And again, the Lord shall utter

"And again, the Lord shall utter his voice out of heaven, saying, Hearken, O ye nations of the earth, and hear the words of that God who made you. O ye nations of the earth, how would I have gathered you together as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, but ye would not? How oft have I called upon you by the voice of my servants, arid by the ministering of angels, and by mine own voice, and by the voice of thunderings, and by the voice of lightnings, and by the voice of pestilence, and by the voice of earthquakes, and great hail storms, and by the voice of famines and pestilences of every kind, and by the great sound of a trump, and by the voice of judgment, and by the voice of mercy all the day long, and by the voice of glory, and honor, and the riches of eternal life, and would have saved you with an everlasting salvation, but ye would not? Behold the day has come, when the cup of the wrath of mine indignation is full. Behold, verily I say unto you, that these are the words of the Lord your God" (Doc. and Gov. 43:23-27). ¶

The spirit of this conference and the thought that has repeatedly come to me are best expressed in the words that I have just read to you. ¶

What is the language of the Lord, and how does he speak to his people ? Language is only useful in the communication of thought. That thought may be communicated in writing, as I have read it to you, which appeals only and is serviceable only to those who can see and who can read and understand the words that they see. Thought may be communicated by the word of mouth, serviceable only to those who have the gift of hearing and who understand the language in which those thought symbols are expressed. To those who cannot see, and cannot hear, there has been a means devised by embossed letters, that thought may be communicated by appealing to one of those three natural senses. God, likewise, has chosen those means of communicating to his children, by the written word and by the spoken word, and also he communicates through ¶

feelings. He has other means of communication, by the whisperings of the still small voice that is heard by the ear of our spirits. And when his children fail to heed the written word, fail to respond to the spoken word, fail to hear and obey the whisperings of the still small voice, then God must speak in some sterner language, that his children will understand and obey, and he often employs the forces of nature, in the thunder storm, in lightning, in famine, in earthquake, in some one of the forces of nature, to bring to the understanding and attention of his children that which they would not understand in more gentle tones. For 120 years God spoke through his servant Noah to the children of his great world family, as they existed at that time. They failed to respond to the spoken word ; they failed to respond to the word of tradition, as it came down to them from their father Adam, and so God must then speak through some voice of nature that his word might be heard and his mandates obeyed ; and the clouds of heaven gathered, and burst forth and scattered rain upon the earth until the low places were filled, until floods dashed upon the streets and into the valleys, and the people began to flee from their homes to the high places. Noah had withdrawn with his family into the ark, and with him the chosen beasts of the field. When the people perceiving their peril cried out unto God, "Save us from this peril," it was too late ; their opportunity for salvation had passed. ¶

God spoke through his servants, by his word of inspiration, by dreams, by revelation, even through the mouth of the boy Joseph, that there would come a time when ¶

famine would fill the land. The brothers and nephews of this boy who had been so favored of the Lord sold him into Egypt and then, later, at the feet of pagan Egypt the children of Israel had to kneel and beg for bread. Yet rebellious Israel forgot God in their days of prosperity, and were finally permitted to be taken into bondage and captivity to the Egyptians, and for years and years they suffered the humiliation of slavery. When the time came for their deliverance, there came the voice of God to the pagan idolaters of Egypt, "Let my people go," but they heeded not the voice of the servants of God, which made it necessary to appeal to them through some of the forces of natture, speaking through some sterner voice that they might understand and obey, and pestilences of frogs, of lice, of darkness, came, and yet they did not understand. Finally, the word went forth that "this night shall the first born son in every Egyptian home be slain." When the morning broke and it was discovered in the homes of the Egyptians that their first born sons were slain, then they understood. God had at last spoken a language that pagan Egypt understood and obeyed, and Israel went forth, miraculously delivered from the hands of the Egyptians, miraculously delivered from the waves of the Red Sea, miraculously fed in the wilderness by manna from heaven, by water from the rock ; and while their prophet Moses was upon Mount Sinai, receiving the commandments written upon tablets of stone by the finger of God, the first of which read, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me," Israel, this chosen people, down in the valley, were bowing down to a golden calf, ¶

and crying for the fleshpots of Egypt. Idolatrous worship had again filled their hearts, and the Lord was compelled by such expression, by such idolatry, to cause them to circle about in that great desert until they had all, practically, passed away, that their offspring might go over the river Jordan into the promised land. ¶

We hasten on. In the days of the Master, we find him presenting that great parable of the marriage feast, wherein was shown that he sent out servants to invite his subjects to the feast. A few only came, and then he sent them out again : "Go ye into the highways and byways, and compel them to come." Not by the force of the law, nor the force of armies. They had declined to come because, some had recently married and were on their honeymoons, others had purchased a yoke of oxen, and were so busy caring for and trying them; others were so busy in the fields and could not come. But then went forth the command to bring them, sent out, not by strength of arms, but by removing the obstacle that stood in the way. "Thou shalt have no other gods before me," and if there is an object of worship standing between me and my God, when my God speaks for me to come, I must watch lest that object of my affection, the object of my worship, making it possible for me to obey, is removed, whether it be wife, whether it be riches, whether it be lands and possessions, it mattereth not. When God speaks, it is for me to hearken ; when God commands, it is for me to obey. Saul of Tarsus was on his way to Damascus to take bound the Saints of God unto Jerusalem. He had heard the word of the Master ; he had heard the testimonies of the apostles ; he had read the scriptures, and was second to none in his knowledge of the law, and yet he heeded not the written word, the testimonies of the apostles and prophets of God, all were unheeded by him. God must yet speak in some other language, in some other manner, to awaken in the heart of Saul the spark of truth; and while on this mission of persecution the voice of God spoke out of the clouds, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" Saul fell dumb and blind to the ground, quivering, shaking in every part of his body. He knew that some power had spoken, because, he felt it all over him, and was turned blind and helpless on the ground. And as soon as he regained his speech, he called out, "Lord, what wouldst thou have me to do?" "Go to Damascus, seek out Ananias, and he will tell thee what thou must do." Paul obeyed. When he approached Ananias, Ananias had already received the revelation, and was ready for him, and he baptized the repentant Saul, laid his hands on him, and when the Holy Ghost came upon him, the scales fell from his eyes, and Saul, the persecutor of the Saints, became Paul the great indefatigable apostle of Jesus Christ. ¶

The Lord hath spoken in this day. His word has been revealed by the mouths of angels, and even by the mouth of the Son of God. ' His word has been revealed in the coming forth of the Book of Mormon and in the revelations known to us as the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price. And this gospel of the kingdom, in conformity to the instructions and commissions imposed upon those who organized this Church and who constituted its first elders, has been ¶

carried to practically every civilized nation in the world, and has been preached as a witness of the second coming of the Christ, and the message of salvation to the children of men. And yet, while these nations have been warned, while the gospel has been carried to them by thousands of elders, yet . they remain in the same condition of unbelief. And while they have had the Bible and Christian churches who aspired to guide them toward heaven, yet they remain in ignorance of the peril that hangs over their heads, and God has been compelled to speak to the European nations in the sterner voice of war and bloodshed, brought upon them by their own avarice, by their own jealousies, by their own indifference to the commandments of God, and the teachings of Christianity ; and if it be the will of God that this condition must continue, and if it be necessary, I say, that this price must be paid for that most precious of all possessions, namely, peace, as heralded by the angels in their song at the birth of the Christ, then let us pray that when this price is paid that peace may come, and that the peace of God may be manifest in the earth and among the inhabitants thereof, and the earth be prepared for his second coming. ¶

Let it not be said of you, any one of you, or of me, that it shall be necessary for God to speak in any other way than by his own word or by the spoken word through the mouths of his servants, before we obey. Let us be like the brother who preceded me today, let us be ready and willing to go where we are sent, and stay where we are asked to remain. Let us respond to every duty, fulfil every obligation, live up to every responsibility, for ¶

I want to tell you, in the name of the Lord, that we are living in the most perilous times in history. There has never been a time in your life, and never will be again, when a greater price shall be paid for bread and the necessities of life, than in the year that now confronts us. Let us stand on safe ground, and know that we are on the side of liberty, righteousness and God. Then we are safe. ¶

Let us have the testimony the prophet Brigham Young had, and so expressed in these words: "I have made up my mind to live my religion, and be saved, though all other men go to hell." There was positiveness ; there was conviction ; there was strength. And in the strength of such character and such faith, God's people will be protected in these valleys of the mountains. But without this faith, without this testimony, without righteous living among the people of God, there can be no promise. ¶

God help us to live our religion, keep God's commandments, live up to our obligations as Latter-day Saints, and get the testimony that he lives, that this gospel is true, and it is worth living for, and it is worth dying for. May God help us to do this, I ask in the name of Jesus. Amen. ¶