reported throughout the country that a murder had been committed, great was the sensation among the people ; it caused a shock to all who heard it, but now, the account of a murder hardly arouses attention, and we give to it but passing interest, showing how things have changed since this great country of ours was first settled. Killing is very common today and particularly in those nations that are at war, when thousands and tens of thousands — well, shall I say hundreds of thousands? yes, are being slain, and really it would be difficult to find a just cause for it. The Lord has said to his people, Thou shalt not kill, and he said it with a voice of authority. These are the five things, brethren and sisters, that the Lord has said we shall do. He commands it. Thou shalt love the Lord, thy God, with all thy heart, with all thy might, mind and strength, and in the name of Jesus Christ, thou shalt serve him. What a glorious doctrine is this the first great commandment. If we could accept it, if we could carry it out in our lives, if we could only do it, the way would be easy and the burden would be light. And the next commandment is like unto it, and given in the same strong, emphatic language: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Oh, if a man could only do that. If it were possible — and I take it, it is possible, because the Lord has commanded it — but if we could only love our neighbor as we love ourselves, what a splendid victory would he achieved. We always ¶

favor ourselves, we are always very charitable to ourselves, we are quite willing to forgive ourselves when we are in the wrong. Well, that is the way we must be towards our neighbor. We must be kind to him, we must be charitable to him, must be forgiving, and, must look with mercy upon his weaknesses and imperfections. I take it to mean just that much at least. Thou shall thank the Lord thy God in all things. Blessed is the man or blessed is the woman that has a thankful heart who does not murmur nor complain nor find fault with the Lord if some little trouble comes, some little misfortune, something perhaps, that will benefit him in his after experience, yet he does not find fault. He takes life as it comes; he meets it fairly and squarely, and thanks the Lord. The revelation further says : "Thou shalt offer a sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in righteousness, even with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, and that thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world, thou shalt go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day. For verily, this is a day appointed unto you to rest from your labors and pay thy devotions unto the Most High." ¶

How direct, how exact, how perfect, is the thought expressed, regarding the observance of the Sabbath day to. keep it holy. Now, here is the people of the Lord the Latter-day Saints, and this command; ment applies to them even if others reject it. It is not supposed that they will remain at home upon the Sabbath day, even to read, or to read good books, or to read the scriptures, when they ought to be in the house of prayer, in the house of worship, in the house of the Lord, ¶

ELDER RUDGER CLAW SON. ¶

where they are commanded to go. It is not supposed that they will rush off into the canyons to hunt and fish; it is not supposed they will go off on pleasure excursions, or go to various resorts, and I am sure it is not supposed, never intended, that they should go to the theatres and to moving picture shows on the Sabbath day, and thus desecrate it. ¶

I remember once upon the Sabbath day while in the city of London, the biggest, the mightiest city on earth, I found it to be perfectly dead. There was not a thing doing, there seemed to be no life there at all, hardly anybody upon the streets. The buildings were all closed up and it was difficult even to get a meal of victuals. In Canada, under the English government, if a man is seen) traveling along the highway on the Sabbath day with a loaded wagon, his team struggling, sweating, and fuming, the, man is immediately arrested for desecrating the Lord's holy day. How different that is from what we see in free America. Yes, it is a great free country, and the Latterday Saints, the people of the Lord, are supposed to use that freedom by observing his word and keeping his commandments. ¶

The Lord bless you, brethren and sisters, the Lord bless our president and prophet, and his counselors and the authorities of the Church, and all, is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶