A tendency among the people of our

I pray and I crave the blessings of my heavenly Father for what few moments I stand before you today, that I may have the same spirit of testimony, of admonition, that has manifested itself with all of the speakers during this conference, so far. It gives me great joy to be able to testify to my brethren and sisters upon this occasion that I know that the gospel of Christ is true. I know that in the end it will accomplish all that God intended it to, and I know that if it were put in force in all the world, we would have a better world to live in. i am thankful to my heavenly Father that I was born of goodly parents. I never forget to thank him that I was born under the covenant of the holy priesthood, and that my parents taught me in my early life all the principles, the doctrines and the teachings made manifest to the people of God through the revelations to his prophet in this dispensation, the Prophet Joseph Smith. I never tire of testifying to this fact wherever I go, and I never am ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation. No person, no matter to what position he attains, can ever be successful in this world if he loses his own soul, and it seems to me that the way the world is drifting today and the conditions of many of the people of our own beloved country are such that care must be taken or else there will be less of the love of God among the people than exists today. ¶

We find for the last fifteen years or more there is a tendency of the people of our country to live beyond ¶

their means, to indulge in practices that cannot help but have the effect of making them unworthy of the blessings of our heavenly Father. We read, once in a while, a warning through the press, and hear occasionally a protest in the pulpit, but it must of necessity be more widely called to the attention of the people or there will be sorrow and trouble come to them. I noticed the other day an editorial, in one of the New York papers, calling attention to this age of luxury and what it means to the people of the United States. I am going to take time to read it to you, my brethren and sisters, for I notice there is a tendency among our own people of living faster than they should live, and indulging in luxuries that do them no good whatever, and only bring trouble upon them and upon their loved ones. The editorial is as follows : ¶

"An age of luxury is always an dge of decadence. When the simple life is given up, temptation begins. When a man or a woman sacrifices thrift for the love of luxury, it is a Jay of evil foreboding, for the love of luxury puts a premium on discontent. A taste for luxurious food and drink is followed by a desire for expensive garments, silks, satins, laces and jewels, things that add nothing essential to comfort or the joy of living. The story of the decadent nations is always the same. When the simple life was abandoned, an era of luxury set in and extravagance drained the nation's resources. Right living went the way (of plain living. Luxury, extravagance and vice follow each other in natural sequence. A luxurious nation finds its resources swept away, its patriotism sacrificed to effeminacy, and its physical wellbeing to the common vices of mankind. Thoughtful men in this day are endeavoring to impress the lesson of thrift on the American people, but the drift is all the other way, here and everywhere. It is a situation ¶

full of danger and the oft-repeated warning is given again in the hope that some may listen and profit, though many scoff and suffer. Don't blame the prosperous worker if he apes the opulent drone. When the latter spends a hundred dollars a plate for a dinner, bedecks himself with gaudy jewels, bestows a one hundred thousand dollar necklace on wife, daughter or favorite, let no one wonder that the flagrant examples of extravagance exert an evil influenec on those who toil for their daily bread. The influence of a bad example is proverbial. Rich as well as poor need to be taught the lessons of right living and right doing." ¶

My brethren and sisters, I know there is a tendency among the people to live beyond their means, and indulge in extravagance. I delivered a speech in the Senate, at this last session of Congress, upon home economics. I called attention to the waste that is going on among the people of our country, and asked Congress to make an annual appropriation for research work by all of our agricultural colleges, for the purpose of bringing to the homes of the people the proper way of preventing waste of foodstuffs, and the proper care of a home. I have not the time now to go into the details of this subject, but I may say to the brethren and sisters that I have received thousands of letters commending in the highest terms my calling attention to the American people on the floor of the Senate, to this pressing question, and I know that if it were more generally called to the attention of the people of our country, it would be better for the American homes. I understand our Relief Society is doing a great work along this line, and I pray to my heavenly Father that they will have success. I predict that it will not be many years before necessity will compel a change in the mode of living today, that it will have to be brought to the homes of all the American people. ¶

I notice in my meeting peoples of the world, that many of them are very much interested in the principles of "Mormonism," and particularly in the organization of our Church, and I know that they are anxious to learn of our beliefs and learn of the work of our organizations, and what is accomplished by them. One fault of most of the religions of the world today is that they are not interested in the temporal welfare of their people. They preach, it is true, sermons from the Bible, and many times in a most learned way, but after the people leave the services, there is very little thought given them until the following Sabbath. When I call attention to the wonderful work of the Felief Society and how they visit the homes of the people every month, how they assist in caring for the sick, how they help the helpless ; when I call attention to the work of the teachers, visiting all of the homes of the Latter-day Saints every month, learning of their condition, temporally and spiritually, and make a report to their bishop every month, ready and willing to assist all who need assistance ; when I call attention to our fast-day meeting, and the offerings of the people there, and the purposes for which those offerings are given, and when I speak of the old folks and the reverence we pay to them, irrespective of creed or color, all express surprise and even approval. I have expressed myself as surprised that the world generally has not followed the examples set by this people in honoring the aged. We are interested in the temporal welfare of our people. We are looking out ¶

for their welfare in this life because we believe in doing so, we assist them greatly in living the principles that will lead them to a greater life beyond. I want to acknowledge to the brethren and sisters that my obedience to the laws of the Church has never been a drawback to me in my life ; and I want to testify, upon the other hand, that it has been a strength and a power to me, and I have never lost a friend that was worthy of being a friend, from living as near as I could to the requirements of the gospel. I plead with you, old and young, to live strictly to the requirements of the gospel of Jesus Christ, its teachings, its admonitions,- and I promise you if you do, you shall receive the blessings of heaven, even greater than you have received them in the past. ¶

Mothers and fathers, I am a little alarmed over our young people and the temptations that are besetting them daily. Twenty years ago we used to think there were many temptations, and there were, but today there are many that we never thought of then, and I think they are even more deadly than the temptations that we, as middle-aged members of the Church, had to withstand. At that time we had no automobiles, there were no moving pictures, and there are hundreds of other temptations that we knew nothing about. I believe that the moving pictures could be, and in many cases are, made a great agency to educate the people of this country. I have not attended many exhibits ; in fact, until this year, I had never entered a moving picture show, with the exception of twice, in my life. But the last few months I have attended a few, and I want to frankly say that some of them were ¶

unfit for young people to attend. No good could come from seeing them ; the story as told by the picture was one that no father or mother would allow repeated in their home or at their fireside. You cannot tell me that it has not made an impression upon the minds of the young people, and Well may we, as parents, if our children are to attend them, know beforehand what the picture is that is going to be presented. There are many of them, I admit, that are clean and they are worthy of the people seeing because of their educational nature, but a great many of them, my brethren and sisters, ought never to be shown, particularly to the young people. I plead with you that you be careful and watch over your children, for they either bring great joy or great sorrow to the parents. God intended that every man and woman who enters wedlock should bring children into this world. Children are precious in the sight of God, and to the father and the mother. I trust that all Latter-day Saints homes will be such that our children can obtain wholesome pleasures without seeking them outside. I pray my heavenly Father that he will instil in the hearts of the mothers and fathers of Israel a desire to look more carefully after their children. We must understand that it will not be many years until they will be the men and the women bearing the responsibilities of this great work, and if they are unspotted from the sins of the world, they will do so, with honor. I want to say that there never was a man who lost his virtue, there never was a woman who lost hers, but what it was detrimental to them, no matter how humbly they repented of it. ¶

I ask God's blessing upon his people, and that they may be humble ¶

and prayerful, that he may bless them, with a testimony which I know most of you have, and I ask it in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶