(President of the Southern States

(President of the Southern States Mission.) ¶

The uppermost thought in my heart, as I face this vast congregation, is one of thankfulness that I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The faith of the Latter-day Saints is wonderful, it is sublime ; and the day will yet come that it will be acknowledge that the splendid faith of this people has helped to keep this old world from bursting asunder. It is nothing but faith in Jesus Christ and in his gospel that will save this world from moral and spiritual decay. There are many causes for the greatness of this latter-day people, but one of the main causes or reasons is that ¶

we are led by inspired men. The Bible tells us that "there were giants in those days." There are giants in this day, and this Church is led by men richly and abundantly endowed with divine inspiration ; and as all the holy prophets since the world began have spoken as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, so do the leaders of this Church speak by that same living, divine, all-sustaining power. O may the Lord grant that his fear may be in our hearts all the livelong day. ¶

We are told by the Psalmist that "the heavens declare the glory of God." That is true ; but his will is not declared by his visible creations in the heavens. The will of God is expressed and manifested through his chosen servants whom he hath appointed to lead latterday Israel. We are told that God cannot be known by the reason or intelligence of mankind ; and I want to say to you, my brethren and sisters, that all we know of God comes through the channels of the holy priesthood and of the gospel, which is the power of God unto salvation. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation because, by its ordinances, by obedience to the divine law, we may know God, and thus gain eternal life. "This is life eternal," said the Savior, "that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent ;" and the knowledge of God is obtained by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel. ¶

When Nicodemus came to the Lord Jesus and desired to know the means of salvation, Jesus said, "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter ¶

into the kingdom of God." Daniel said that the God of heaven would set up a kingdom that should never more be thrown down nor be given to another people. My brethren and sisters, that kingdom cannot be seen, enjoyed, nor its truths absorbed by the souls of men unless they are born of water and receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost. ¶

I read in the writings of St. Paul that charity or love envieth not. We know by modern as well as by ancient scripture that in the spirit world we had progressed as far as we could in our spiritual existence ; and that God, who is love, who cannot envy, because he loveth his children, ordained that this mortal life was the pathway to lead on unto exaltation, that we might become by adoption, by obedience to his gospel, his sons. So, instead of this mortal life being a handicap, as many of us sometimes feel that it is, it is a privilege. A mission is a privilege. You parents, I know, esteem it a joy and an opportunity to sacrifice your sons and daughters who go forth to proclaim the word of the living God. And to the missionaries it is not a sacrifice, it is an advancement, it is a promotion, it is a privilege which will bring them and their loved ones the honor and the pleasure that cometh from God only. ¶

Now, if God had envied his children, would he have ordained this mortal existence? No. I tell you that men and women are led up to exaltation by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel. In this day we hear a great deal of talk about our rights. Why not talk more about our obligations? Why not ponder more upon our obligations to God, to country, to ¶

neighbor, and to loved ones? If the love of God be in our hearts, there is no envy; in every place a man will meet a brother and a friend, and we will desire the advancement and the progress of our brethren and sisters with all our hearts. And so God, in his mercy, ordained that this mortal existence should serve as a probationary sphere. Why? God said when he looked upon us in the spirit world, "'We will make an earth whereon these may dwell. And we will prove them herewith to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them.'' So this is the purpose of life, to obey the commandments of God ; and, as the Apostle John says, "they are not grievous." Wickedness is grievous, wickedness breaks the heart, wickedness breaks the spirit, sin is the sting of death, butthe righteousness of God gives joy and faith and hope to the human heart, and helps us to fight the battle of life with a good conscience and with a stout heart. ¶

In the Doctrine and Covenants there is a precious promise given by the Lord to the men who stand at the head of his Church in their day and appointed time. Unto the Prophet Joseph Smith the Lord said, "And thy people shall never be turned against thee by the testimony of traitors." O what a glorious promise, that if the Latter-day Saints live their religion, they will be found sustaining their leader and honoring and revering the authority that God hath placed upon the earth for their salvation and to aid them in obtaining eternal exaltation! Calumny, slander, misrepresentation, black falsehoods, have rolled and surged around the leaders of this Church, traitors have borne false witness against them, they have sought to betray them; but true to his promise, God has given his people ears to hear, and they hear and they know the voice of the shepherd and not the voice of a stranger ; so that, with magnificent unanimity, the people of God stand behind their leaders, for they have faith in the Lord's promise that they shall never be turned against the priesthood by the testimony of traitors. We love the President of the Church, and we love the adornment, the authority, that God has placed upon him as the president of this Church. I am thankful because he holds the keys by which we can go into the temples of the God of heaven and there receive blessings that we could not receive if traitors had the power to turn us against our leaders. And so I rejoice in God's promise and in its glorious fulfilment, that though storms may come, yet as a people we shall weather the gale, be true to our covenants, and always be found supporting the men whom God hath placed at the head of this Church for the blessing of this people. ¶

God help us, brethren and sisters, to live our religion. May he fill our hearts with his love, that there shall be no envy within us, but that we shall desire the advancement, the welfare of our neighbors. If this love were in the hearts of men today universally, there would be no war, but the love of God would lead his children along the path of advancement to that goal to which our eyes are turned, and to which we and all our children shall be blessed in attaining, even the goal of eternal life, which as ¶

our Father has said, is the greatest gift that he can give to his children. ¶

I bear you my testimony that I know that the God of heaven is with this people; I know that this work will triumph. I know that in the South, North, East and West the word of God is expanding ; this war is humbling men and women and bringing them to repentance, and the wave of conversion is mounting higher and higher, for the fear of God is filling the hearts of men and women and his goodness is leading them to repentance. And so I thankfully bear testimony that this work is of God, that our leader is his prophet, and that you are the people of God, Israel, led and blessed by great leaders, in the name of Jesus. Amen. ¶