I rejoice in being permitted again

I rejoice in being permitted again to meet with the Saints in general conference. I do most earnestly and humbly pray that the Lord will assist me to give utterance to some of the thoughts which have come into my mind during the last few months and while listening to the remarks made since our conference opened, and to the beautiful songs sung in our hearing. I do not desire to say one word that shall offend, or that shall not be in keeping with the inspiration of the Lord. In all humility I desire the assistance of your faith and your prayers, that what I may say may be for the benefit of the Latter-day Saints here assembled. ¶

Hymns Appropriate to Present Conditions

It has seemed to me that the hymns sung in our hearing since this conference opened are wonderfully appropriate to the present condition of affairs in all the world. I believe in very deed that it is a time when the Latter-day Saints should feel in their hearts the inspiration which came to Brother William Clayton when the great pioneer, Brigham Young, told him to write a hymn that should cheer and bless the Saints in their great pioneer journey to these fair valleys. Brother Clayton wrote: "Come, come, ye Saints, no toil nor labor fear, but with joy wend your way." And again: "Why should we think to earn a great reward, if we now shun the fight?" And again: "And .should we die before our journey's through, happy day, all is well." I feel that we are entering today, as a part of our grand Nation, upon a great and wonderful journey, that we are engaging in a war of righteousness in which the Nation is risking its life, a war which undoubtedly will mean death to many of the noble boys who have volunteered or been drafted into the army and navy. I feel that every Latter-day Saint can with fervent spirit sing this splendid pioneer hymn, "Come, come, ye Saints, no toil nor labor fear," and that those who have an abiding faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and his redeeming blood, should go forth to war under the inspiration of the Lord, and that they can honestly and conscientiously pray that the Lord will preserve and bless them and give them success, even in war. ¶

I think one of the grandest hymns which has ever been written by any of our local poets is John Jaques' ¶

O Say, What is Truth? ¶

O say, what is truth? Tis the fairest gem ¶

That the riches of worlds can produce; And priceless the value of truth will be when The proud monarch's costliest diadem ¶

Is counted but dross and refuse. ¶

Yes, say, what is truth? 'Tis the brightest prize ¶

To which mortals or gods can aspire ; Go search in the depths where it glittering lies. Or ascend in pursuit to the loftiest skies; ¶

'Tis an aim for the noblest desire. ¶

The scepter may fall from the despot's grasp ¶

When with winds of stern justice he copes, But the pillar of truth will endure to the last, And its firm-rooted bulwarks outstand the rude blast, And the wreck of the fell tyrant's hopes. ¶

Then, say, what is truth? 'Tis the last and the first, ¶

For the limits of time it steps o'er: Though the heavens depart, and the earth's fountains burst, Truth, the sum of existence, will weather the worst, ¶

Eternal, unchanged, evermore. ¶

"out of their own mouths." ¶

A couple of days ago a friend of mine lent me this book that I have not yet read. It is entitled, Out of their own Mouths, and the scripture quotation, "Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee," is on the cover of the book. Sentiments which are anything but true. Speaking of truth, let me quote from Frederick the Great. Frederick was one of the men who stole those provinces and robbed other people of their possessions, as referred to by President Lund this morning. ¶

If there is anything to be gained by it, we will be honest; if deception is necessary, let us be cheats. — Frederick II, Letter to Minister Radziwill. ¶

Remember this standard of "Truth" of Frederick the Great : ¶

Do not be ashamed to make alliances with a view to gaining advantage from them for yourself only. ¶

Do not commit the gross blunder of not abandoning them when it suits your interest. ¶

One takes when one can, and one is wrong only when obliged to give back. ¶

I understand by the word "policy" that one must make it his study to deceive others; that is the way to get the better of them— Works of Frederick II, Berlin edition (1848). ¶

No ministers at home, but clerks. No ministers abroad, but spies. ¶

Form alliances only in order to sow animosities. ¶

Kindle and prolong war between my neighbors. ¶

Always promise help and never send it. ¶

There is only one person in the kingdom, that is myself. — Marginal notes in a copy of Tacitus, written by the King and cited by Diderot. ¶

"All written constitutions are only scraps of paper." — Frederick William IV, Speech from the Throne, April 11, 1847. Remember in contrast our beloved "Mormon" poet John Jaques' inspired words : "Truth, the sum of existence, will weather the worst, eternal, unchanged, evermore." ¶

Here are some of the truthful ( ?) statements of the present kaiser of Germany. When meeting a general and the governor of the province of Liege, he said when they visited Berlin : ¶

"You are the governor of a province with which we have always maintained good neighborly relations. Recently, I understand, you have felt in your country serious apprehensions. Believe me, these apprehensions were unnecessary." ¶

And at a banquet following the interview, he said to the general from Belgium: "You were quite right to trust us." The solemn word of honor of a nation guaranteed the neutrality of Belgium, but that word of honor was a "scrap of paper." "You do right to trust us." By trusting that emperor, what came? The destruction by the thousands and tens of thousands of Belgium's citizens, the destroying of their property, the levying upon them of vast sums, the taking of millions of the nation as prisoners, and making them work in as hateful a slavery as existed in the South before the days of the rebellion. ¶

We shall conquer everywhere, even though we be surrounded by enemies on all sides; for there lives a powerful ally, the old, good God in heaven, who * * * has always been on our side. — William II, Speech, March 28, 1901. ¶

He talks as familiarly as the man who profanes the name of the living God. It is a profanation of the living God to talk about his being on the side of a nation which breaks its solemn pledges, and treats constitutions and treaties as "scraps of paper." ¶

I believe, as does our beloved President Joseph F. Smith, that the Constitution of the United States was written by the inspiration of Almighty God. I was taught this from the knee of my dear mother, who has passed to her reward in heaven. I know that any ruler who claims to be the representative of Almighty God who would take away the liberties of his fellow men, is not a representative from God. You can draw your own conclusions whom he does represent. I was going to tell, but maybe I would better not. ¶

Remember that you are the chosen people! The Spirit of the Lord has descended upon me because J am the Emperor of the Germans! ¶

I am the instrument of the Almighty. I am his sword, his agent. Woe and death to all those who shall oppose my will! Woe and death to those who do not believe in my mission! Woe and death to the cowards! ¶

Let them perish, all the enemies of the German people! God demands their destruction, God who, by my mouth, bids you to do his will! — William II, Proclamation to the Army of the East, 1914. ¶

No honest person need be told where the inspiration for such a damnable statement comes. ¶

The triumph of the greater Germany, which some day must dominate all Europe, is the single end for which we are fighting. — William II, Proclamation, June, 1915. ¶

Not by speeches and resolutions of majorities are the great questions of the time decided — that was the mistake of 1848 and 1849 — but by iron and blood. — Bismarck, in the Military Committee of the Prussian Chamber of Deputies, 1862. ¶

Inspired Poems

When I was in Germany, some years ago, while presiding over the European Mission, I had the pleasure of visiting many of the cities upon the continent, and one of the cities that I visited was Berlin, one of the ¶

handsomest in all the world, another was Dresden. While riding from Dresden to Berlin I read and committed to memory a poem, by Goethe, Germany's greatest poet. I believe that John Jaques, William Clayton, Parley P. Pratt, Eliza R. Snow and others, whose beautiful hymns we have heard sung here today, were inspired by the Lord. I believe that men like Goethe, in writing, are inspired of the Lord, when they are upright and honest and endeavor to write that which is uplifting and noble. I would to God that every German would learn the four short verses of Goethe's poem as I did and realize that they are divinely inspired words : ¶

Three Lessons. ¶

There are three lessons I would write, ¶

Three words as with a burning pen; In tracings of eternal light ¶

Upon the hearts of men. ¶

Have faith, though clouds environ round And gladness hides her face in scorn, ¶

Put-off the darkness from thy brow, No night but hath its morn. ¶

Have hope where'er thy bark be driven, The calm distorts the tempest's mirth; ¶

Know this, God rules the hosts of heaven, The inhabitants of earth. ¶

I hope Kaiser William will live to have these words burned into his very brain : "Know this, God rules the hosts of heaven, the inhabitants of earth." Goethe winds up with this supreme declaration of love, a declaration in keeping with the teachings of our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ ; a declaration in keeping with the will of our Father in heaven : ¶

Have love — not love alone for one, ¶

But man as man thy brother call, And scatter as a circling sun ¶

Thy charities on all. ¶

What the Kaiser Says He Is

What kind of charities have been scattered by the ruling house of Germany? Murder, rapine, robbery, is the kind of charity and love which they have scattered. Let me read to you the words of the Kaiser from a book entitled, My Ideas and Ideals — William II ; ¶

As I look upon myself as an instrument of the Lord, I am indifferent to the point of view of the present day. ¶

I, too, like my imperial grandfather, represent the kingship by God's grace. ¶

Each of the Hohenzollern princes was from the outset of his career conscious that he was only God's vicegerent upon earth. ¶

Again I say the inspiration of William II comes from a different source than from God — (the speaker here pointed downward). ¶

My course is the right one, and in it I shall continue to steer. There is only one master in this country; I am he, and I will not tolerate another. ¶

There was only one master, so Napoleon Bonaparte thought, but he did not finally triumph. "Know this, God rules the hosts of heaven, The inhabitants of earth;" and the kaiser will find this out if he lives long enough, and I hope and pray he will. ¶

There is only one law — my law; the law which I myself lay down. ¶

There is the law of justice, there is the law of virtue, there is the law of honor, there is the law of Almighty God, that this man and those who sustain him are violating, and they will find it out ! ¶

The best word is a blow — the Army and Navy are the pillars of the State. ¶

An immense amount of inspiration from Almighty God in this infamous statement. The following sentence of less than three lines tells whether this man represents the Lord Almighty or not : ¶

Hurrah for the dry powder and the sharp sword, for the end we have in sight and the forces we are bending towards it, for the German Army and the General Staff. ¶

A fine representative of God ! ¶

Pan-Germanism

I had the privilege of becoming acquainted on the steamer with a German who was returning from Japan, who had been there training the Japanese army. I learned that he believed that might was right, and that weak nations had no right to live. The teachings of our Father in heaven and of our Redeemer are just the exact opposite of any doctrines of that kind. I recommend you to read a book entitled Pan-Germany, a little twenty-five-cent pamphlet. You will find that Germany started out to do exactly what President Lund said they expected to do, to gain dominion through the heart of Europe from the North Sea clear down to the Persian Gulf; and if they get peace today, without indemnities they have won the war. Germany has since the beginning of this conflict placed over 75,000,000 people under her dominion, and she is working millions of these people in her fields and factories. ¶

What Germany Would Do

For example, they worked one girl in the harvest fields from sun-up until dark, and they paid her for six mortal months' labor less than two dollars. From the time that the war broke out until February, a year ago, the National Imperial Bank increased its reserves from 1,300,000,000 marks to 2,500,000,000 marks. They are enslaving Turkey and Austria- ¶

Hungary financially by selling to them the munitions of war which are used in the interest of the German empire. Their allies have been practically bankrupted by Germany running a printing press and furnishing them money. Today if Germany could get peace without indemnities she could enslave the world. The kaiser claims to be the representative of God, but he knows nothing about the laws of God, or of justice, and this is why he will eventually be defeated. The Lord has said that this land of America is a choice land above all other lands, and that if the people are pure in heart and serve him, that it shall be preserved from any king ever ruling here. That is the word of God to his ancient servants upon this continent, as recorded in the Book of Mormon. The Kaiser mistook the fiber of the Belgian people. He thought might was so great in the empire that he ruled over, that the Belgians would not dare oppose him. but those Belgians gave their lives for truth and honor. He thought that France would not dare fight, but the Frenchmen offered their lives upon the altar of honor. He never dreamed for a moment that England unprepared would enter the war, but again he mistook the character of the English people. He instructed his legions to "destroy the little contemptible English army." He believed that he had the might to crush them, but the people of England stepped forward with that sense of honor, right and justice which is inborn in her people, and fulfilled her pledges to Belgium. ¶

An Infamous Conception

Now I want to read to you -one of the most infamous things that was ever conceived by a ruling class : ¶

In 1895, when Germany decided upon what she wanted, (viz., to conquer the world,) she proceeded to make a list of all Germans on the face of the globe, in order to pick out from among them those who were most likely to prove useful tools of carrying out the Pan-German plan. The result of this registration of the German element throughout the world may be found in the Pan-German Atlas of Paul Langhans, published by Justus Perthes, at Gotha, in 1909. (The Pan-German plan was to split Europe through the center and eventually to conquer the world.) ¶

The Pan-German societies have carried on a vigorous propaganda among all these Germans, especially since 1900, and in Argentina and Brazil, which were intended to be the principal German protectorates, they were organized with particular care. The German law of July 22, 1913, known as Delbruck's, which deals with nationality under the Empire and under the State, has greatly favored German organization in America, and it is important to know at least the gist of it, since it is full of significance, and marks the last stage of PanGerman organization prior to the war. ¶

The second part of its article 25, reads as follows: "If any person before acquiring nationality in a foreign state shall have received the written permission of a competent authority of his native state to retain his nationality of that state, he shall not lose his nationality of the said native state. The German consul shall be consulted before this permission is granted." ¶

•"From these words we can measure the depth of German astuteness," and pardon my saying, we can measure the depth of depravity of the Ger- ¶

man statesmen, who ask men to hold up their hands before high heaven and pledge allegiance to another country, when they never intended to fulfil that pledge made in solemn covenant before God. "According to this provision a German may become a citizen of a foreign state but if he obtains a written permission 'from a competent authority of his native State,' he still continues to enjoy, for himself and his descendants, all the rights of a German citizen, and may claim the protection of the German Empire." Such a law is infamous beyond my language to tell. ¶

What Has Been Done for the War in Utah

I want to read what we have done here in Utah for the war in which we are engaged — a brief summary made on December 21, 1917: ¶

Men Supplied by Utah. ¶

Army — quota asked for 746 men ¶

Furnished 2,344 men ¶

Marines — quota asked for 126 men ¶

Furnished 346 men ¶

Navy — no quota — Utah and Southern Idaho furnished 641 men ¶

Utah also furnished one regiment of field artillery and one field hospital .. 1,500 ¶

Asked, 872; given, 4,831 men. ¶

Red Cross — apportionment $350,000 ¶

Raised $520,000 ¶

First Liberty Loan — apportionment $6,500,000 ¶

Amount subscribed $9,400,000 ¶

This is one of the largest amounts raised, in proportion, by any State in this Federal Reserve District. ¶

Second Liberty Loan — minimum apportionment $10,000,000 ¶

Amount subscribed $16,200,000 ¶

Soldiers' Welfare Fund, including Y. M. C. A. and Training Camp ¶

Recreation Fund — apportionment $100,000 ¶

Amount raised $105,000 ¶

Red Cross Membership Campaign — allotment 60,000 members ¶

Subscribers 66,000 members ¶

Asked, $17,010,000; Given, $26,291,000 ¶

No Question Ever Settled Until It's Settled Right

Allow me to read to you the inspired words of Ella Wheeler Wilcox. She has entitled her poem ¶

An Inspiration. ¶

However the battle is ended, ¶

Though proudly the victor comes, With fluttering flags and prancing steeds ¶

And echo of rolling drums, Still truth proclaims the motto, ¶

In letters of living light, No question is ever settled ¶

Until it is settled right. ¶

Though the heel of the strong oppressor ¶

May grind the weak in the dust; And the voices of fame with one acclaim ¶

May call him great and just; Let those who applaud take warning ¶

And keep this motto in sight — No question is ever settled ¶

Until it is settled right. ¶

Let those who have failed take courage, ¶

Though the enemy seems to have won; Though his ranks are strong, if he be in the wrong, ¶

The battle is not yet done; For sure as the morning follows ¶

The darkest hour of the night, No question is ever settled ¶

Until it is settled right. ¶

O man, bowed down with labor, ¶

O woman, young, yet old; O heart, oppressed in the toiler's breast, ¶

And crushed by the power of gold, Keep on with your weary battle ¶

Against triumphant might; No question is ever settled ¶

Until it is settled right. ¶

Let me again quote Goethe : "Know this, God rules the hosts of heaven, the inhabitants of earth." ¶

Loyalty of German Latter-day Saints

In my anxiety to get through with as many items as possible in twenty-five minutes I came near neglecting to say one thing which I desire to say : I have never traveled with a man who impressed me more as loving God, and more determined to give to this work of our Redeemer his life's labor, than did the late Karl G. Maeser. I believe that the men and women that the gospel found in Germany, and who in all honor embraced it, are as loyal, as true, and as patriotic as any other people who have joined the Church of Christ. The night following my call for a mission to Japan I lay awake until after three o'clock in the morning, and in thinking of those who were aged, and whom I hoped and prayed might live until I returned, I thought of my own dear mother, of John R. Winder, of George Romney, of Karl G. Maeser, and of others whom I loved with all my heart. I feel that the Germans who have embraced the Truth and who have the love of God and the love of our Redeemer in their hearts, are as willing to go forth to battle against wrong and error as the people of any other nation who have embraced the gospel of Jesus Christ. ¶

May the Lord help us who know the Truth to go on proclaiming it, and bringing people to a knowledge of the Redeemer, and teaching them to love their fellow men instead of robbing and killing them, is my prayer and desire, and I ask it in the name of Jesus. Amen. ¶