President Wilson's Message on the Bible and Service in the Priesthood

of the accomplishments of the Latter-day Saints that will redound to their blessing and insure them life eternal — The splendid work of the ¶

Priesthood and the auxiliary organizations— Security and safety in observing the laws of the gospel and the counsels of the servants of God — Our hope for the people of Zion. ¶

I think, my brethren and sisters, that I have never heard so much scripture quoted to such good purpose as I have heard from our brethren during the sessions of this conference. I hope that their example will be heeded by the Saints and that scripture-reading may become a more prevalent custom than it has been and is today. I note that recently twenty-seven thousand copies of the Bible were, by one Bible society, placed into the hands of American soldiers. In each copy was inscribed a short letter from the President of the United States, and the sentiments expressed in that letter are worthy of our attention. The letter read : ¶

"The Bible is the word of life. 1 beg that you will read it and find this out for yourselves. Read not little snatches here and there, but long passages that will really be the road to the heart of it. You will not only find it full of real men and women, but also of things you have wondered about and been troubled about all your life, as men have been always, and the more you read the more will become plain to you what things are worth while and what things are not, what things make men happy — loyalty, right-dealing, speaking the truth, readiness to give everything for what they think their duty, and most of all the wish that they may have the real approval of the Christ, who gave everything for them, and what things are guaranteed to make men unhappy — selfishness, cowardice, greed, and everything that is mean and low. ¶

"When you have read the Bible you will know that it is the word of God, because you will have found it the key to your own heart, your own happiness and your own duty. ¶

"Woodrow Wilson." ¶

I believe, my brethren and sisters, that in the scriptures are to be found words, counsel, and admonition that are suited to every circumstance and every condition of life. I hope that we will read not only the words of the Bible, so highly commended by the President of the United States, but that we will read the words that have come to us in modern revelation, and the words of the prophets that have been recorded in our Book of Mormon. ¶

I desire to read a little scripture myself as a premise to the few thoughts that I would advance to you at this time : ¶

"When the Son of Man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: ¶

"And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: ¶

"And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. ¶

"Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: ¶

"For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: T was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger and ye took me in : ¶

"Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. ¶

"Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee, or thirsty, and gave thee drink. ¶

"When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? ¶

"Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? ¶

"And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily, I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. ¶

"And then shall he say also unto th em on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: ¶

"For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty and ye gave me no drink: ¶

"I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. ¶

"Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison,' and did not minister unto thee? ¶

"Then shall he answer them, saying. Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these ye did it not to me. ¶

"And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal." ¶

I gather much of encouragment and comfort from that scripture, for the Latter-day Saints. Without boasting, only in a spirit of grateful acknowledgment, I would recount a few of the accomplishments of our people which, it seems to me, will tend to lead them to life eternal and to the blessings which our Father has in store for those who have served him by serving his children. ¶

We have among us organizations designed to minister to the care and the comfort and the upbuilding of the children of men. Among these organizations there is one composed of women, the sisters of the Church. That organization has a record of which any people in the wide world could be most proud. You know what it does. I want, however, to mention a few items accomplished by this great organization in ministering to the children of men. ¶

During the last year. I gather from the secretary's report, there were 21,985 days spent with the sick, more than sixty years of one person's time devoted gratuitously, willinging, lovingly and unselfishly to the care of the unfortunate. There were 88,140 special visits to ¶

the sick where relief was administered, encouragment given and good done beyond computation. Why, don't you know if we had to pay for the services of the physician at the usual rate it would have taken more than a quarter of a million dollars to have paid for the simple, loving service devoted by this organization to the relief of the sick in our midst last year only. There were 6,803 families that .directly received the help of this beneficent organization. Two thousand one hundred and ninety-three bodies of the dead were prepared for burial without cost, without compensation for service, as a mere gratuitous offering on the part of these good sisters. There were spent in temple work 26,201 days in doing vicarious work for the dead by this organization alone. Assistance was given to missionaries and their families to the extent of $2,735.35 in cash, aside from the great amount of assistance that was given in work and in caring f or the families of missionaries that in many instances needed the care of these ministering angels. ¶

Our sisters have done that which the Lord prescribed as one of the means of obtaining enternal life. They have ministered unto "these, the least of my brethren," they have cared for those who were sick and afflicted and in need of care. ¶

Then the other organizations of our Church, which I haven't the time or opportunity now to recount, have likewise administered to the health and succor and the uplift of all the children of God that have been members of the Church, or not being members of the Church, who have been willing to accept of the'ir assistance. Don't you know that there is an army of twenty thousand ¶

Sunday School teachers laboring every Sunday in the year, preparing themselves during the week days, unselfishly and willingly giving :heir time and ability to feed the children of God the bread of life and help them to imbibe at the fountain of truth, that they may live in the ways of God and walk in his righteous paths ? There is a comparatively large number of faithful servants devoting themselves to the care of the young men and women in the Mutual Improvement Associations of the Church. In addition to these we have great numbers of men and women unselfishly devoting themselves to the work pursued in our Primary As sociations and in our Religion Classes, attempting as best they can to administer to the good of mankind and to feed them in the way that God wants them fed for their upbuilding and for their proper growth and development. ¶

And behind and above, it seems to me, all of the work that these good auxiliary associations are accomplishing are to be found the men who sit in the fore part of this building, who, for years and years have given their lives, their service, their thought, their prayers to the nurture and the care of these the children of our Father who is in heaven. These presidencies of stakes, noble men, shepherds of the Father, caring for his flocks, as only the loving shepherd can care for them. These bishoprics of wards, fathers of the people, caring for them as only loving fathers can care for their children. O, what a grand and noble service are these men performing. As I go among them in the ministry in which I am engaged, as I meet them and understand their spirits and recognize their devotion to the cause, I feel mighty humble in their presence. They are men of experience, they are men of wisdom, they are men of integrity, they are men of a great big love for God's children ; and my prayer constantly is that I may be worthy to work with them, worthy to help them in the great work to which they are so steadfastly devoted. These are the men who have brought forth the sons of the states that have now responded to their country's call. These men and their good wives are the men and women who have implanted within the hearts of these boys, standards of truth and virtue and morality that will make them stand out prominently among all those who come to serve this great nation. I was not surorised when the Secretary of the Interior stood on this stand the other evening and said — and I believe it was not flatterv — that in all the demonstrations that he had seen in this country his heart was never so touched as when he saw the bovs of Utah and the surrounding states march past the reviewing stand clad in their uniforms, prepared to serve their country and respond to its call. T was not surprised, because I do not believe that the eminent secretary can sro anv place in this wide and good land and find as manv bovs who have within their hearts the love of truth, who are as firmlv and steadfnstlv adherine to the principels of truth and the commandments of the Lord, and who hold to such high standards of virtue and honor and morality as these same boys. I believe that one of them, if he will remain steadfast and true to the testimony of the gospel, is and will be worth a half dozen of any who are ¶

not true, who are not worthy sons of God. ¶

These men — these men here, are responsible for them; and I give my honor and esteem to them for the splendid and great work that they have clone and are doing in this land. ¶

We all seek after eternal life. It is the greatest gift that God can give to men. We pray for it; we work for it ; and I believe, my brethren and sisters, that we are doing the things that will bring it to us. Our lives are being conformed to the life of the Master. There is encouragment wherever one goes in the land of the Saints. On every hand are the evidences, the indisputable evidences of the love of men for God, in the love of men for men, and it is our service to these children of men, no matter how humble they are, no matter how insignificant in the world they may seem to be, that will be accepted by God as our service for him. We can't help him. He is beyond any help that we can give to him, but we can help his children ; we can work for them ; we can love them ; and we can persuade them with the help of God to live good lives and to come nearer to him, that they may eventually come back into his presence. ¶

That is our work, as I understand it. That is the mission of the Priesthood of God. The Priesthood of God means to me only the right to serve, in the name of God, God's children, and he who serves God's children in God's name is doing the greatest service for the Master that can be done. I see only success, onlv prosperity, only happiness ahead for the people of the Latter-day Saints, if they will but obey the commandments that have ¶

been given to them. If they will but listen to the counsel and admonition that come from our head, if they will follow the guide of the Priesthood, I know they will be safe. ¶

And do you know, throughout all these troublesome times, when men have found it a very difficult thing to make up their minds regarding the important matters that have come before us since the declaration of war, I have always carried in my own soul a deep feeling of satisfaction in this thought, that every man who will live the principles of the gospel will receive inspiration telling him what to do for himself, and the additional and still greater thought that if ever there should be required for this people any especial direction, any peculiar guidance suited to the condition of the times, we have the man of God to give it to us, and I have felt in that, security and safety? I think we are entitled to that feeling as a reward for our attempt to do Gods' bidding and to keep his commandments. ¶

Only a few weeks ago I happened to stand in the majestic corridor of the great city hall of San Francisco, a gigantic, beautiful building erected upon the ruins, or near the ruins of the former building that stood there. I read an inspiring inscription carved in solid granite, testifying to the great hope within that people for the future of their city. If I may paraphrase that inscription it will express, in some degree, my hope for the people of Zion : ¶

"O, Zion, thou glorious city of our God and our hearts, thou who hast been tried and not found wanting; go thou forth to thy glorious future," Amen, ¶