Are we taking advantage of our opportunities to

My mind has been illumined during this conference, and my heart has been made to rejoice by the excellent instruction to which we have listened. The splendid attendance of the members of the Church at this general conference has inspired in me an appreciation of the opportunity given to meet our brethren and sisters on such occasions. ¶

This morning I met a brother on the street who introduced himself to me. I recognized his face, but I could not call his name, and I did not know whence he came, until he informed me that I had met him at Wilmington, North Carolina, and he had come all the way with his wife and children, that he might be with the Saints in this worshiping assembly. While sitting here pondering over the effect that that might have upon him and his family, I asked myself the question : Have I been careful to take advantage of my opportunity and bring my wife and children into this splendid gathering, to enjoy the teachings of the servants of God? And the answer came back to me in this way : If I have not, I have lost for them a blessing, and likewise for myself, but the man who crossed the continent, came all the way from the Atlantic seaboard, paying his expenses and taking that long ride, will certainly be rewarded by the Lord, by an increase of faith, and so will his family. In this, as in all other cases, the blessings of God are predicated upon obedience to his requirements, and in this particular our brother and his family are fulfilling the requirement which entitles them to the blessings they will enjoy at this conference. ¶

I am looking in the faces of presidents of stakes, bishops of wards : and other faithful Latter-day Saints. Many of you have made a sacrifice financially in order that you may be here, but really it is no sacrifice ; it is an investment in the blessings of our heavenly Father, "That will return to you good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over." I feel to suggest now and here that each of us enjoying these favors be not unmindful of our loved ones, not forgetful of our neighbors ; and at the time of stake conferences let us go about encouraging them, that they may desire to be present in those assemblies of the Saints. ¶

Yesterday I saw a number of people here with their children, and I felt from the depths of my soul to commend them, and I know the Lord will bless them and will bless their children, even though they be but young, because they are here in the service of the Lord, in the place appointed by him through his servants. ¶

Brother Hyrum has been talking to us and reading this morning from the Bible, and it brings to my mind this particular scripture : ¶

"Search the scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and they are they which testify of me." ¶

Another scripture came to my mind along the same line, and it was to this effect, "that the Lord will do nothing but he revealeth his secrets to his servants, the prophets." From the time of Father Adam until the present the Lord has admonished the people through his servants. He has inspired them to better living when they have listened to him, and from age to age, as his children have required it, he has sent holy men into the world, to impart instruction tending to happiness, has inspired them to teach the glorious truths that ennoble and enrich mankind, and few people have been left with an excuse, but all have been left without excuse that have received the scriptures. ¶

In the days of Noah, when he went about warning the people, I presume there were many who ignored his teachings, who disregarded him as a servant of God, but he was sent by the Father, and the instructions that he gave the people were binding upon them ; and our Father in heaven, in his own due time, fulfilled the promises of his prophet. All who were saved from the flood were those who listened to Noah. On the plains of Mamre, when Abraham petitioned his Holy Visitor to spare Sodom and Gomorrah, he was told that even if ten righteous persons be found, a very small number, too, of the multitude, that the cities would be preserved. But only Lot and his wife and two daughters were sufficiently righteous to merit preservation. The angels told them to leave the city, and fire rained down from heaven and consumed the people, who had been warned repeatedly by the servant of God that destruction would overtake them if they failed to repent. The Old Testament refers to the coming of the Redeemer of the world. Why did the world not know the Savior when he came ? It was because they had departed from the teachings of holy men. It was because they had chosen for themselves "teachers having itching ears, who preached for hire and who divined for money," who did not teach the people what the Lord desired, so they were led astray. The Savior himself taught the children of men what was necessary for them to do to obtain eternal life in the celestial kingdom of our Father, and the people rejected him, but his testimony is in force, and the time will come when those who rejected him and consented to his crucifixion will meet him and will answer for their crime. The Old and New Testaments contain the teachings of our heavenly Father. I admonish you, O Israel, search the scriptures ; read them in your homes ; teach your families what the Lord has said, and let us spend less of our time reading the unimportant and often harmful literature of the day, and go to the fountain of truth and read the word of the Lord. ¶

The Book of Mormon contains another evidence of the importance that our heavenly Father attaches to reading the scriptures. He sent the sons of Lehi back to Jerusalem to recover the Old Testament scripture, in order that they might retain the teachings of the prophets. The Lord would not take them into a new country, without preserving to them the privilege of reading his teachings to their forefathers. ¶

The importance of having the advice of the prophets of God is emphasized in our day, in the bringing forth of the Book of Mormon. The plates from which it was translated were buried in the earth by a Nephite prophet. Centuries later the Lord directed Joseph Smith to secure and translate that record, in order that we might have the teachings of our Father to his children who dwelt upon this western land. We have the Old and the New Testaments, the Book of Mormon, and the Pearl of Great Price, also translated by the gift and power of God, in addition new revelations through the Prophet Joseph Smith. ¶

While only a youth the Lord appeared to him and later he was visited by an angel who instructed him to prepare for his mission. That he might be a witness of the living God the Lord gave to him by revelation the contents of this record that I hold in my hand, (the Doctrine and Covenants) containing over four hundred pages of instruction to the children of men. How many of the Latter-day Saints have read the glorious revelations contained in this record? If we have not, we have lost an opportunity ; we have missed a blessing. Let me read what the Lord says with reference to these latter days in the first section of the Doctrine and Covenants : ¶

"Hearken, O ye people of my church, saith the voice of him who dwells on high, and whose eyes are upon all men; yea, verily I say, hearken ye people from afar, and ye that are upon the islands of the sea, listen together. ¶

"For verily the voice of the Lord is unto all men, and there is none to escape, and there is no eye that shall not see, neither ear that shall not hear, neither heart that shall not be penetrated. ¶

"And the rebellious shall be pierced with much sorrow, for their iniquities shall be spoken upon the housetops, and their secret acts shall be revealed. ¶

"And the voice of warning shall be unto all people, by the mouths of my disciples, whom I have chosen in these last days. ¶

"And they shall go forth and none shall stay them, for I the Lord have commanded them. ¶

"Behold, this is mine authority, and the authority of my servants, and my preface unto the book of my commandments, which I have given them to publish unto you, O inhabitants of the earth. ¶

"Wherefore, fear and tremble, O ye people, for what I the Lord have decreed in them shall be fulfilled. ¶

"And verily, I say unto you, that they who go forth, bearing these tidings unto the inhabitants of the earth, to them is power given to seal both on earth and in heaven, the unbelieving and rebellious; ¶

"Yea, verily, to seal them up unto the day when the wrath of God shall be poured out upon the wicked without measure; ¶

"Unto the day when the Lord shall come to recompense unto every man according to his work, and measure to every man according to the measure which he has measured to his fellow man. ¶

"Wherefore the voice of the Lord is unto the ends of the earth, that all that will hear may hear: ¶

"Prepare ye, prepare ye for that which is to come, for the Lord is nigh; ¶

"And the anger of the Lord is kindled, and his sword is bathed in heaven, and it shall fall upon the inhabitants of the earth; ¶

"And the arm of the Lord shall be revealed; and the day cometh that they who will not hear the voice of the Lord, neither the voice of his servants, neither give heed to the words of the prophets and apostles, shall be cut off from among the people; ¶

"For they have strayed from mine ordinances, and have broken mine everlasting covenant; ¶

"They seek not the Lord to establish his righteousness, but every man walketh in his own way, and after the image of his own God, whose image is in the likeness of the world, and whose substance is that of an idol, which waxeth old and shall perish in Babylon, even Babylon the great, which shall fall. ¶

"Wherefore I the Lord, knowing the calamity which should come upon the inhabitants of the earth, called upon my servant Joseph Smith, jun., and spake unto him from heaven, and gave him commandments; ¶

"And also gave commandments to others, that they should proclaim these things unto the world; and all this that it might be fulfilled, which was written by the prophets; ¶

"The weak things of the world shall come forth and break down the mighty and strong ones, that man should not counsel his fellow man, neither trust in the arm of flesh. ¶

"But that every man might speak in the name of God the Lord, even the Savior of the world; ¶

"That faith also might increase in the earth; ¶

"That mine everlasting covenant might be established; ¶

"That the fullness of my gospel might be proclaimed by the weak and the simple unto the ends of the world, and before kings and rulers. ¶

"Behold, I am God and have spoken it: these commandments are of me, and were given unto my servants in their weakness, after the manner of their language, that they might come to understanding, ¶

"And inasmuch as they erred it might be made known: ¶

"And inasmuch as they sought wisdom they might be instructed: ¶

"And inasmuch as they sinned they might be chastened, that they might repent: ¶

"And inasmuch as they were humble they might be made strong, and blessed from on high, and receive knowledge from time to time: ¶

"And after having received the record of the Nephites, yea, even my servant Joseph Smith, jun., might have power to translate through the mercy of God, by the power of God, the Book of Mormon; ¶

"And also those to whom these commandments were given, might have power to lay the foundation of this church, and to bring it forth out of obscurity and out of darkness, the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth, with which I, the Lord, am well pleased, speaking unto the church collectively and not individually. ¶

"For I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance; ¶

"Nevertheless, he that repents and does the commandments of the Lord shall be forgiven; ¶

"And he that repents not, from him shall be taken even the light which he has received, for my Spirit shall not always strive with man, saith the Lord of Hosts. ¶

"And again, verily I say unto you, O inhabitants of the earth, I the Lord am willing to make these thing known unto all flesh, ¶

"For I am no respecter of persons, and will that all men shall know that the day speedily cometh; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand, when peace shall be taken from the earth, and the devil shall have power over his own dominion; ¶

"And also the Lord shall have power over his saints, and shall reign in their midst, and shall come down in judgment upon Idumea, or the world. ¶

"Search these commandments for they are true and faithful, and the prophecies and promises which are in them shall all be fulfilled. ¶

"What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself: and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same; ¶

"For behold, and lo, the Lord is God, and the Spirit beareth record, and the record is true, and the truth abideth forever and ever. Amen." ¶

This preface is worthy your earnest consideration. It is the admonition of the Father of us all. It is the loving advice of a tender parent who knows what we require, as he said in the chapter just read that knowing what was about to come upon the inhabitants of the earth he gave these commandments. The Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price, do not contain the wisdom of men alone, but of God. While they do not find their way into the homes of many people, they contain the word of the Lord. What mattereth it though we understand Homer and Shakespeare and Milton, and I might enumerate all the great writers of the world ; if we have failed to read the scriptures we have missed the better part of this world's literature. ¶

My brethren and sisters, all the truth that is advocated in all the teachings of men, necessary for our salvation, is contained within the lids of the books that I have already enumerated. We may not possess a library of two or three thousand volumes, but we may possess at small cost a priceless library that has cost the best blood that has ever been in this world. Will our Father hold us guiltless when we go home, if we have failed to teach our children the importance of these sacred records? I think not. He called his sons one by one, and they gave their lives that we might have the Old Testament. He sent his only begotten Son into the world, and his life was sacrificed in order that we might have the teachings of the New Testament. The prophets of God recorded in the Book of Mormon laid down their lives and sealed their testimonies with their blood, in order that the children of men might know what the Father desired of them. He sent the Prophet Joseph Smith, and he gave his life, together with his brother Hyrum, in order that we might have the truths contained in the sacred record known as the Doctrine and Covenants. Do you suppose that after the Lord has done all this for us, has given to this world the choicest and sweetest of men and women, whose lives have been dedicated to the blessing of mankind, many of them sealing their testimony with their blood, has placed within our reach the excellent teachings contained in these holy records, that he will consider us appreciative if we fail to teach them to our families, and to impress them upon those with whom we come in contact ? ¶

Brethren and sisters, I desire to emphasize again the teaching of the Master ; "search the scriptures ;" read them prayerfully and faithfully, teach them in your homes ; call your families around you and inspire in them a faith in the living God, by reading those things that have been revealed. They are the most precious of all the libraries in all the world. ¶

And now I would like to emphasize this fact, that in the Doctrine and Covenants we find the Lord's warning of the present condition of this world. We find there that the Saints were to inhabit this western land, and if they kept his commandments, this should be Zion unto them. I will read a few paragraphs from the Doctrine and Covenants to emphasize our responsibility, because sometimes we seem to think that because we are blessed of the Lord above all other people, we can do the things that we are tempted to do, even if they are not just right: ¶

"Therefore, verily, thus saith the Lord, let Zion rejoice, for this is Zion ■ — the pure in heart; therefore, let Zion rejoice, while all the wicked shall mourn; ¶

"For behold, and lo, vengeance Cometh speedily upon the ungodly as the whirlwind, and who shall escape it; ¶

"The Lord's scourge shall pass over by night and by day, and the report thereof shall vex all people; yet it shall not be stayed until the Lord comes." ¶

Now, if there is any doubt in the minds of the people of this Church as to when peace shall come into the world again, I want to emphasize by reading again the word of the Lord wherein he says : ¶

"The Lord's scourge shall pass over by night and by day, and the report thereof shall vex all people; yet it shall not be stayed until the Lord come. ¶

"For the indignation of the Lord is kindled against their abominations and all their wicked works; ¶

"Nevertheless Zion shall escape — " ¶

I have thought many times, Oh, what a comfortable thing it would be for us if that had been the end of that paragraph, but it is not. It reads in full as follows : ¶

"Nevertheless Zion shall escape, if she observe to do all things whatsoever I have commanded her. ¶

"But if she observe not to do whatever I have commanded her, I will visit her according to all her works, with sore affliction, with pestilence, with plague, with sword, with vengeance, with devouring fire." ¶

So we are in the same condition as our brethren and sisters in the world. In fact, I think we are worse off, because we have greater light, and the Lord will require more at our hands. ¶

So there is need for us to search the scriptures. There is need for us to put ourselves in tune with the Spirit of our Father. There is need for us to have thanksgiving in our hearts that we are led by holy men who are inspired by our Father in heaven to teach us day by day, and oh, how grateful we ought to be for these great conferences that bring us together from the ends of the earth, and unite us as brethren and sisters with a determination that, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers and magistrates, in obeying, honoring and sustaining the law. So today in the midst of the difficulties that exist in the world, while there are transgressors of the laws of the land, and there are transgressors of the laws of God, in the midst of the conflict in which we are now engaged, this awful world war, it is a great joy and satisfaction to my soul that while there are those persons who are opposing this government, set up by the power of God, there are no members of this Church in good standing but are sustaining the law and order and the government of the United States, so far as it lies in their power. There is one Church upon the continent of America that has been taught by God that this government has been raised up for the blessing of mankind. There is one Church whose members cannot remain in good fellowship in it if they criticize and find fault and tear down and oppose the legal action of the constituted authorities of the land, with reference to going into this war; and why? Because we have been trained by the gospel in a knowledge of the purpose of this government. We have been taught by inspired men, who have pointed the way, and all Israel, to a man, comes forward in the crucial hour and says: "If I am needed, Lord, here am I." If my country requires it, my all is on the altar, and my life if need be. God help us to be worthy of our heritage, help us to sustain the government that has been so good to us, that has made it possible for the establishment of this work. Let us sustain good men and great men everywhere, and pray for them as we are told to do in this same record. Pray for the chief executive of the Nation and his associates, asking God to inspire them to labor for the good of humanity and the liberty of mankind. Let us so live, that, by and by, when our work is done, it will be truthfully said of us that this world is better for our having lived in it. May the Lord bestow his blessings upon you, my brethren and sisters, and upon all Israel, wherever they may be, and may the spirit of peace and the desire to do good in the world find lodgement in the hearts of the children of men. that repentance may come, that they may turn from the wickedness that has been in the world, and in that way bring about the Millenium and the return to this earth of peace, that our Father has said has been taken from it. God grant it, is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶