Loyalty to Church and country

My brethren and sisters. — It is certainly gratifying to be here today to participate in the exercises of this great conference of the Church. ¶

This is my first meeting of the conference. I happened to be engaged in the Government service, voluntarily, in one of the departments of our Government, and was called away at the conference date to attend a meeting in Boise, and I have tried to fill both appointments. I came in this morning with the hope of getting in touch with the conference spirit and taking back something that would be valuable to myself and my people who live in one of the stakes established in the last few years in Idaho, a growing state, which is inhabited in the southern part, by Latter-day Saints. It has only been a few years ago it seems to me, that our people began to migrate into Idaho, to overflow the boundaries of this state. I remember that at the time we went into Idaho, it was a period of depression in the Church, and the authorities felt the need of the young people staying at home, but they allowed a few of us to go over there. We have established a stake of Zion in that part of the country, have developed now into quite a colony, and a good part of the Church is located within the boundaries of the state of Idaho. ¶

I rejoice in the progress of the Church, of the latter-day work, and that I have been permitted to have a humble part in its establishment, in its growth and development. I like to keep in touch with the spirit of the work and the progress of the Church, and know that I am in harmony with those who are charged with the responsibility of carrying the work of the Lord. ¶

I rejoice in the work that our boys are doing, in the spirit that they are manifesting, not only in their loyalty to the Government of the United States, but in the feeling that comes to them at the same time, that they desire to place themselves in harmony with the Church, and seek the blessings it is their right to enjoy, before they depart on their great mission of service to their country. I have noticed that as our boys go out in the service of our country, that they begin to think about the possibilities of the blessings that are vouchsafed unto them through the channels of the Priesthood, and have a desire to receive these blessings. I feel that the experience that our boys are getting in the service of our country is going to make them appreciate also the service that they may give to the Church. ¶

I believe that the spirit that the boys have in desiring to go forth in the service of their country is also enjoyed by the people. We find that our boys are not satisfied to stay back in the training camps, but are eager to get to the front, and when they get to the front "over there," that they are not satisfied to stay back, but are eager to get right on the firing line. We are beginning to get that spirit ourselves as a people. When the calls are made upon us from time to time to do service for our country, there is an eagerness to get into the front line, and to go "over the top." I am proud of the record we are making in this particular. I am proud of the record of the people in our particular part of the country, and I want to state here that at 8 o'clock on the night of the drive for this Fourth Liberty Loan, we were able to telegraph to headquarters that we had gone "over the top," just at the close of the first day. And that is the spirit that is being manifest in our part of the country. I know it is the spirit all over the country, and especially among the Latter-day Saints. I rejoice that we so readily take up the cause of our country, because it is really the cause that we have been fighting for ourselves these many years; and it is characteristic of the Latter-day Saints that they adapt themselves to the needs of their country, and when an opportunity comes, that they are ready and willing to show their devotion and patriotism. These thoughts are uppermost in our minds. I know that we may be excused for talking about them in our meetings, and we can be satisfied with the feeling that it is in harmony with the teachings that we have always received. ¶

I rejoice in the testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I desire to remain faithful to that testimony. I desire, as long as I am permitted to live upon the earth, to be permitted to have a desire and disposition to raise my voice in defense of the Church, and to live so as to be worthy of the blessings of the Lord. I pray that his favor and blessing may be enjoyed by all of us, that we may continue faithful in the discharge of every duty and obligation resting upon us, in the name Jesus. Amen. ¶