My brethren and sisters: I am

My brethren and sisters: I am indeed happy to have this opportunity of meeting you and addressing you on this occasion. ¶

We are living in times that are the most trying through which the world has ever passed ; but also, we are living in the most splendid time that the world has ever seen. I do not envy the ancient patriarchs named in the Bible, as belonging to the Patriarchal period of our world's history ; I do not envy the people who lived in the classic lands, and in the heroic times of Greece or Rome, at the height of their splendor. I do not envy the men who lived in the clays of chivalry, in the Middle Ages, when the individual man, and his prowess counted for so much. None of those ¶

periods of time was as splendid as the period in which we live; and the opportunities of those ages were not equal to the opportunities of today. ¶

I do not know how it comes about, but every day thrills me with emotions of gratitude that I am living now, and that in a very small and humble way I have the opportunity of doing the things that are appointed unto me to do, and I think that that can be true of the humblest citizen of this great republic— for there are none so humble in life that they are deprived of participating in the greatness and • in the glory of these days. And yet, I recognize the fact that we live in a day when destructive forces are in operation, when men's minds are troubled because of the things which apparently are coming upon the earth. I realize that it is a day of great sacrifice, when the people are called upon to lay upon the altar of their country the richest gifts that God has given to them ; and as I have witnessed the sorrows of mothers who feel that they are sacrificing their sons, dearer to them . than all the wealth of the world, I have sympathized with them, but I have also congratulated them in my heart upon the opportunities that have come to them to give expression to the nobility of their souls by the sacrifices they make. ¶

We are in a period in the world's history of very great disturbance, when action is intense, when change is continuous. I glory in that, because I believe that action means purification. The Prophet Joseph in one of his revelations to the Church, asks this question, or at least the Lord asks it through him • "How long can rolling waters remain impure?" It is the stagnant waters that breed miasmas, and that become dangerous to the health of communities. The glorious stream that dashes down the mountain gorge and flows over precipices in waterfalls, and then goes rushing down the rapids, broken into spray, kissed by the sunlight and purified by its exposure to the air, in its great race for the ocean — such waters quickly purify themselves ; and so do peoples, so does a world in commotion, in intense action. It means for the world cleansing, purification : it means a march of progress. And we want to keep this in mind, that back of all the turmoil and commotion that comes with this war period in which we live. God stands, and his law obtains. We want to possess our souls in absolute confidence that we live under law, and that law operates in the midst of destructive forces as well as in the operation of constructive forces. In my own reflections, I have come to a very happy state of mind. In the midst of all this strife, I have learned to remember that God lives in his universe, that he is everywhere present with widely diffused influence and power, upholding all things, and that destructive forces will not go beyond what his wisdom shall decree to be their bounds. ¶

On this subject I think there is a fine, even a sublime, passage in one of our revelations, that I would like to read to you : ¶

"All kingdoms have a law given: and there are many kingdoms; for there is no space in the which there is no kingdom; and there is no kingdom in which there is no space, either a greater or a lesser kingdom. And unto every kingdom is given a law; and unto every law there are certain bounds also and conditions." ¶

This revelation joins most admirably in a deduction made by a prominent writer, the author of Natural Law in the Spiritual World — Henry Drummond. In that work, the author says, "There is no finer generalization made than this, that even law is governed by law." In other words, as it is expressed here in the revelation I just read, "Unto every law there are certain bounds also and conditions." And back of the law always is the Lawgiver, greater than the law, since it has its source from him. ¶

"All beings who abide not in those conditions [prescribed by law] are not justified; ¶

"For intelligence cleaveth unto intelligence; wisdom receiveth wisdom; truth embraceth truth; virtue loveth virtue; light cleaveth unto light; mercy hath compassion on mercy, and claimeth her own: justice continueth its course, and claimeth its own; judgment goeth before the face of him who sitteth upon the throne, and governeth and executeth all things: ¶

"He comprehendeth all things, and all things are before him, and all things are round about him: and he is above all things, and in all things, and is through all things, and is round about all things; and all things are by him, and of him, even God, for ever and ever. ¶

"And again, verily I say unto you, he hath given a law unto all things by which they move In their times and their seasons; ¶

"And their courses are fixed; even the courses of the heavens and the earth, which comprehend the earth and all the planets; ¶

"And they give light to each other in their times and in their seasons, in their minutes, in their hours, in their days, in their weeks, in their months, in their years: all these are one year with God, but not with man. ¶

"The earth rolls upon her wings, and the sun giveth his light by day, and the moon giveth her light by night, and the stars also giveth their light, as they roll upon their wings ¶

in their glory, in the midst of the power of God. * * * ¶

"And again, verily I say unto you, that which is governed by law is also preserved by law, and perfected and sanctified by the same." ¶

I ¶

That conveys to us the splendid thought, I think, that we live under the reign of law. Nothing is going to happen in this world but what shall be under the dominion of law. Even the destructive forces themselves have their bounds and limitations fixed by the decree of God — the law. ¶

The astronomers tell us that away off in the dim distance, so far away in the space depths that we may form no comprehension of the distance, they have the evidence that here and there a world seems sometimes to be blotted out of existence, and that which was apparent to their vision has disappeared — destroyed. So that, fixed as seem to be the stars above in the night time, regular as they move in their courses, holding so far as man knows, from age to age, still there come changes in those vast creations and they are broken up and destroyed. ¶

This, too, is spoken of in one of our revelations in the Pearl of Great Price. Listen to it: ¶

"Behold there are many worlds that have passed away by the word of my power * * * and there are many which now stand * * * the heavens are many, and they cannot be numbered unto me, for they are mine, and as one earth shall pass away, and the heavens thereof, even so shall another come; and there is no end to my works, neither to my words. For behold this is my work and my glory, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." ¶

The Lord has revealed, then, that worlds pass away. In this same ¶

passage it is written that there are many worlds that now stand and that there are many that have passed away. In other words, destructive forces are in operation as well as constructive and maintaining forces. What I want to impress upon your minds here and now is that these destructive forces are under the dominion of law, and that the whole scheme of things is under the hand and rule and authority and power of God ; that there are no destructive forces operating but what contain in themselves the prophecy of reconstruction— that when a world in a certain course of its development has reached the highest attainment that can be hoped for it under conditions that have prevailed, behold this condition shall pass away — destruction comes, but only to use these materials in reconstructing better, and for the attainment of higher and nobler purposes. ¶

I have said this much because we may consider ourselves just now as standing in the midst of a destructive period in the world's history. So indeed we are, but I am not afraid of those destructive forces, because I have this faith, that these destructive forces are under the control of God, and that they mean the reconstruction of better things for the world; and out of this maelstrom of war and famine and waste — waste of human life, waste of human treasure, waste apparently of the accumulations of civilization through many ages, there shall come even greater and higher things. There shall come larger liberty to the inhabitants of the earth ; there shall come a more profound security and joy of life, of liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. There shall come a better distribution of the wealth that is created by a combination of the efforts of men, by their daily toil and the supply of the capital that makes possible the labors of men's hands. And so I look forward to better times, to improved conditions, and out of this crucible through which the world is passing and being tried as gold seven times tried in the fire — I anticipate the development of larger opportunities and greater blessings than the world has yet known. ¶

Do we not sing sometimes, "Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven" ? And do you know, I have got it in my mind that there is some proportion between the blessings that are to come and the sacrifices that are made for those blessings. Isn't that a reasonable conclusion? Well, if it is a reasonable conclusion, and if the promises are true, then from that view point what may not the world hope for in the matter of blessings in the presence of the enormous sacrifices now being made by the children of men? If the blessings to come shall be somewhat commensurate with the sacrifices that have been made by the nations of the earth during the last three years of strife and war and sacrifice, it seems to me that the earth itself will not be able to contain the blessings that God is designing for the inhabitants of the earth after they shall be cleansed by this maelstrom of sacrifice and judgment that is passing over the world. ¶

And so, I am happy, happy to live in this day of the purification of the nations of the earth, happy to live in the days that shall see a further purification of our own nation and people. I am well satisfied with our nation. No nation in the ¶

history of this world ever drew the sword in a more righteous cause and in a more unselfish spirit, and with greater desire to benefit humanity, than our nation has done in the present instance. If there ever was a holy war in this world, you may account the war that the United States is waging against the Imperial Government of Germany as the most righteous and holy of wars. We have not entered it for conquest, we have not entered it for the purpose of enlarging our borders and appropriating the lands or wealth of other people. In advance, the present administration of the government of the United States declared we wanted no indemnities. We asked for none of the territory of other nations, we did not wage this war in the spirit of revenge for injuries inflicted upon our citizenship, or upon our rights upon the high seas. We simply drew the sword in this case, that the nations of the earth should be free from the terror of militarism, from the tyranny of would-be masters of the world; we simply desire to see the nations put in the way of living their own lives without fear, the weakest as well as the strongest. We drew the sword of war against war itself. We fight not that war might be perpetuated, but that war might eternally cease upon the face of the earth, and that men might be free and live their lives uninterrupted by fear of the oppressor. Can you name a more righteous war than that ? And shall we not be devoted to our country and to this cause of freedom? ¶

Here in the Doctrine and Covenants is a statement that I have read I reckon five hundred times, and yet I think the truth of it never entirely came to me until recently. ¶

When the Latter-day Saints were in exile, driven from Jackson county, Missouri, and were bivouacked out on the Missouri bottoms with no covering but the canopy of heaven, and exposed in an inclement season of the year to the rigors of the winter season of that land, the Lord, giving instructions as to how they should proceed, said in the course of that instruction : ¶

"Again I say unto you that those who have been scattered by their enemies, it is my will that they should continue to importune for redress and redemption by the hands of those who are placed as rulers and are in authority over you, according to the laws and constitution of the people which I have suffered to be established, and should be maintained for the rights and protection of all flesh, according to just and holy principles." ¶

I have to confess to you that in times past when I read that, I thought the Lord was concerning himself chiefly with those who were living under our Constitution and the laws that have been enacted in harmony with it; but behold, here is a larger vision of it, and one becomes astonished that he did not see it before. Not only are the people blessed to inhabit this land, not only are they to enjoy these privileges guaranteed to us under this Constitution which God founded by inspiring the wise men of that time to construct it, not only are these principles of liberty for them, but as stated here, "they should be maintained for the rights and protection of all flesh." I invoke here and now the very word of God in this dispensation to the righteousness and holiness of extending these American principles of liberty so that they shall include all the inhabitants of the earth. ¶

We did a noble thing away back yonder in President Monroe's administration, in 1823, when our government then served notice upon the European powers that the republics in this Western Hemisphere were no longer to be regarded as spheres wherein European systems of government might be forced upon the people contrary to their will ; that those republics having declared and maintained their independence as our republic had, they were not again to be oppressed by the nations of Europe. That we called the Monroe Doctrine, and 'in announcing it, we simply stood for the right of self-government within the republics of this western world. Europe, in other words, should not be permitted to coerce the republics of the western world, they should not impose European systems upon them. And in taking that position, the government of the United States stood for the great principle of Democracy, in the western world, viz., that governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed ; that the people of all America had the right of self-government, and we would help to maintain them in the possession and maintenance of that right, for we said at that time that any attempt to coerce or oppress any of those governments would be regarded as an unfriendly act against the United States. And that was the polite way — that was the diplomatic way of saying, "If you attempt to coerce any of these American governments, it means 'war with the United States." And so European powers let up at that time on their efforts to coerce the republics of the western world. ¶

What do we say now? We say now, "All the nations of the earth shall govern themselves ; there shall arise no power, however wonderful the genius of its people may be, however confident they may feel of their ability to govern the world better than anybody else, to forbid such freedom. We simply serve notice upon the Imperial Government of Germany and her allies that the principle of self-government among the nations of the earth is going to be world wide, the right of every nation, the very weakest as well as the very strongest, to govern itself will be insisted upon and maintained. So it is a world-wide application of the old Monroe Doctrine that America is about, and there is to be no desertion of the Monroe Doctrine at all. ¶

Since our cause is righteous, may we not hope that the God of battles will maintain our cause by strengthening our hands, by making stout our hearts? By making invincible our armies whatever they may have to sacrifice in the struggle that they shall engage in? The only thing that I am concerned about is simply this, whether we will prove ourselves to be worthy of the help and support of God. Shall we feel his strength and power enabling us to accomplish the high purposes that we have declared to be ours in connection with our entrance into this great world struggle? I am confident that the people will respond to the righteousness of our cause, and the admonitions of the president of these United States. ¶

These reflections indicate to us, I hope, a little why it is I feel so happy in this day in which we live ; and we pray that God will so help us that we shall receive renewed manifestations of his goodness and his ¶

mercies and his guiding hand in the affairs of this nation, and of this world ; which world is God's by right of proprietorship, having created it, having sustained it, having appointed to it its courses, for he has decreed from the beginning what shall be the far-off end of this world and the salvation and glory of the inhabitants thereof. ¶

God help us to appreciate the day in which we live, and to cause our spirits to rise to the high level of these times, and the opportunities they afford, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen. ¶