Prophets have foretold of the judgments poured out

My brethren and sisters, I trust this morning that I may be led by the Spirit of the Lord in what I shall say unto you, that it may be in harmony with that which has been said during the sessions of this conference. I feel to endorse most thoroughly the remarks that have been made by the brethren. We have been instructed in the principles of the gospel; we have been taught our duty as members of the Church ; we have been admonished and guided and helped, if we will only put into practice the things that we have heard. I know that this is the work of the Lord; that these people here assembled are people who have made covenant with him to keep his commandments and who have come out of the world from among the various nations and have partaken of the waters of life freely accepting the gospel of our Lord. With Brother Ivins, who has just spoken, I can testify that when the Lord will come he will find faith upon the earth. That faith, however, which he will find, shall be ¶

limited to a very small portion of the inhabitants of the earth. He will not find faith in the nations abroad to any noticeable extent ; he will not find faith among the peoples of the earth who have not received the gospel as it has been restored, but there will be faith among those of the house of Israel who have been gathered out from the nations and who have repented of their sins and received the message that came through the Prophet Joseph Smith. ¶

I am very sorry that the greater portion of the earth at this time should be in turmoil ; that the great nations abroad should be at war and in such deadly conflict. Nevertheless, I realize that these are judgments that have come upon these nations, who have departed from the gospel of the Lord and have not repented of their sins, and will not hearken to the message of the elders of Israel. These judgments now being poured out on, the nations have been predicted by the prophets and they are coming because of the iniquities that exist in the earth. If the people were of one mind, if they were of one heart, if they were living the gospel of our Lord, as he has instructed us to live it, then such conditions could not possibly prevail. The Lord has declared that unless we are one we are not his, and where his gospel has taken hold of the people there can not be such bitterness of feeling, contention and bloodshed, as we find over the greater portion of the earth today. The present condition of the world is an incontrovertible evidence that the power and purity of the gospel is not to be found in their churches and that they are not in fellowship with the Lord. ¶

ELDER JOSEPH F. SMITH, JR. ¶

I desire to read to you a few verses from the second chapter of the book of Ether, and, if I may be so led, I desire to make some comments bearing upon these expressions. These are the words of the Lord to his prophet, many centuries before the' advent of our Savior in the earth, speaking of this land in which we dwell : ¶

"And the Lord would not suffer that they" [that is, the people of Jared] "should stop beyond the sea in the wilderness, but he would that they should come forth even unto the land of promise, which was choice above all other lands, which the Lord God had preserved for a righteous people; ¶

"And he had sworn in his wrath unto the brother of Jared, that whoso should possess this land of promise, from that time henceforth and forever, should serve him, the true and only God, or they should be swept off when the fulness of his wrath should come upon them ¶

"And now we can behold the decrees of God concerning this land, that it is a land ,of promise, and whatsoever nation shall possess it. shall serve God, or shall be swept off; for when the fulness of his wrath shall come upon them. And the fulness of his wrath cometh upon them when they are ripened in iniquity; ¶

"For behold, this is a land which is choice above all other lands; wherefore he that doth possess it shall serve God, or shall be sewpt off; for it is the everlasting decree of God. And it is not until the fulness of iniquity among the children of the land, that they are swept off. ¶

"And this cometh unto you, O ye Gentiles, that ye may know the decrees of God, that ye may repent, and not continue in your iniquities until the fulness come, that ye may not bring down the fulness of the wrath of God upon you, as the inhabitants of the land hath hitherto done. ¶

"Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoevet nation shall possess it, shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus ¶

Christ, who hath been manifested by the things which we have written." ¶

These words were recorded by the Prophet Moroni as he testified concerning these things which the Lord declared to the brother of Jared, and in commenting upon them, after the destruction of the Jaredites and also his own race, the Nephites, Moroni wrote for the benefit of the Gentiles, who, in the distant future, were to possess the land, that they also would be in danger of destruction ; that they would also be swept off from the face of the land, if they should practice iniquity and refuse to hearken to the voice of the God of this land, who is Jesus Christ. I wish to raise my voice in warning to the Latter-day Saints, and not only to them, but to all the people of this American continent, and to all the world, that these predictions will be fulfilled, providing the people in this land continue until their cup is full, unrepentant in their abominable practices and their iniquity and their opposition to the teachings of the Son of God and his commandments, as that opposition is increasing at this time. We Latter-dav Saints have received the restored gospel and have made covenant with the Lord that we will serve him and accept him as the God of this land. Nevertheless, I want to call your attention to the fact that the ways of the world have crept in among us and are becoming established in the midst of the people of Zion. Right here in this city, which at one time was indeed a city of the Saints, but is that no longer, can be found all manner of abomination and iniquity. ' The ideas, theories, the fashions and ungodliness of the world, their sins and evil practices are to he found within the ¶

borders of our cities. Unless we are on our guard we are in constant danger. This people who are under solemn covenants to keep the commandments of the Lord are threatened by the sins and worldly abominations of this generation, and many among us are liable to be led astray, unless we keep a careful vigil and hedge them about by every means at our command. We have been called out from the world into the kingdom of God, and while we are yet in the world, we are not of the world in the sense that we are under any necessity to partake of their evil customs, and fashions, their follies, false doctrines and theories, which are in conflict with the spirit of truth. ¶

Today is the Sabbath day and yet in this city the theatres, moving pictures and places of amusement are running full blast as they are on every Sabbath day throughout the year, because of the selfishness of men and their disregard of the command of the Lord to obey his law and keep his day holy. We are inflicted not only with these temptations, but they come to us in many other forms, and if we are not aware, there is danger of us losing the Spirit of the Lord and falling into transgression by yielding to temptations that may not appear to us as being of much consequence. But little things lead to greater and step by step we are carried away from that which is right and just, and gradually we become blind to the truth. The Lord has called upon us to be a sober-minded people, not given to much laughter, frivolity and light-mindedness, but to consider thoughtfully and thoroughly the things of his kingdom that we may be prepared in all things to understand the glorious ¶

truths of the gospel, and be prepared for blessings to come. Let me read a verse from the Doctrine and Covenants. This is the command of the Lord to the Latter-day Saints : ¶

"Remember the great and last promise which I have made unto you. Cast away your idle thoughts and your excess of laughter far from you." And then again, in the same section, I have read from section 88 :69 ; I now read from verse 121 : "Therefore, cease from all your light speeches, from all laughter, from all your lustful desires, from all your pride arid lightmindedness, and from all your wicked doings." This is the word of the Lord to the Latter-day Saints. I believe that it is necessary for the Saints to have amusement, but it must be of the proper kind. I do not believe the Lord intends and desires that we should pull a long face and look sanctimonious and hypocritical. I think he expects us to be happy and of a cheerful countenance, but he does not expect of us the indulgence in boisterous and unseemly conduct and the seeking after the vain and foolish things which amuse and entertain the world. He has commanded us to the contrary for our own good and eternal welfare. ¶

I deplore the fact that these modern dances, some of which had their origin in unsavory places, have come among us. I regret beyond measure the public dance which, in my judgment, in its baneful results, the destruction of good morals and virtue, is second only to the saloon. This evil is growing and taking root in the stakes of Zion, in the communities of Latter-day Saints. There is today an excess in dancing. In some communities one or two each week which is not good no matter how innocent the dance may be. In these public dance halls, which are run for the making of money, the people, in some localities without regard to character or standing of the individual,- permit any one to enter without question, if he will pay the price of admission. This is an abominable custom and should not be tolerated by members of the Church in the settlements under their control. ¶

The world, is drifting. I do not believe, I cannot feel, as I read the signs of the times, ponder over things that come before me for consideration, that this world is growing better ; I do not believe it for a minute. I believe that we are drifting. Many things are tolerated today that would not have been tolerated for a moment twenty years ago. New problems have arisen with which we must now contend that we never dreamed of even in the, days of my youth. We have evils in the world now to combat that have been brought into existence through modern invention and discovery, such as the moving picture show, joy riding in automobiles and the rapid means of transportation from place to place as a means of seeking pleasure during the hours of both dav and night. The moving picture should be of the greatest value in the education and instruction of the people, and would teach us history, geography and science, to the very best advantage, if properly presented, but to the contrary, it is largely controlled bv unscrupulous men who give to the public a flood of miserable stuff that excites their passions and appeals to the baser side of man. ¶

T live on one of the main thoroughfares in this city, and at all hours of the night I am disturbed, and my neighbors are disturbed, by hearing the boisterous laughter and ribald jests of carousing men and women as they ride through the street in a drunken condition — I judge that they are drunken because I do not think for a minute anybody in soberness could possibly carry on in such a disgraceful manner as they do. We must contend with all these things. I don't say that these are Latter-day Saints who do this ; of course, they are not. I don't say that they are members of the Church, but I want to say that I think the parents in Israel should protect their children, they should have a little more watchcare over them, they should pay a little more attention to them and train them a little more carefully in the principles of the gospel, both by precept and by example. Children should not be permitted to go unprotected and without proper escort to places of amusement, no matter where or how harmless the amusement may be. A little more supervision in this regard would be far better in the homes of Latter-day Saints. I draw attention to these matters as a warning because these evils prevail in our midst, and we are under the necessity of meeting them and overcoming them. Our children will have to be taught to discern between good and evil, otherwise in many respects they will not be able to understand why they are not permitted to indulge in practices that are common with their neighbors. Unless they are instructed in the doctrines of the Church, they will not, perhaps, understand why there is any harm in the Sunday concert, a Sunday theatre, picture show, ball game, or something of that kind, ¶

when their playmates, without restraint and with encouragement, indulge in these things forbidden of the Lord on his holy day. The parents are responsible for the proper teaching of their children, the Lord will condemn the parents if their children grow up outside of the influence of the principles of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. I want to see righteousness prevail throughout Zion. I do not believe that it is necessary in the least for us to partake of all the notions and customs of the world. We should give our attention a little more seriously to the things of the kingdom of God. We are living in the latterdays when, it has been predicted, perilous times would come. These perilous times are here, which fact should cause us thoughtful reflection. ¶

Let me say that these passages of scripture that I have read from the Book of Mormon are true, and that this nation is not exempt, and the people, if they continue to pur- , sue the course of evil and ungodliness that thev are now treading, shall eventually be punished. If they continue to disregard the warning voice of the Lord, deny their Redeemer, turn from his gospel unto fables and false theories, and rebel against all that he has through his servants in this day declared for the salvation of man ; and if thev increase in the practice of iniquity, I want to say to you, that if they do these things, the judgments of the Lord will come upon this land, and this nation will not be saved ; we will not be spared from war, from famine, from pestilence and finallv from destruction, as a nation. Therefore. I call upon the people, not onlv Latter-dav Saints, but to all throughout the whole land ¶

to repent of their sins and to accept the Lord Jesus Christ, who is our Redeemer and the God of this land. Turn from your evil ways, repent of your sins and receive the fulness of the gospel through the waters of baptism and obedience, that the judgments which shall be poured out upon the ungodly may pass you by. I rejoice in the truth. I am very grateful for the knowledge I have that this is the work of the Lord established for the last time never to be destroyed or given to other people. I desire to prove faithful and to teach others to do the same. ¶

In regard to these other evils that I have spoken of, my attention is called to the fact that there is another one, the effects of which are very, very harmful. This is card playing, which is indulged in, I am sorry to say, by some members of the Church. We have been taught all the days of our lives, that card playing is not good and is contrary to the order and discipline of the Church. The authorities have called upon the people, and it is published in our magazines, to refrain from this evil indulgence. Notwithstanding all this, we find among us some who look upon card playing as a very harmless pastime. It isn't harmless, but very harmful. It shows a lack of obedience to the counsels of the Lord on the part of members who indulge in this evil, and if nothing more could be said of it, it is at least a most pernicious waste of time that could be employed in some better occupation. I believe in physical sport, I believe in recreation and amusement of the kind that is beneficial to the body and the mind of man, and that play of the proper kind is good and ought to be indulged in at times, ¶

ELDER JOSEPH F SMITH, JR. ¶

especially by those whose work is such that they do not get the necessary physical exercise required by their bodies. I do not believe in the waste of good time in practicing anything which is condemned by the authorities of the Church, as they give the counsel as it comes to them through the inspiration of the Spirit of the Lord. The Latter-day Saints should put their trust in their leaders, and follow the teachings of the authorities of the Church, for they speak unto them with the voice of prophecy and inspiration. The Lord has declared in the very first section in the Doctrine and Covenants, that whether he speak by his own voice or through the voice of his servants, it is the same. Therefore, we are under just as great responsibility and obligation to hearken unto the voice of the one who stands at the head to teach the people, or to listen unto the voice of the elders of Israel, as they carry among the people the message of truth, as we are though the Lord should send from his presence an angel or should come himself to declare these things unto us. ¶

Now, brethren and sisters, let us be humble, let us be faithful, let us be true to every trust, and acquit ourselves as faithful members of this Church and labor diligently in the kingdom of God, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶