My brethren and sisters: Like

My brethren and sisters: Like you, I have rejoiced in the teachings of this conference, and can bear testimony of the spirit of inspiration that has directed all of the teachings to which we have listened; and while I stand before you for a few moments I earnestly desire an interest in your faith and prayers because, unless I may receive that assistance which cometh from on high it will be surely impossible for me to add anything that would be of an edifying character to you. I feel keenly the responsibility which rests upon me in having been called upon to address this large assembly at this time upon the principles of life and salvation, though it be but for a few moments. ¶

I have rejoiced in the remarks which have been made here this morning, that is, I have rejoiced as much as I possibly could in view of the fact that I have been trembling every moment looking forward to the time that I would be called upon to address you. I know that "Mormonism" is true. I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of the living God, and that his successors in the presidency have equally been prophets of the same living God. They have been endowed with the same divine authority and, from time to time, as they have been called upon or felt impressed to speak to the Latter-day Saints, they have given unto us the mind and will of God the eternal Father. ¶

Reference has been made to the fact that the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ as delivered through the teachings of the Church authorities today has to do with temporal things as well as spiritual things, and I would like to say that any religion that may be professed by any people in the world today that does not teach with reference to temporal things as well as spiritual, is not worth the name of being called the religion of the Lord Jesus Christ. ¶

We understand by revelation that the soul of man comprises the body and the spirit of man, and the Lord desires to save the soul of man, and that means not simply the spirit but the spirit and the body of man. ¶

Some years ago it was my privilege and pleasure to labor in Australia as a missionary. There was a gentleman there who was handed some discourses delivered by the general authorities of the Church, at these general conferences, and in speaking to me sometime later regarding the discourses he had read, he made this remark : "Mr. Duckworth, one thing that has impressed me, with reference to the teachings that are delivered in your general conferences by the general authorities of your Church, is this, that they are essentially of a practical character ; they deal with the every day problems of life, and they are not related solely to the spiritual concern of your people." It made a deep impression upon my mind at the time, and I have often remarked about it since, that the teachings that were given by our general authorities in the gatherings of the Saints relate to the taking care of the body just as well as the taking care of the spirit of man. They teach us how to take care of our bodies ; they teach us that beautiful law known as the Word of Wisdom. They teach us that we should be clean in our bodies, that we should keep our bodies pure and in such a way that we may be in a fit condition for the enjoyment of the Spirit of our Father, for he will not dwell in unclean tabernacles, and it is just as essential that we shall keep our bodies clean as that we shall keep our spirits clean. ¶

With this teaching also, we are impressed with the fact that it is binding upon us that we shall do our part in saving the souls of others ; and as Latter-day Saints, if we hold this gospel to ourselves, seeking only to save ourselves, we shall not have acceptance of the great mission that God has given us here upon the earth. It is our duty to so ¶

live that we shall save the souls of others. We are surrounded by many that are not members of the Church. I come from a town where four-fifths of the people are not members of the Church, and I claim it is the duty of the Latterday Saints living in that town to preach the gospel that they themselves have received, to the world ; and when I say preach it, I mean not by speaking of it only, but by living it in their every day life. I want to bear testimony to this fact that if we would be held up in esteem by those not of our faith, those whose souls may be full of prejudice, if we want to preach the gospel in the most effectual manner, we should do so by example as well as by precept, exemplifying the fruits of the gospel of Jesus Christ. "By their fruits ye shall know them," is an illustration of what I refer to. ¶

It may not be amiss to refer to another thing in my experience. A few years ago an old gentleman who had come from Great Britain, who was a musician and had set out to make a tour of the world together with a young lady accompanist, happened to stay in our town for some weeks. In the course of his visit, my wife and I became very well acquainted with him ; and on one occasion we invited him to our home to spend the evening and have supper with us. At that time we had become habituated to having our family prayers in the evening, before the evening meal, following the counsel that was given me by President Lyman, on one occasion, who said, "we always have family prayer before our evening meal, and I want to counsel you to do the same thing, and I want you to teach that ¶

to the stake over which you preside." I did so, for I have always found it best to carry out the counsels of those who preside over us, and who have the right to give us counsel as they may be inspired to do by the Holy Spirit. President Lyman said, "if you wait for the evening prayer until bed time, the older boys and girls may be out at a dance, at a picture show, or indulging in some other form of amusement ; the smaller children get sleepy and retire to bed, and the result is that the prayer that is had may not be a family prayer." On the occasion I was speaking of, when the meal had been prepared, my wife beckoned me to come into the room. She said, "What are you going to do about the family prayer this evening?" I said, "What is the matter?" Said she: "Here is this Professor ; he does not make any profession of religion ; he has faith in a Supreme Being but he belongs to no Church. It may be very embarrassing for us, if we go right along with our regular custom of having family prayer." I said in reply, "If he is an honorable gentleman, I am sure he will take no exception, for I have absolute faith in 'Mormonism,' and I am not ashamed of it before any man or woman in all the world, and my feeling is that we should go right along as Latter-day Saints, no matter who may be our visitors." ¶

We returned to the dining room, and when the time came, all the chairs were turned with their backs to the table. I spoke to the gentleman and said, "Professor So-andso, you understand that we are Latter-day Saints. We are about to participate in a custom that has been practiced from the beginning amongst our people. We believe it to be right, and that custom is that before retiring to rest we appeal to the Throne of Grace, upon our bended knees, for the blessings we need through the night. We do so again in the morning before we go forth to the labors of the day, and we will appreciate it if you will join with us." He knelt down with us without a moment's hesitation and took part with us. He then saw that we asked the blessing upon the food. After that whenever he came to the evening meal he always took part in the family prayer. Sometime later it came to about the time for him to leave. His accompanist had not then visited us. This time she came also, but they did not come until after the evening meal had been partaken of. We spent several hours in enjoyable entertainment. When the time came for them to take their departure we rose from our seats and, to my surprise, he walked across the room to where I was standing, and he held out his hand and said, "Mr. Duckworth, before we leave this house I would like to make a request. I want to leave this house with the same good spirit that I have always felt here, and I will appreciate it if you will allow us to kneel with you in family prayer." I was overcome for the moment, but as soon as I regained my composure I said, "All right, we will do so," and we knelt down just as we had done several times before when he was with us, although the young lady merely knelt on one knee. This was as far as her prejudice would permit her to go. They joined with us in family prayer. They left Blackfoot. Sometime later they came back again, and as the result of ¶

that first beginning, they became, and are today, some of the most friendly investigators I have had in all my experience. I have learned from other experiences of like character that it always pays to be a Latter-day Saint at all times and under all circumstances and before all people. Whenever we become vascillating, whenever we fail in our duty before others we always lose in their estimation ; but when we are Latter-day Saints, consistent in our daily lives, they think more of us, and we all preach the gos-' pel in the way that I have indicated. May the Lord bless us, that we may understand and appreciate what "Mormonism" is, and may we have his Spirit to actuate our lives, I ask, in the name of Jesus. Amen. ¶