I have been very much pleased

I have been very much pleased, my brethren and sisters, with the spirit of this conference. I have rejoiced in the assurance that seemed to be in the minds of each of the speakers thus far concerning the future. In fact, to me it is a source of great joy in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that there is a spirit of faith and assurance concerning the work of the Lord. I am convinced that without this faith and this testimony the work would not have reached the proportions that it has now reached in the earth. The Lord has said, "My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me : and if any man will do the will of the Father he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God or of man." It has seemed to me that this spirit has characterized the Church since its beginning ; and so today, troublous as the times are, we face the future with a calm ¶

assurance that if we do our part all is well with reference to the future, notwithstanding perilous times are in the earth and men's hearts are quaking within them. I say we face the future with faith in God's work, and it will triumph. What your particular mission may be, and what mine may be, is of little consequence, so long as we do well our work, and trust the rest to the Lord. Some of us may be called upon to give our lives even, in defense of our country. We have been willing to risk our lives in defense of the truth, facing always the future with the thought that God will take care of us; and if it should so be that in the performance of this work we should lay down our lives, we still have the assurance we shall rise again. The Easter, which is now being celebrated, means to us not only that Jesus of Nazareth arose, but that we too shall, in God's own due time, arise from the dead, and that in the future, in the eternities that stretch out before us, we shall still work out all that God has planned for us to accomplish. It is a splendid thing to face the world with this faith. It is a splendid thing to face the problems of life with this faith. It is a splendid thing to know that there is a great leader watching over this great work and directing its destiny. I appreciate this faith and this assurance. I thank God every day of my life for the testimony of the truth, for the knowledge I have concerning his work. ¶

O how beautiful is the light given to the Latter-day Saints ! Not long ago I was reading a book by a man who, I believe, is recognized as one of the leading theologians of the day. True, he accepts the doctrine of evolution, and in view of that he undertook the task of explaining the soul of man and its origin, for he recognized that in his great treatment he must deal with man as a dual character, that there is a spirit within man, and he must deal with him in that light. So, he attempted in the light of science to evolve a theory consistent with the Christian belief that there is a soul within man, a spirit entity, a being that when death comes lives separate and apart from this body which walks upon the earth. This, mind you, was the theory of a learned man who had spent his life in studying theological and scientific problems, and he said man's spirit remains, and his theory could be explained from three different standpoints. We believe consistently, said he, that somewhere in that great primeval forest, when the monkey man first stood erect and walked, that God breathed into that monkey man who assumed the form that man now has, a spirit, and that all men descending from that first primeval parent have inherited that spirit. Or, said he, it is not inconsistent to believe that not all the animal family have spirits within them ; that only those who begin to think righteously, who yearn for eternal life, who want to live hereafter, have each of them a spirit within them, a spirit that, in some mysterious manner, will live after death. Said he, there is nothing inconsistent in believing that the wicked man who does not care to live hereafter will evolve nothing within him that survives this mortal existence ; and so the doctrine of a limited number of spirits and souls is enunciated by this learned man. Or, said he, if any of these are tenable, it is easy and consistent to ¶

believe that at the birth of every man and woman, God breathes into their body a spirit that lives, except in a few cases of idiots who do not comprehend. In some cases, he said, there may be accidents, whereby the spirit fails to enter into those bodies that are thus given but who are lacking some of the natural faculties of man. ¶

When I read this learned book and compared these theories with the testimony and the knowledge that are given to the Latter-day Saints, my heart went out in thanksgiving, as I contemplated our belief in Jesus Christ, and the glorious truths revealed to the Latter-day Saints in this day through the Prophet Joseph Smith; for to us is given the testimony that we know of the origin of the spirit of man. We know that we are children of God, the eternal Father, not in any mysterious way, but actually the offspring, a spark, as one has put it, of the eternal blaze of the eternal Father. We were created in his image in a natural way, born of heavenly parents. Born into this earth, we live and die, and our spirits return to the God who gave them life, children of a great Father whose glory is to bring to pass the salvation and eternal life of his children upon the earth. We know of a surety this great truth that man is of a dual nature, and that there is a spirit within him that will survive forever. What a splendid thing to start out with, a knowledge of our origin and destiny, that there may be no doubt in our souls. We advance each day of our lives with the thought that we are indeed the children of God, living as he would have us live if we obey the commandments he has given to us. ¶

What a splendid thing to know that our course in life is accepted of God ; to know how to be initiated into his Church. ¶

Do you know how many there are who have accepted different forms of baptism from ours ? Some believe in sprinkling, some in pouring, some in immersion; but most say it is unnecessary. God has revealed the law so that we do know the way to enter in at the door and feel that we are accepted of him, even by baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, administered by one having authority. This is assuredly the way God has pointed out for us to be members of his Church. So I might go on and point out, if time would permit, a number of other things upon which the human family are in doubt and are divided, that God has revealed to us so that we know. And then last, but greatest of all, God gives to us an assurance, a testimony of his own life and love for us ; and we know that this work is true, and that if we follow its teachings and listen to the leaders of this Church, not as blind followers of the blind, not as ignorant worshipers, but as enlightened, God-fearing worshipers, we have in our own souls a testimony that "Mormonism" is true, and that if we live it, irrespective of what others may do, God will reward us with eternal life and salvation. ¶

There are trying times coming to the earth. We live in a trying time when men's hearts are quaking, but we calmly face the future with an assurance that if we do our duty God will bring us safely through. What is our duty at this time? Why, it is so plain we need not err. "We believe that all men are bound to ¶

sustain and uphold the respective governments in which they reside, while protected in their inherent and inalienable rights by the laws of such governments : and that sedition and rebellion are crimes in every citizen thus protected, and should be punished accordingly; and that all governments have a right to enact such laws as in their own judgment are best calculated to secure the public interest, at the same time, however, holding sacred the freedom of conscience" (Doc. and Cov. 134:5)., As pointed out to us, we believe that this government has been established under the direction of God, for a great and mighty purpose. We believe that liberty is one of the inalienable rights of a free people. It is our right, it is our duty to stand for the right, to stand for the protection of that which God has given us, with the calm assurance that never will a king rule over this land, that it is a land dedicated to liberty and freedom; but it may require acts upon our part to maintain and sustain that liberty and the blessings vouchsafed unto us by this government. It may require even our lives, but it is our duty to face the future, to do whatever is required of us as it comes to us by the light which God gives us ; to do our duty, let ' the consequence be with Him who, as we know, will cause this his work to be ultimately triumphant. We know that we are not to sit supinely down and do nothing, because He had made these great promises, after all that he has revealed. The laws of the gospel we cannot refuse to obey when he has given unto us covenants and marked out plainly our duty. We cannot sit by and say that he will do it. He expects us to walk in the light given us, and to do our duty well that we may be worthy to receive his glorious blessings. He has given unto us that we should preach the gospel in every land and clime. ¶

To me this is a great blessing; it brings a spirit of thankfulness and gratitude that in the gospel I can find a sweet assurance to lead me on to a better life ; that in the midst of the conditions we find in the world in the forms of government, God has revealed the way for me to walk and to be a good citizen. To be a good member of this community means to be a good Latterday Saint, means to be a good member of the Church and kingdom of God, and so with reference to the future, with this assurance, in the words of the poet, ¶

"Conquer we must, for our cause it is ¶

just, And this be our motto, in God shall ¶

we trust." ¶

This to me, my brethren and sisters, is the light of truth. I want to seek to do God's will, and work out the mission he has given me. ¶

"Blind unbelief is sure to err, And scan his works in vain; ¶

God is his own interpreter, And he will make it plain." ¶

Amen. ¶