ALL AMUSEMENTS SHOULD BE OPENED BY PRAYER

Another scripture, I will read from II Nephi 32, wherein it says : ¶

And now, my beloved brethren, I perceive that ye ponder still in your hearts, and it grieveth me that I must speak concerning this thing. For if ye would hearken unto the spirit which teacheth a man to pray, ye would know that ye must pray; for the evil spirit teacheth not a man to pray, but teacheth him that he must not pray. But behold, I say unto you, that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord, save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate the performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul. ¶

Have we any right as Latter-day Saints who profess to keep the commandments of the Lord, to open our dances without prayer, or other amusements, and to close them in improper hours and without prayer? Have we that right, professing to be Latter-day Saints, keeping the commandments of the Lord? I say unto you, No. It makes no difference whether it is pleasure, whether it is our daily labor, whether it is the service of the Lord in teaching the gospel and trying to save mankind. Whatever it may be, that thing should be consecrated by prayer, and every performance, for the welfare of our souls. ¶

Consequences of Failure to Pray

Now what were the consequences of not praying, as they are recorded in this book regarding the Nephite people? Let me tell 'you. In the very same chapter, and in the verse preceding where I read, Nephi says this : ¶

Behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and there will be no more doctrine given until after he shall manifest himself unto you in the flesh. When he shall manifest himself unto you in the flesh, the things which he shall say unto you ye shall observe to do. And now I, Nephi, cannot say more. ¶

Why not? Because the people had refused to pray. Because they had hardened their hearts, even in his day. Therefore the Lord closed his mouth, and said, there shall be no more doctrine till Christ comes, so far as you are concerned, and I cannot say more, because the Lord won't permit it. ¶

"The spirit stoppeth mine utterance, and I am left to mourn because of the unbelief and the ignorance and the stiffneckedness of men, for they will not search knowledge nor understand great knowledge when it is given unto them in plainness, even as plain as word can be." Now that applies in our day. We have members of the Church to whom this ought to be read. They are not here ; they do not come to conference. But men who have hardened their hearts, men who will not pray, men who will not search knowledge, who are not acquainted ¶

with the revelations of God as they have been made known unto us in these books and given unto us in this dispensation, notwithstanding the fact that the knowledge which has been given unto us is plain and easily to be understood. They shut their hearts against it, and refuse to search and to find that which the Lord has declared, which is for their eternal salvation and the salvation of all the world. Naturally such people are in darkness. We cannot afford to do that. ¶

The Doctrine and Covenants Is for All the World

The Lord has given so many revelations, in our own day. We have this Doctrine and Covenants full of them, all pertaining unto the Latter-day Saints and to the world. For this is not our book alone. This Doctrine and Covenants is my book and your book; but more than that, it belongs to all the world, to the Catholics, to the Presbyterians, to the Methodists, to the infidel, to the non-believer. It is his book if he will accept it, if he will receive it. The Lord has given it unto the world for their salvation. If you do not believe it, you read the first section in this book, the preface, and you will find that the Lord has sent this book and the things which it contains unto the people afar off, on the islands of the sea, in foreign lands, and his voice is unto all people, that all may hear. And so I say it belongs to all the world, not only to the Latter-day Saints, and they will be judged by it, and you will be judged by it. We will all be judged by it, by the things which this book contains and by the things which the other books contain which are holy scripture, which the Lord has given unto us ; and if we fail to comprehend these things, if we will not search, if we will not study, if we will not take hold on the things which the Lord has revealed unto us, then his condemnation shall rest upon us, and we shall be removed from his presence and from his kingdom. And I say that in all soberness, because it is true. ¶

Now there is no time to say more. I have said all, perhaps, I should ; but still there is a great deal more that could be said. ¶

Now, brethren and sisters, let us go home feeling a determination in our hearts to serve the Lord. Remember that we are living in a critical period of the world's history. Great events are before us. The Lord in his mercy, and with justice and judgment, is going to cut short his work in righteousness. The decrees have gone forth, and it behooves us as members of the Church to be united and to serve him and keep all his commandments. This I pray we will do, in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. ¶