My brethren and sisters, the sight that I

My brethren and sisters, the sight that I now behold is, I think, one of the most inspiring and impressive that I have beheld at any time. The large congregation gathered here, in addition to the congregations gathered in the Tabernacle, the Assembly Hall, and Barratt Hall is really more significant of the growth of Zion than it is to see the great audience that gathers in the tabernacle. ¶

"what hath god wrought?" ¶

Zion is growing. I thought, as I behold the great multitudes fill-' ing this temple block, of the marvelous work that has been accomplished since President Brigham Young and that party of pioneers gathered at the mouth of Emigration Canyon and looked' over this ¶

barren sage brush waste without a house, without a strip of green, except along the creek banks, without any indications of life, without the possibilities, seemingly, for development and the nurture and culture and advancement of a people. I thought, "What hath God wrought 1" Here today are the representatives of a half million people, blessed of God, wealthy — wealthy in the goods of this world, more wealthy in the riches of heaven, possessed of the everlasting truth, convinced that they do have a great aim and purpose in life, striving to keep the commandments of God, with whom is lodged the great kernel of truth which shall yet fill the whole earth. As I think and contemplate upon the advancement of the people of God, my testimony, my conviction of the truth, is strengthened and confirmed. No work that is not inspired by the divine will could ever have grown, could ever have made the marvelous accomplishments that this work has made. ¶

The Gospel the Whole Truth

How has it been done ? It has been done by the overruling hand of God himself. It is not man's work. Never within the Church has there been a man with such intellect, with such power, with such foresight as to plan the great work that has transpired here in this threequarters of a century. Men and women, you are the possessors of the greatest heritage that God our Father can give to his people. You, above all people in this world, and I say it, not boastingly, not seeking to aggrandize ourselves, but to speak the truth, you are the only people on this earth who have God's whole truth. It has been my good fortune in the last several years to pass around in various cities of the country, to mingle in the assemblies of thoughtful men and women, seeking in one manner and another to advance the interests of humanity. Only a short time ago I had the privilege of being in the National Bar Association, gathered at Boston. There I heard men from all over this country, from Canada on the north, from England across the water, from our insular possessions, and from other countries as well, discuss the great problems that confront the world. I heard them advance their theories for reconstruction. I heard them propose their remedies, but after I had heard them all, I said to myself : in humility, in recognition of God's goodness, Thank God we have the whole truth. Others have fragments of it. God has selected men and women all "over the world to help do his work. The Spirit of God is not confined to us alone, but here we have the whole truth. I have never heard anything advanced that sounds like the truth, that is good, praiseworthy, desirable for men, that is not embraced in the gospel of Jesus Christ. ¶

Manhood, Womanhood, True Character Most Valuable

We have had a remarkable experience during the last four or five years. The earth and the people of the earth have been tested. They have gone through the great test of war. Our own country has been in the conflict. We have been called upon to give the utmost of our resources in manhood, in womanhood, in materials, for the advancement of our interest and the interest of our allies. Above all things else, the thing that has been found to be of most value is manhood and womanhood, true character, the genuine quality that goes to make men and women serviceable, useful and efficient. If our government, as well as the other governments of the earth have discovered anything, they have discovered that their power, their great resources depend upon the men and women who make up a nation. They have discovered that not numbers alone count. They have found that it is the quality of citizenship that counts rather than the quantity of it. We discovered very much to our sorrow when the examinations were made, which have been referred to, that a very large number, not an inconsiderable percentage of all the young men that were examined for Uncle Sam's service, were found to be not fit, unclean in many cases. The country has discovered that that kind of manhood won't subserve the interests of the government. The country has discovered that the only kind of men that will do its work are the men and women who are fit and' clean. In recognition of the great principles for which our people have stood, since the inception of the Church, I construe the experience that we have had to be a confirmation, a testimony of the divinity of the work and of the inspiration which came to our first leaders in the establishment of the glorious doctrines and principles which have preserved us as a people, and have contributed to our growth and our advancement. ¶

Boys, Defenders of America, Defend Yourselves Against Sin

The Word of Wisdom, that simple, plain, understandable law of the Church, has been referred to. Let me say to you men and women '• that in my judgment that simple Word of Wisdom will do more for the advancement of the ultimate destiny of a country than any other law that I know of. Men and women, boys and girls who conform their lives to that simple commandment of the Lord will be the kind of men and women, the kind of boys and girls that a country will be proud of, the kind that will render service in times of need. Our boys have gone forth to fight the country's battles, they have responded in a noble manner. They did their work. They did it well. They saved the country. They saved my home and yours. They saved the great, inestimably valuable principles of liberty and freedom and justice that were so dear, and are so dear, to the heart of every American, yet in spite of all they have done and with all the good that they have done, they have not altogether saved themselves. I would have them not only save their country, I would have them save themselves, and I believe that the greatest duty that we can perform for them, the manner in which we can best show our appreciation of their valiant service, is to ¶

take them by the hand, indeed, put our arms around them and say to them: Boys, boys, defenders of America, defend yourselves against the incursion of sin, against the ravages of disease, against the temptations and snares of the devil. Keep yourselves free from the sins of the earth, prepare yourselves to win the victory for the whole country, for let me tell you the winning of the war did not of itself mean the winning of the victory for the great mass of humanity. That is still to be won and as some wise man has said it will be won by that country or those countries which a generation hence have produced the finest young men and the finest young women. And that is true. ¶

The Insidious Cigarette Evil

I observe regretfully, sorrowfully, that a great number of the young men who went over to fight for our country have come back addicted to the use of tobacco. It is, in my judgment, a most unfortunate outcome of their experience. Many of them never used it before. Most of them who went from this section of the country have been taught that it was against their interest, that it was against the law of the Church, and that it would only make for their ill health, and would contribute to their downfall in life. I recognize the fact that there is more or less excuse for them. I recognize the fact that everywhere they went, every station at which they stopped, every hamlet that they visited, there came to them offers of tobacco in one form or another. Young ladies, thinking to do them kindness and to show them courtesy, presented them that everlasting cigarette, — the cigarette on every side. Many of them were so led to adopt this practice. Then in order to increase their temptation, in order to make it harder for them to resist, there has gone forth in this country and in other countries the most damnable campaign of advertising that has ever been initiated . or maintained in all the earth, the campaign begun by the National Tobacco Trust, which has for its aim and object the enslavement of every young man, and woman, too, with this vile and injurious practice of using tobacco. You cannot go down a street, you cannot look beside a railroad track, you cannot observe a prominent place without seeing great, expensive bill boards advertising, soliciting for the use of tobacco in the most insidious ways, appealing indeed to the very love of a son for his father. Have you ever seen that great bill board upon which are printed these words : "Ask Dad, he knows," appealing to the desire of the boy to imitate the example which his father, in weakness, may have set. What a. fearful thing ! Well, men and women, that is before you. What are you going to do with it? Are you going to let this great trust that has not one single motive in this world, other than to make money, corrupt the morals of your boys and girls under that slavish and terrible practice of using tobacco ? If you do, you will repent of it. The time will come when you will wish you had not. In behalf of the Church, in behalf of all those who stand for the uplift ¶

i and the advancement of the young, I call upon you, men and women, whether you are members of our Church or not, to stand against this fearful campaign, to stand for that which will bring your boys and girls up to high ideals, to nobler aspirations in life, that will make them fit, fit for the world's service. ¶

Smokers Not Wanted in Business

I am grateful to say that there are a great many large business institutions in the country that won't hire a boy who smokes a cigarette. There are a great many institutions that have recognized the evil of this practice to such an extent that they will not have within their institutions a man who uses tobacco. That will help, but unfortunately there are thousands of other institutions which do not seem to care one whit for the morals of the community and which have no purpose except to gain money. There are thousands of men and women in this world who would be willing to sacrifice the soul of a man to gain a dollar. They are the ones against whom we must fight. ¶

Enforce the Laws Against Tobacco

I want to remind you that we have upon our statute books, enacted by the legislature of this state, laws which make it a crime to sell cigarettes or tobacco in any form to boys under the age of 21 years. I am reminded that those same laws are upon the statutes of other states. I believe it to be the duty of every citizen, of every man who has at heart the welfare of his country, to stand for the enforcement of these laws. I do not believe a man is entitled to the privileges and the blessings and the opportunities of citizenship unless he is willing to take the burdens and the obligations that come with them, and one of the obligations that come with citizenship is to see that the laws are enforced. Therefore, I call upon my dear friends, those whom I know have at heart the welfare of the young, to see to it that so far as it lies within your power you cause these laws to be enforced. I call upon you to get behind the prosecuting authorities to help to sustain the law, and if I had my way I would boycott every store, every place of business in this whole land that persisted in selling cigarettes and tobacco in violation of the law. I would not buy a pound of butter, I would not buy a pound of sugar, if I could help it, from any institution that persisted in taking action looking to the wrecking of the life of a boy. ¶

The Picture Not Overdrawn

Now, you may think that my attitude, and the attitude of my brethren, are extreme. Let me tell you why we feel so serious about this matter, why we look upon the prospects with so much of concern. ¶

Boys who begin to smoke cigarettes take the initial step that tends to lead them downward. We know that aside from the deleterious effect caused to their health by this noxious weed, the associations, the manner of living, the habits of life are of even more serious consequence as they are attributable in many instances to the use of tobacco. A boy from a good family, with high ideals, with good standards in his life is induced to smoke cigarettes. What is the result? He cannot smoke at home ; his folks will not have the smoking there. He has to go away from home. When he goes away from home he loses the influence that should surround him. He becomes estranged from his father and his mother. The ties that bind, the safeguards that are placed around him are lost, and in many, many cases he is led down into bad company. He comes in contact with vicious characters and the very things that he most needs during his dangerous period of life are withdrawn from him. He is left to himself and in consequence he loses himself. He loses the fine standards, the high ideals that he had, and he comes to grief. In addition to that, a young man who knows that it is against the law of the Church to use tobacco, when he succumbs to that practice, cannot pray. He loses the spirit of prayer. He recognizes the fact that his life is not in conformity with the principles of the gospel. He loses respect for his leaders. He loses the love and the confidence of the men and women who can help him, and I tell you he is in a dangerous place. Do you think I overdraw the picture? I only call upon you to consult your own experiences and your own observations. I ask you, have you ever known of the use of tobacco helping any man or any boy in this world ? I ask you, if after you have made careful observation you do not conclude that it is at the very root, at the very initiation of much of the crime, the backsliding, and the falling away among our people and among all people. ¶

Let All Unite Against the Evil

Now, my brethren and sisters, I trust that every man and woman who stands here, I trust that every one who claims membership in this great Church, indeed, I could hope that all who claim citizenship in these great states here, in these valleys of the mountains, will pledge themselves to stand by the law of God and the law of the land. I trust that every man will use his influence to see that these laws are enforced, and I trust that the women will add the force of their power as well. Not alone, of course, can we hope to accomplish the result that we seek for by the external pressure we can bring by force of law. We must do it from within. We must teach these boys that it is wrong. We must save them, save them for themselves, save them for their home and save them for the country and for the church. In order to do that we have got to instil in them a love and a respect for the principles of the gospel. We have got to teach them to have respect for the leaders of the Church. We have got to teach them that they cannot criticize and condemn God's servants and continue to have the Spirit of God with them. We have got to teach them respect for law. We have got to teach them the obligations of citizenship. We have got to make them know that they are the principal ones upon whom the future of the Church, the future of the state, the future of the nation and the world depends. ¶

Let Parents Teach the Gospel in the Home

Boys can realize their responsibility if it is put up to them rightly. I plead with my fellow parents to teach the boys and the girls the gospel of Jesus Christ in their homes. I plead with them to teach them these fundamental things that they have heard discussed here this afternoon, in order that they may be impressed with them, in order that they may know God, in order that they may recognize that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world and that they must conform their lives to his laws or they cannot hope to be successful in any way in this life. I pray that our Father will bless the homes of the Latterday Saints. I pray that every man who is the head of a household may be a father, a real father. I pray to God that every mother into whose loving hands is entrusted the nurture, the culture, the development of these precious human souls may be a mother, not just a woman. And if our homes are filled with mothers and real fathers, God will do the rest. Amen. ¶