I desire to be guided and directed

I desire to be guided and directed by the spirit which has characterized this splendid conference thus far. When occasion requires me to stand before a congregation to instruct them in the gospel of our Redeemer, I feel very keenly the prayer that was offered by Jeremiah : "O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself. It is not in man that wajketh to guide his steps." Not only do we need the spirit of this great work, when we are called upon to address a con^ gregation, in order that the words we say may be the word of the Lord unto those who hear, but also that that spirit may grace our every-day 'abors. ¶

President Smith, in his opening address, said that this religion is not for Sunday operation only, but it should be carried into the lives of the Latter-day Saints, in their daily labors, that thereby they might be guarded and protected from the evils and the temptations that beset them in their daily lives. There comes to my mind a passage of scripture, wherein instruction was given to a man of ancient Israel, which, had it characterized the people of the world today, would have made it less necessary for the principles of eternal truth to be carried into their lives. ¶

"And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, See, I have called by name ¶

Bezaleel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah: and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, to devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in cutting stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship." ¶

Such was the qualification of this man Bezaleel, upon whom rested the responsibility of building the ark of the covenant and the tabernacle of our Lord. I wonder if, in our everyday labors, we think of this great manifestation of God's goodness and kindness to this man, and if we, as members of modern Israel, when we are employed in cutting or setting of stones, or working in brass or in iron or in gold or silver, whether at the jeweler's table or the blacksmith's forge, or at the lumber camp, if we feel the necessity of the Spirit of God to guide us. ¶

The gospel to me means service. "M-ormonism" spells service. I cannot think of a good, consistent Latter-day Saint who is lazy. The very spirit of this work is that of activity. It is said that idleness is the devil's workshop. When the curse or punishment was pronounced upon our father Adam, by the Lord, that he should eat his bread by the sweat of his brow all the days of his life, it was given to him for his development rather than for his detriment. Every individual who has found the love of Christ, who has a desire to develop according to the pattern that was laid down by our dear Savior, understood and annunciated before the foundations of the world were laid, will never consider work a curse. One of the greatest blessings that God has given to his children is work. ¶

There is nothing that the Lord has done without a purpose. He has a purpose in the organization of this splendid Church, which is commanding the admiration of thinking men throughout the world. Some of the most intellectual men that I have met in my life have paid very high tribute to the splendid, effective organization of which we are a part. It is designed on the part of our heavenly Father that in the work of saving souls each one shall have his portion of the ministry to perform. It is not for an aristocratic, self-appointed priesthood to perform the work for the living and for the dead, and I might add further that this Church knows no aristocracy outside of the aristocracy of righteousness, but he who is righteous will have conferred upon him the priesthood of the. Lord to effectively work in his name, not for his own aggrandizement, but for the blessing of those unto whom he is appointed to labor. I cannot think that the Latter-day Saints hold the priesthood in order to exalt themselves above their fellow men, though the calling is an exalted one. There is no position in all the world that I would prefer to the calling in the priesthood which has come to me, and I would rather be a faithful deacon in this Church than] to be the pope of Rome, or the king of any nation, or the president of this great republic, for I feel that the power that is delegated to God's children upon the earth, when operated according to the spirit of that calling, may result in far greater good, more eternal and lasting benefit, than that which can be performed bv the application of the old law of Moses, which is spread upon the statute books of every civilized nation of the world, or by all ¶

the laws and institutions of man in the civilized world. ¶

It is not within the province of one holding the priesthood to exercise the authority thereof in one's own behalf. It is true we pray to our heavenly Father to bless us. But if one is sick, howsoever high the authority he may hold, he is under the same rule that was left on record by James, that he should call in the elders, who should anoint him with oil, and the prayer of faith shall heal the sick. It does not follow, either, that a person can ordain himself to the calling in the priesthood or baptize himself. And so thoroughly was this shown at the time when John the Baptist came and restored the keys of the Aaronic priesthood to Joseph and Oliver, in Harmony, Susquehannah Co., Pennsylvania, at which time he conferred upon them the priestly authority of Aaron, which holds the keys of the preparatory gospel and the ministry of angels, that the instructions were given for Joseph to baptize Oliver and Oliver to baptize Joseph. Had Joseph announced to the world, that the priesthood had been conferred upon him by John the Baptist, and that he went into the Susquehannah river and there baptized himself, it would have exposed the cloven hoof, so to speak, of his claim. It was shown in the earliest organizing of this work, even in the method in which the Church was organized and established, that the priesthood was only operative in blessing our fellow men. That a man could confer upon himself the priesthood was the error into which the world had previously fallen. They have arrogated or appropriated unto themselves vestments of authority and assumed to labor in the name of the Lord without having that right and authority conferred upon them in the regular order of the Lord. Let me call your attention to an incident in the life of the Master which illustrates very beautifully this principle of the priesthood being a calling to service and not one for glory in one's self, though it is through the priesthood that we shall obtain our glory as we magnify the calling therein. After the baptism of the Master, we are told that he was led into a high mountain to be tempted of the devil. When the adversary appeared to him in his emaciated condition, for we are told that he was an hungered, he tempted Christ to "turn these stones into bread. ' Why? He realized that our Savior v/as hungry, and he invited the Son of God to exercise the priesthood in his own behalf. Jesus answered, "Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God." "Why," the adversary is assumed to have said, "if thou art the son of God, do these things." Think you not the devil stood on the bank of Jordan when Jesus was immersed by John, and on his coming out of the water, saw the heavens open, and the Spirit of God descend upon him in the form of a dove, and a voice from heaven say, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased"? Forty days after, the adversary of men's souls said, "// thou art the Son of God, cause that these stones shall be turned into bread." I would have you remember that Christ entered upon his ministry with the temptation to exercise his priesthood in his own behalf, which he refused to do. Also at the last agonizing moment upon the cross the same temptation was tauntingly hurled in his face. "He saved ¶

others, let him come down • from the cross and save himself." He would riot exercise his authority even to save his own life, though he exercised that authority that we might live. Note the difference between these instances and that of the hungry crowd of 4,000 who met on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, where with seven loaves and a few small fishes he fed the multitude who, after three days' fasting were going to send to the city to buy food ; but the Savior exercised his authority that others might be fed, but he exercised not the authority for himself, and the miraculous feeding of the multitude followed. Thus was seen the example of the Master. Then it is our duty as Latter-day Saints upon whom has been placed the garments of the holy priesthood, to warn our neighbors, to labor for the salvation of others, and not settle upon our farms and sit in our work shops and say, "the Lord has required no special calling of me." Every son of Adam who bears the priesthood has accepted it with a promise and a pledge before Almighty God that he will magnify his calling in the service of others. The efforts and effects are so beautiful, considering that we have no standing ministry after the pattern of the world, but that each individual member who is blessed with a testimony has a right to arise and instruct his fellow men and commit into their hearing his testimony and his instruction, lest he he found with the stain of his brother's blood upon his garments. I trust the time will never come when a Latter-day Saint will even entertain the thought, much less let the word pass his lips, that was uttered by Cain when the Lord asked him, "Where is thy brother Abel," ¶

who said, "Am I my brother's keeper?" Such persons, I tell you, are descendants of Cain, if not literally they are in spirit, and we as Latterday Saints, we who have been warned have been taught to warn our neighbors thus hecoming our brother's keeper. ¶

When we are called from the congregation of the people, we should always be ready and willing to give a reason for the hope that is within us. "The Lord," it is said, "cannot play a good tune on a poor fiddle." It is our duty to be well informed, to be always ready and willing to give a reason for the hope that is within us, and instruct our fellowmen. ¶

We are told by the Apostle Paul in the 12th chapter of Corinthians: "Wherefore I give you to understand that no man, speaking by the Spirit of God,calleth Jesus accursed, and no man can say that Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy Ghost." Then if we are to know that Jesus is the Christ by the operation of the Holy Ghost, what manner of men and women ought we to be, that that Spirit might dwell in our hearts, on Sunday, and on every day of the week ? It matters not what our employment may be. ¶

We are told in the 121st section of the Doctrine and Covenants that when the Spirit of the Lord is withdrawn, it is amen to the priesthood and the authority of that man, and if we do not exercise the authority that is given unto us according to the spirit thereof, we will come far short of the glory that we anticipate receiving, and which the gospel so beautifully depicts before our mental vision. ¶

The Latter-day Saints, upon whom the priesthood is conferred, have opportunities that are not enjoyed by the people of the world. It is always a source of strength to me, and I am sure it is to every one who is called to occupy a position of this kind, to express his desires in the hearing of his brethren and sisters, committing himself to his public utterance. When a Latter-day Saint has the privilege, seldom enjoyed by the people of the world, to stand up and instruct this people, it will have a tendency — it does have a tendency — to guide his feet in the paths of virtue and peace, and he will live circumspectly before all men. Also before one is called to speak, and a Latter-day Saint never knows when he will be called upon, if he has not the Spirit of the Lord to direct him, he is afraid that he will expose his own nakedness of spirit, and therefore it has a tendency to enforce him to be a more righteous and virtuous man. ¶

I believe that the meetings thus far in this conference have been conducted according to the word of the Lord. I think the testimonies that have been borne have been borne by the power and influence and dictation of the Spirit of the Lord, as was intended, as shown in one of the revelations contained in the Doctrine & Covenants: ¶

"Revelation given through Joseph, the Seer, at Hiram, Portage Co., Ohio, November, 1831, to Orson Hyde, Luke Johnson, Lyman Johnson and William E. M'Lellin. The mind and will of the Lord as made known by the voice of the Spirit, to a conference concerning certain elders, and also certain items as made known in addition to the Covenants and Commandments. ¶

"My servant Orson Hyde was called by his ordinance to proclaim the everlasting gospel, by the Spirit of the living God, from people to people, and from land to land, in the congregations of the wicked, in their synagogues, reasoning with and expounding all scriptures unto them. And, behold, and to, this is an ensample unto all those who were ordained unto this priesthood, whose misssion is appointed unto them to go forth. And this is the ensample unto them, that they shall speak as they are moved upon by the Holy Ghost. And whatsoever they shall speak when moved upon by the Holy Ghost, shall be scripture, shall be the will of the Lord, shall be the mind of the Lord, shall be the word of the Lord, shall be the voice of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation." ¶

Can you afford, my brethren and sisters, to part with his company, with that holy influence and Spirit that is given for the enjoyment of this people? ¶

"Behold this is the promise of the Lord unto you, O ye my servants: wherefore be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you; and ye shall bear record of me, even Jesus Christ, that I am the son of the living God, that I was, that I am, and that I am to come. ¶

"This is the word of the Lord unto you, my servant, Orson Hyde, and also unto my servant Luke Johnson, and unto my servant, Lyman Johnson, and unto my servant, William E. M'Lellin, and unto all the faithful elders of my Church." ¶

There are no elders, there are none holding the priesthood of the Lord, who should not be guided and directed, upheld and sustained in all their ministrations by this great gift and power which is enjoyed so abundantly by those Latter-day Saints who are living clean lives, who are upholding the truth and magnifying their calling. ¶

Now I pray that the blessings of the Lord might rest down upon Israel, that the spirit of this conference might be carried unto every home, every hamlet, and every village and! city of all the stakes of Zion, that those who are not for^ ¶

tunate enough to have the privilege of attending this conference might partake with us of these inspirational blessings. I see no reason why they should not enjoy the same spirit through your ministrations at home as we have enjoyed it here through the ministration and instruction of the leaders of the Church, that they, too, might be benefitted by this plendid conference. ¶

I always enjoy coming to conference, where I can compare the teachings of the prophets and apostles of the Lord with what I have been led to teach to the world, lest the labors of those called to the Eastern States mission should appear as a patch upon this great work, rather than an interweaving into the very fabric thereof. ¶

May God bless us, enable us to realize our true positions upon the earth, and help us to magnify our callings, I ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶