It is a pleasant sight to look upon

It is a pleasant sight to look upon so many Latter-day Saints who have come to our conference to join in the worship of God and to hear our leaders speak to us, to encourage us, to strengthen us in our faith, and to help us in our resolves to serve God. I look upon this movement of coming to conferences as a great help in uniting the Latter-day Saints both in faith and in love. ¶

Value of Conference Gatherings and Sacrament Meetings

The people of God formerly were commanded to go to the temple once or twice a year. They felt it a duty to make up their companies and travel to Jerusalem to attend the services in the temple of God. As long as this custom continued, Israel was united, but when this was abandoned, idolatry took place of the true worship. The Ten Tribes rebelled against Rehoboam who was left as king of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin only, Jeroboam saw that as long as his people should continue to go to Jerusalem to the temple, there would be a union with the people living there, and their faith would be kept up, therefore he built places of worship on the hills, tried to lead the people astray, and did this to a great extent. One way in which he accomplished this was to prevent the annual gathering of the people of God at Jerusalem. ¶

We come here from many different places. I have already met this week people from Mexico on the south and Canada on the north, from California, from the East, and from up and down our State and Idaho, who have come here to attend conference. They meet with friends and old acquaintances and friendships are renewed. They attend the meetings of the conference and hear what the servants of the Lord have to give unto them. ¶

We have this morning heard from our President. He has used the vehicle of hymns to bring to us some great truths, encouraging and inspiring us, and his teaching has been accepted by us all. We feel that he has been inspired by the Lord in speaking to us, and that he is inspired in the duties and labors that devolve upon him. I believe that we as a people ought to remember the words he has spoken, and carry them out in our daily lives. ¶

Our meetings at conferences here, and our quarterly conferences, all tend to unite the Latter-day Saints. I could not ask the people to attend our general conferences in greater numbers than they do, as we are not able to give them all a chance to come into our tabernacle and other buildings where we gather at our general conferences. ¶

I would like to ask the Latter-day Saints to be more punctual in attending their quarterly conferences both Saturdays and Sundays. Generally some of the Twelve, or of the Council of Seventy, or other leading men, are sent out to the stakes to attend the Stake Conferences. These ought to be attended well by the people. Those who attend will thus come in touch with the central government of the Church ; they will learn what is wanted, and they will be built up in their faith and strengthened to perform their duties. We love to see the Saints come together, not only in their conferences, but also in their sacrament meetings, their quorum meetings and different meetings of the organizations that are helps in the government of the Church. We would like to see the people zealous in performing this duty. ¶

Duty of the Saints in Meeting

When we come together and someone is called to speak unto us, let us sustain him with our prayers, pray in our hearts that the Lord will lead him to speak unto us such things as shall be for our best good, and if we do this, our prayers will be answered. The speaker will be led to speak upon such things as are needed by those who have assembled. Our brethren very seldom write out their sermons before they go to meeting, except in cases where they are asked to speak on a certain subject. That does not mean that they do as the man to whom Bro. N. L. Nelson refers in his work on preaching, as quoted by our President. The Lord wants us to fill our minds with useful knowledge and then ask him to lead us in what we shall speak. By following this course the Lord will bring forth unto us that which he wants us to give unto the hearers. When the speaker sits down, show that you have been attentive to what has been said by saying "Amen" in your usual pitch of voice, as much as to say, "yes, those words will be treasured by me." We did that formerly more than we do now. We used to give our "Amen" so that all could hear it, but today we are too quiet in the matter. Let us show our sympathy with and our assent to what has been said, by giving a good audible "Amen" at the close of the discourse. ¶

The Inspiration of Joseph the Prophet

I will read a verse or two from one of the early revelations. I have always loved to read those revelations given to the Prophet in the early days, because they prove their intrinsic truth, as he could not have seen the future except by the power of God. In 1828, when the Prophet was a few months past twenty-two years old, he received a revelation, in which we find these words : ¶

For although a man may have many revelations, and have power to do many mighty works, yet if he boasts in his own strength, and sets at nought the counsels of God, and follows after the dictates of his own will and carnal desires, he must fail and incur the vengeance of a just God upon him. ¶