The Saints Absolutely Sincere

It is certainly an inspiring sight to see so many of the Latter-day Saints gathered here at the opening of our conference. Considering the weather I had expected that there would be no need this morning of having an overflow meeting in the Assembly Hall, but I was mistaken. ¶

I rejoice exceedingly in the faith that is in the hearts of the Latter-day Saints. I rejoice in the loyalty of the people to the Church of Jesus Christ, wherever they are located, from Canada on the north, to Mexico in the south, and in all the various missions throughout the world. I am convinced, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that there are no other people upon the face of the earth who are as devoted to their religion, or who are ready and willing to and who do in very deed make as many sacrifices for their church, as an absolute practical demonstration of their faith, as do the Latter-day Saints. ¶

The Saints Absolutely Sincere

When we realize that thousands of Latter-day Saints who are absolutely honest in the payment of their tithes, who look upon the obligation to pay one-tenth of all they make as sacredly as they would look upon the obligation to divide with a partner, if that partner had a one-tenth interest in their business; when we think of the donations that are made for the support of the poor, for the erection of meetinghouses in the various wards, for the erection of stake tabernacles, for the building of academies, the construction of temples, and last, greatest of all, when we think of the wonderful sacrifice that is made by the men and women, giving two, three and five years of their time for missionary work, and some of them ten and fifteen years, at their own expense or the expense of their families, not only giving their time but paying their own way -- I am sure that any person who stops to reflect upon these sacrifices must acknowledge that there can be no greater evidence of absolute sincerity and devotion given by any people to their faith and to the cause of God, as they understand it, than is given by the Latter-day Saints. ¶

Disposition of Tithing

I will read for your information some of the things that have been assisted by your tithing during the past year. The Saints themselves have contributed $500,000, because it has been the custom for the Church to pay one-third only in the building of meetinghouses. During the latter part of the year, however, the Church has been doing one-half in the constructing of meetinghouses, and I would like to call attention to the fact that there are no applications now made for assistance from the Trustee-in-Trust, but what the different wards and stakes ask for one-half of the money needed to erect their meetinghouses and their schoolhouses, ¶

and there are applications on file now with the Trustee-in-Trust for considerably above one million dollars. It is just as well for you to know that it is a financial impossibility for us to comply with all of those applications. Buildings cost today twice as much as they did a few years ago, so if a building that would cost $30,000 three or four years ago were erected now it would cost $60,000. In the past the Church has given ten thousand; today it is asked for thirty thousand, which is an increase of two hundred per cent. We can not possibly comply with all the requests, much as we would like to. ¶

There has been appropriated for maintenance of meetinghouses in the various wards during last year $254,108.59; for stake tabernacles, $35,811.82; appropriations to the various stakes, $167,410.96; for wards throughout the Church, $444,763.60; for hospitals, $70,121.00; for temple maintenance and construction, $214,476.51; for the various missions, $420,359.88; in addition to money contributed in these missions. Expended for charity, $354,283.26. For education, the Church gave $722,353.83, and the applications now for our schools amount to over one million for the coming year. We can not reach all that is required, but we will do as much as we possibly can. The total amount that has been expended in the various stakes, wards and missions of the Church funds, for the year 1919 is $2,683,689.45. ¶

I am reminded of the fact that in two more days we will be celebrating the 90th anniversary of the birth of the Church of Jesus Christ upon the earth in this last dispensation. Before the Church was organized there were a few people who believed in the vision that the prophet Joseph Smith had had as a boy, fourteen years of age. They also. believed that he had been visited by heavenly messengers, that he had had years of instruction, and they believed beyond the shadow of a doubt, that he had in his possession the golden plates from which he was translating the Book of Mormon. They believed in the many revelations that God gave to him and which he wrote out and delivered to the few with whom he was associated prior to the organization of the Church. One of those revelations was to the prophet's father -- it is brief and I will read it -- given a little more than a year before the organization of the Church. ¶

Revelation to the Prophet's Father

Now behold, a marvelous work is about to come forth among the children of men; ¶

Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day; ¶

Therefore, if ye have desires to serve God, ye are called to the work, ¶

For behold the field is white already to harvest, and lo, he that thrusteth in his sickle with his might, the same layeth up in store that he perish not, but bringeth salvation to his soul; ¶

And faith, hope, charity and love, with an eye single to the glory of God, qualify him for the work. ¶

Remember faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, brotherly kindness, godliness, charity, humility, diligence. ¶

Ask and ye shall receive, knock and it shall he opened unto you. (Doctrine and Covenants, Section 4.) ¶

Truly a great and marvelous work has come forth and been proclaimed in every land and in every clime all over the wide world. The gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored -- by a personal visitation of the apostles Peter, James and John, laying their hands upon the heads of Oliver Cowdery and the Prophet Joseph Smith and ordaining them to the apostleship; by a personal visitation of John the Baptist, who baptized the Savior, laying his hands upon Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith and ordaining them to the Aaronic, or the lesser priesthood -- the gospel is again restored to the earth, with the power and authority that existed in the days of the Savior. Millions of dollars in money have been expended for erecting and maintaining temples wherein ordinances are performed for the salvation of those who have died without a knowledge of the gospel. All these things bear witness of the inspiration of God to that man Joseph Smith, when he delivered this statement in a revelation to his father, that a great and a marvelous work was about to come forth among the children of men. ¶

Tribute to Latter-Day Saints

The readiness, the willingness, the spirit of sacrifice among the Latter-day Saints are an inspiration to those not of our faith. I had intended to read here this morning some of the very splendid things that were said in the United States Senate regarding the Latter-day Saints by the senators from Nevada, from Colorado and from Arizona. I did not intend to read anything said by our own senator from Utah, but I rejoice when men not of our faith can bear the testimony that these men did, respecting the loyalty of our people. ¶

[President Grant here read selections from the speeches of the senators referred to. The tributes, in full, however, including the speech of Senator Smoot, are here given]: ¶

By Senator Smoot, of Utah

Mr. Smoot. Mr. President, I am not going to occupy more than about 15 minutes of the time of the Senate. ¶

For over 16 years I have paid no attention whatever to any of the false and malicious newspaper reports and statements, made against the socalled "Mormon" Church. The only excuse that I have to offer for doing so at this time is that I have received a request from members of a number of the principal clubs of the State of Utah to call the attention of the Senate and of the country to certain false statements published in different newspapers throughout the United States. ¶

First, I desire to call attention to an article that appeared in the New York World of October 22, under the date line of London, October 21. This same article, I will state, was published in many other newspapers throughout the United States. It is as follows: ¶

"Girls, Mormon Converts, Want to Leave England. -- Fully 1,200 of them, Says Authoress, Have Asked Passports so They Can go to Utah. ¶

"London, October 21.. "Winifred Graham, the well-known English authoress, who has ¶

done much in this country to expose Mormonism, told the World correspondent today that fully 1,200 English girls hrve recently been persuaded by Mormon propagandists here to go to Utah. 'During the war,' she said, 'the Mormons made great headway in the United Kingdom. I hope the American authorities will prevent the departure of these girls for America. From reliable sources I learn that there are 1,200 of them anxious to sail immediately. Only last week one was bound over in a London police court for falsification of a passport in her efforts to go to Utah.' ¶

"Winifred Graham is the pen name of Mrs. Theodore Cory. She sails on the Baltic October 29 as the Britislh delegate to the World Citizenship Congress in Pittsburgh, which begins November 9. She will speak on Mormonism. Her anti-Mormon work here, she says, has caused her to be shadowed and threatened by the Mormons. United States consuls are on the lookout for any Mormon converts. Owing to the strict passport regulations tin re is little chance that any of these English girls will be able to sail. Some of the girls to whom passport vises were refused recently were suspected of being Mormon converts." ¶

Mr. President, I thought the time had arrived when the newspapers of the country would cease publishing such rot. How easy it is for any newspaper to send a representative to the Bureau of Immigration and find out just the number of immigrants entering the United States going to the State of Utah for any year in the past, and also to find out the professions and occupation of the immigrants, and the different classification of each as provided by the department. If the newspaper doing so wants to publish the truth it would never publish such statements as I have just read. ¶

I went to the department, upon my attention being called to the newspaper article and asked for a statement of the number of immigrants for Utah for the years of 1917, 1918, and 1919. The statistics taken from the annual report of the Commissioner General of Immigration show some interesting facts. I have taken the State of Utah and compared it with the State of Colorado and the following is the result: ¶

Profession. ¶

No occupation (including women and children) ¶

Grand total of all immigrants ¶

♦Figures not available. ¶

Utah. ¶

Cg ¶

lora< ¶

lo. ¶

1917|1918 ¶

6 1 8 ¶

(*) ¶

(*) ¶

96 1 49 ¶

(*) ¶

(*) ¶

501 1202 ¶

(*) ¶

(*) ¶

^62 |254 ¶

(*) ¶

(*) ¶

965 |513.588 ¶

118 | 48 ¶

(*) ¶

(*) ¶

The above table shows that the total number of immigrants with no occupation -- including women and children -- going to Utah was smaller on a percentage basis than the same class going to Colorado. ¶

It also shows the percentage of English immigrants of the total which went to both states, the percentage being about the same. ¶

Mr. President, the Commercial Club of Salt Lake City, the leading business club of the State of Utah, upon seeing this scurrilous article against the "Mormon" Church published throughout the United States, prepared and issued a statement, dated November 4, 1919, entitled "Refutation issued by the board of governors of the Commercial Club of Salt Lake City," which I desire to read, as follows: ¶

A Statement of Refutation

Issued by the Board of Governors of the Commercial Club, Salt Lake City. The attention of the Salt Lake Commercial Club has been called to the ¶

GEX / R. \L CON I'EREN CE. ¶

appearance in newspapers in the United States, of a "syndicate article" bearing the date line of London, Eng., in some instances as "October 19", from the pen of one purporting to be George Selden, writer of the English metropolis, which is vicious, inconsistent and maliciously false in its accusations against the "Mormon" Church. ¶

This article, sent broadcast through the United States, contains quotations credited to one Winifred Graham, to whom the article refers as a novelist, some of which are as follows: ¶

"What is Mormonism doing in England? It works secretly as in America and snaps its fingers at law in both countries. This very minute the Church elders have twelve hundred girls ready for shipment to Utah. ¶

"The Mormon Church pays the fares and offers excellent wages, but once it gets women over it uses them as it pleases. The war gave the Mormon elders their greatest opportunity for proselyting. In the absence of the men folk and because of the deaths of thousands of soldiers, the women of the poorer classes fell easy victims. Secret meetings were held in homes that attracted the neighborhood without attracting suspicion. ¶

"Every girl is baptized. They then become silent about polygamy, but they become either polygamous wives or slaves of the Mormon Church. Occasionally we hear of girls who are slaving on Mormon farms." ¶

The Commercial Club of Salt Lake City, Utah, through its duly constituted Board of Governors, hereby desires that it be known that it has taken cognizance of and read these statements, which it brands as being vicious in intent and so obviously inconsistent as to be their own refutation, and they are scandalous, pernicious and false. ¶

The Commercial Club, in line with its activities from the time of its organization, is critically persistent and thorough in its survey of conditions relating to the interests of our commonwealth and is fully qualified by its knowledge of facts to thus brand these sensational stories as unmitigated falsehoods. ¶

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly called the "Mormon" Church, is working in harmony with other institutions in Utah, ecclesiastical and civic, for the maintenance of the highest attainable standard of morality, and has made an enviable record in their accomplishment, as also in patriotic and devoted service to the country's needs. ¶

This Commercial Club disavows and condemns, with disapprobation equally strong the circulate* falsehoods of "Mormon" interference in State or National politics. The "Mormon" people exercise their political rights and preferences in common with their fellow-citizens who are not of their faith; and this Club unhesitatingly affirms that the stories alleging "Mormon" control of political parties in this State or elsewhere are but myths and fables, without even the merit of apparent consistency to excuse their periodical re-telling. (Sgd.) Lester D. Freed, ¶

President Commercial Club, H. N. Byrne C. B. Hawley A. N. McKav ¶

H. M. Chamberlain J. C. Howard C. W. Nibley ¶

Joseph Decker S. R. Inch F. C. Schramm ¶

Lester D. Freed Jas. Ingebretsen M. H. Sowles ¶

R. C. Gemmell D. Carlos Kimball Charles Tyng ¶

(Board of Governors) ¶

Mr. President, I protest against the libelous press matter that has been published throughout the country, that the blatantly heralded announcement of the falsehoods an English writer of fiction has come here to tell. The Church has nothing to conceal. I want the people of the United States to know that as far as polygamy is concerned it is dead, and scandalmongers in the future must find some other hobby to ride. ¶

All I ask is that the "Mormon" Church and its adherents be judged by the fruit of the tree. No one can examine the record made by that people during the World War without coming to the conclusion that no more loyal people live on this earth. No call was made upon them without an immediate response, and not only for the amount asked for but for nearly double the amount in most every case. They not only furnished their quota of soldiers but in some of the calls 100 and 200 per cent more. ¶

Mr. President, I would not have taken the time of the Senate to make this short statement if it had not been requested of me. I will say: The signers of the statement of refutation are at least three-fourths non-members of the "Mormon" Church, and they are the leading business men of the State. It seems to me that the people of this country ought now to understand the true situation and if the. "New "York World" or the "New York American" desires to learn the truth about the "Mormon" people, I will gladly pay all expenses of a representative of either paper, if it desired to make an honest investigation. ¶

I am a Senator of the United States. I represent all the people of Utah and not any church as such. I have never felt called upon to defend the "Mormon" Church against false attacks, because I felt that sooner or later the truth would be understood by all the people. I am not making this statement as a representative of the "Mormon" Church but as a United States Senator. ¶

The "Mormon" Church has been foully misrepresented from many sources in the past. I confidently look forward to the day when the "Mormon" people will be known as they are and not as represented. ¶

By Senator Ashurst, of Arizona

Mr. Ashurst. Mr. President, I am very glad that the Senator from Utah [Mr. Smoot] has spoken as he has. It was time for such a speech. A matchless maker of epigrams said that when "once a lie or a counterfeit statement gets into circulation it is well-nigh impossible to overtake it", and therefore I believe the Senator has done a service to his country in exposing this infamous slander, which has been published broadcast against so many worthy people. ¶

When I read the article, I felt offended because there are in Arizona a large number of "Mormon" people, or people who belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; and I would be false to that principle of fair play for which I have always pretended that I stood if I failed at this time to say a word on the subject. ¶

Tt may be true that I do not understand fully the theology of the "Mormon" Church; but, Mr. President, the first church I ever attended was a "Mormon" Church. When there was no other church within 100 miles of the lonely frontier cabin where my parents lived, we found solace and comfort in attending the "Mormon" Church situated 9 miles distant. Our nearest -- in fact, our only -- neighbors for years were the "Mormon" people. Better neighbors no pioneer ever had. I am proud of the "Mormon" people. I am proud of the friendship that I have for them, and that I believe they have for me; and while, as I said before, I do not completely understand their theology, I am able to say here, in the Senate of the United States, that their church has elevated many intellects and purified many hearts m my State. ¶

As pioneers in a new country, the "Mormons" are unrivaled. They are sober, industrious, frugal, honest. They are pre-eminently state builders; and today, if called upon to name a people who could most expeditiously transform a desert of swirling and heated sands into splendid fields sind farms, I would unhesitatingly choose the "Mormon" people. In mnny places where once cacti lifted their thorny arms into the brazen and heni.ed air, "Mormon" industry has reared temples, hospitals, homes, factories, and schools. ¶

Moreover. T never saw a "Mormon" I W. W.; but X have, at some ¶

count}- courthouses in my State, heard disgruntled, lazy, and indolent men who did not belong to the "Mormon" Church, sit on. the steps of the courthouse and curse the Government and curse the President, while ''Mormon" citizens were going into the same county courthouse to pay taxes without complaint. ¶

Mr. Owen. Mr. President -- -- ¶

Mr. Ashurst. I yield for a question. ¶

Mr. Owen. I should like to ask the Senator if it is not a tenet of the "Mormons" to teach and preach industry and thrift? ¶

Mr. Ashurst. I am able to state that industry and thrift are amongst the foundation stones of the "Mormon" Church. Absolute and unquestioned obedience to law is a tenet of the "Mormon" Church. Respect for authority is one of the tenets of the "Mormon" Church. We need more of such people in thesd perilous times of the Republic; and again I would be false to every principle of justice and to every sentiment of gratitude if I failed to state at this time that when savage Indians galloped along by our pioneer homes, burning and murdering, plundering and scalping as they went, it was to the "Mormon" people that my defenseless but heroic parents went for refuge and defense. ¶

So, Mr. President, I say the Senator from Utah has done well in "scotching" this falsehood, which has been given such wide circulation. I believe the American people ar coming at last fully to undrstand the "Mormon" people. Their temples, schools, fields, homes, industry, frugality, their morality and their patriotism testify for them in more eloquent terms than the Senator or I could speak. Then, again, observe their Representatives in the House and in the Senate. Look at the high class of public servants they send here. I ask that the "Mormons" be judged as a people, judged as a religion, as the Senator says, by their fruits; and if they be judged by their fruits the verdict of the world will be in their favor. ¶

It seems to me that the time should be welcomed in America when men shall not further be assailed because of their religion or lack of religion. Men ought not further to be assailed or discriminated against because of their particular view of how to follow the Master. America was built up, and one of the reasons why the migrations came from the old countries to these shores was that our ancestors desired to find a place to build free and strong states where such ignoble sentiments as bigotry could not survive. ¶

Mr. President, I do not forget that this splendid domain of Arizona, one of the imperial states of this Union, came into being largely through the brave exploits of the "Mormon" people. When General Stephen Kearny was beleaguered near San Diego during the Mexican War, and it seemed as if the Mexicans were going to capture and annihilate him and his entire command, it was the "Mormon" battalion that marched all the long way from Iowa into Tucson, Arizona, and occupied in Mexican territory a domain we now know as the Gadsden Purchase, which was purchased by our Government in 1854. When the commanding officer, Lieut. Col. St. George Cooke, entered the Mexican town of Tucson and raised the American flag, he issued a pronunciamento, and I wish the German outragers had read that document before they invaded Belgium. The lieutenant colonel entering the city of Tucson, nearly 1,500 miles from civilization, said in his manifesto to the people of Mexico: ¶

_ "We do not war upon civilians. We make war against men in uniform only. The property of individuals will be held sacred. All civil rights will be upheld. Those who obey the law and conform to order will be protected." ¶

The command remained there some days to refresh itself and then marched on to the relief of General Kearny, who, as I said, was beleagured and surrounded near San Diego. ¶

So, Mr. President, the "Mormon" people, as pioneers, as state-builders, as statesmen, as people of industry and patriotism, in every department of life, compare well and favorably with the general mass of their fellow citizens. This much I feel I should have said; more than that I need not say. ¶

By Senator Thomas, of Colorado

Mr. Thomas. Mr. President, I am not and never have been a communicant of any church, and if I live to be as old again as I am now, I would not change. In my youth I was greatly impressed with a remark of Gibbon, that "all religions are to the vulgar equally true, to the philosopher equally false, and to the statesman equally useful," and the experience of mature years has served to deepen the impression. I have never been able to reconcile the tenets and doctrines of all religious faiths with that spirit of persecution and fanaticism they develop toward each other, and which has so many times culminated in destructive and decimating wars. I believe in religious toleration, without any conditions whatever, except those required by the tenets of morality and of law and order. Hence I have remained aloof from identification with any faith. ¶

Up to this time I have never found occasion to publicly defend the "Mormon" people, because it has not seemed necessary; but I can not allow the occasion to pass without paying tribute to their morality and usefulness, not only to their own communities, but as exemplars to the whole country in perilous times like these. ¶

Mr. President, when respect for the law is the exception and not the rule, when the different forces of society are so antagonistic that the political structure is menaced with danger, it is refreshing to note that the adherents of this faith have at all times been the advocates and the exponents of peace, of justice, of law, and of order; and however just the criticisms aimed against former institutions, the fact remains, as established by more than half a century of practice, that the communities professing the "Mormon" faith are among the best and highest exemplars of American citizenship. ¶

During the war there was much disloyalty in America.. Scarcely any commonwealth was entirely free from it. During the war resistance to the draft occasionally punctuated our dispatches, and the expression of toleration or friendliness to the enemy was one of the commonest of occurrences. But during that critical period upon no occasion which I can remember did the people of Utah, "Mormon" and Gentile, fail to whole-heartedly, loyally, and enthusiastically respond to every -call made by the Government for soldiers or for money. Not in a single instance did this people falter. Their splendid youth were given freely to our armies, and the blood of their boys sanctifies the soil of every battle field in France. y Every loan drive was responded to, not by the quota, but far beyond it, and in everything that contributed to good citizenship, to patriotism, to loyalty, and to love of country, these people were ever conspicuous; and it is due to them, as one of the representatives from a neighboring state wherein many of these people are located, and are among our best citizens, that I should say so. ¶

We have not many "Mormons" in the State of Colorado. Some years ago a settlement was established in what is known as the San Luis Valley. It has grown, it has flourished, it is prosperous. Its people are law-abiding, they are industrious, they are hard working, they pay their debts, they obey and support the authorities. Bolshevism, anarchism, and socialism are foreign to the atmosphere of that community. They can not take root in such a soil. ¶

These people are today, therefore, one of the pillars of the social, 'economic, and political systems of the country, whose removal might imperil the entire structure of our social, economic, and political life. Their faith I am not concerned with; their character and their achievements are a credit to them and an incalculable benefit to the country. ¶

GEN UK. \L CONFERENCE. ¶

By Senator Henderson, of Nevada

Mr. Henderson..Mr. President, I wish to express my approval of and join in all that has been said by ihe >emor Senator from Colorado [Mr. Thomas] relative to those of the "Mormon" faith. We have in eastern Nevada a number of "Mormon" settlements. I have visited a number of them. 1 wish to say that there are no better citizens in the country than those of that faith. In one community that I know of, established over 40 years ago, there has never been a jail. I believe that is true of the others. These people never have any use for jails. Where they go, law and order prevail, and thrift and economy are taught and practiced. ¶

Mr. President, the record of the "Mormon" people, throughout the war has been without a blemish. Their sons were amongst the first to enlist and their quota was quickly filled. They oversubscribed their proportion of Liberty bonds. Their patriotism has been of the highest order and without question. ¶

There is much that can be said in their favor, Mr. President, but I shall not detain the Senate longer, as there are some Senators waiting to address the Senate on the proposed reservation to article 10. I am glad, however, of the opportunity to express my disapproval of the attack directed against the "Mormons" referred to by the Senator from Utah [Mr. Smoot]. ¶

I thank the Lord that these Senators can truthfully pay such tributes to our people. ¶

I wish to lift my voice and to warn every member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints against the destruction of the property of any man, of any corporation or of any city in these United States of America. ¶

Latter-Day Saints Work Against Destruction of Property

Property is the fruit of labor; property is desirable, it is a positive good in the world; that some should be rich shows that others may become rich and hence is just encouragement to industry and enterprise. Let not him who is houseless pull down the house of another, but let him work diligently and build one for himself, thus by example assuring that his own shall be safe from violence when built."-- Abraham Lincoln. ¶

There is an evil rampant, at the present time, among some who are teaching that it is justifiable to destroy property, and even to destroy life in trying to accomplish their purposes, and I desire to lift my voice, with all the ability and with all the power with which God has endowed me, against anything of this kind. I have been criticized and letters have been written to me by professed Latter-day Saints, finding fault with my remarks at the last conference about upholding the law; and the only answer that I desire to give to these criticisms, as I have not taken the time to answer the letters is to read again the identical words that I delivered when I stood here before you six months ago. They were not premedidated or thought out and I have concluded that I could not do any better than to read them, word for word, and say they are my sentiments today: ¶

Must Respect Rights of Others

As Latter-day Saints we have what is known as The Articles of Faith, and one of them reads: 'We believe in being subject to kings, presidents rulers and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law " and no Latter-day Saint can in very deed be a Latter-day Saints if he does not ¶

honor and sustain and uphold the law. Nearly all over the world, at the present time there is a spirit of lawlessness, a spirit of ridicule, and a lack of respect for the men who hold positions. ¶

I want to say that I am perfectly willing that men shall join labor unions, that they shall band together for the purpose of protecting their rights, provided they do not interfere with the right? of other people. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness belong to all people in the United States, according to the laws of our country, and should, upon all the face of the earth; and I say that, to my mind, a provision in a labor union is all wrong that favors boycotting and the laying down of tools or the quitting of employment because a non-union man obtains employment while exercising his God-given right to stay out of a union. Men who have that kind of a rule have a rule that is in direct opposition to the laws of God. There was a battle fought in heaven -- for what? To give to man his individual liberty. An attempt to take the agency of man away is made when he does not see fit to join a union, and when men in that union, without any complaint or grievance, strike because a non-union man is employed. ¶

Now, I'd better not say any more, perhaps, on this question, or I may offend somebody, I may hurt somebody's feelings; but it is the God-given right of men to earn their livelihood. The Savior said it was the first great law or commandment to love the Lord with all our hearts, and that the second was like unto it, to love thy neighbor as thyself. That is the doctrine for every true Latter-day Saint. How much love is there in starving your neighbor because he will not surrender his manhood and his individuality, and allow a labor union to direct his labor? Mighty little love, mighty little of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ in any such a rule! I hope to see the day when no Latter-day Saint will join a union unless the union eliminate that clause from its rules. I am not going to ask them to leave their union. I am not going to lay it down that they must, that it is the mind and the will of the Lord for them to le<tve a union, I want, as I said here two weeks ago, to give every man Lis free agency, to give every man the right to act as he thinks proper, but I cannot see how a Latter-day Saint who is a member of such a union can get down on his knees and pray for God to inspire and bless him, to bless the Saints and to protect them and then be a party to allowing one of his own brethren to go, year after year, without employment, because that brother will not surrender his manhood and join a union with him. There is none of the Spirit of the Lord in that, to my mind. That is exactlv the way I see it. ¶

I desire, as stated, to emphasize and re-emphasize those statements delivered here six months ago. I believe that it is the absolute right of men to combine together for their protection, for their advancement, for their welfare in unions, but as stated here, I deprecate the idea of their undertaking to dictate to those who will not join them. I believe this is all I desire to say upon that subject. ¶

Progress in the Missions

Since we last met here, it has fallen to my lot to hold meetings in the Central States Mission, in the Eastern States Mission, in the Canadian Mission, and three times in various parts of the California Mission. It has fallen to my lot to visit the capital of our Union and to hold a meeting there. It has fallen to my lot to visit some of the stakes of Zion, especially two in Arizona, the Maricopa and the St. Joseph stakes, and to hold a meeting in the capital of Arizona. I wish to say that I rejoice in the wonderful change of sentiment regarding ¶

GENER. \L CONFERENCE. ¶

the Latter-day Saints that has come to people wherever I have met with them during the past six months. In addition to these visits I have had the privilege of visiting the Hawaiian Islands, with some of the hrethren of the general authorities, and of dedicating there to the Lord one more temple for holy ordinances for the salvation of the dead. And I want to hear witness to the Latter-day Saints that there was, with our small party on that trip to the Hawaiian Islands, in the dedication of that temple, in the various services that were held there, lasting for a number of days, the inspiration of the Lord God Almighty, and that we were hlcssed abundantly, beyond our power to tell. There is something that no mortal tongue can tell, when an individual realizes and knows that while proclaiming the gospel of our Lord and Master Jesus Christ he has been blessed by the inspiration of the Lord; and that was our experience in dedicating another temple to the Lord in that far-off land. The Hawaiian people have a dark skin, but their hearts are white, their loyalty to God is perfect, and the Lord Almighty has abundantly blessed many of that people by giving to them an absolute knowledge of the divinity of the work in which we are engaged. ¶

RESPIiCT GROWING FOR OUR CHURCH. ¶

I am thankful that wherever I have traveled during the past six months I have found a feeling of respect, a feeling of love in the hearts of many for the Latter-day Saints, in the hearts of those not of our faith. I heard many very splendid compliments while in Washington by members of the president's cabinet, by senators and representatives, and by officials of the government in the Federal Reserve banking departments, and in others, wherever I went, and with all the people that I met, bankers in New York, Chicago, San Francisco and other cities, I heard good things said of the Latter-day Saints; we are coming into our own, so to speak. Our character is becoming known, and no longer can men lie about "the Latter-day Saints, or women either, and get away with the lies with the great majority of the people in our country. ¶

While our reputation has been bad, this reputation has come to us, how? Because of the lies, as a rule, by men who have been excommunicated from this Church. No loyal, patriotic American citizen wants the people of our country to be judged by the Benedict Arnolds that the country has produced; but the men of America desire that our country shall be judged by its achievements, by the men who have been loyal to that God-inspired instrument, the Constitution of our country. All we ask of any people upon the face of the earth is that they shall judge the Latter-day Saints by Joseph Smith, the prophet of the living God, by the record that he made in the few short years that he stood at the head of the Church. The Church was organized in 1830, 90 years ago, and he presided over it for only 14 years. The accomplishments of those 14 years under his administration, what he did, and what he left to the Church in the wonderful revelations that ¶

he gave to us, in the translating of the Book of Mormon, that sacred Scripture.of the forefathers of the American Indian, and the wonderful labors that he performed, these stand as a monument stamping him, in very deed, a prophet of the living God. No man without the inspiration of God, in 14 short years, could have accomplished what Joseph Smith did; could have laid the foundation of this great work to which you and I belong. And as the years come and go, men are beginning to recognize the greatness of the labor he performed. ¶

Make Sacrifices for Gospel

I remember as a boy that I borrowed a book from the Thirteenth ward Sunday School library; it was on the evidences of Christianity by Dr. Paley, and I remember among other things, in that book, that he stated that the strongest evidence of the divine mission of the Savior of the world was the absolute loyalty of those who embraced Christianity, and their willingness to lay down their lives, if need be, for the testimony that they possessed of the divine mission of the Savior. I remember thinking as a boy: If that is the strongest evidence, of men being willing to lay down their lives and to voluntarily make sacrifices and to stand up under persecution, then that same identical evidence applies to the divine mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith. The Latter-day Saints were driven from city to city, county to county, state to state, and finally beyond the confines of the United States to the Rocky Mountains, then Mexican territory. They could have had immunity, they could have dwelt in peace, had they renounced their faith; but our fathers and our mothers had received the witness of the Holy Spirit and they knew that Jesus was the Savior, they knew that Joseph Smith was in very deed a prophet of God. The Lord Almighty had implanted in their hearts a knowledge that God did, one hundred years ago this spring, appear to a boy; that he did speak to that boy; and that when the boy asked of our Father in Heaven, "Which of all the religious denominations in the world is the true Church of Christ?" in answer to that question our God and our Father pointed to the Savior of the world and said: "This is my beloved Son, hear Him." The Savior of the world told that boy to join none of the sects, that they had all gone astray, that they were teaching for doctrine the ideas and the commandments of men, and that they did not have the true Church of Christ. When that boy returned from that wonderful and marvelous vision, the greatest event in all the history of the world, excepting only the birth and death of the Savior, his mother saw that there was something strange about his appearance and asked him some questions; and he simply answered, in substance, and said to his mother (who was a Presbyterian): "Mother, there is one thing I know now, and that is that the Presbyterian church is not the Church of Christ." ¶

When he related his vision to ministers and others the boy was ridiculed. ¶

Three years later an angel of God appeared and told him there was buried in the hill Cumorah some golden plates containing a record, ¶

a sacred record of the forefathers of the American Indian, and that he should be the instrument in the hands of God of translating those plates. The angel gave him many wonderful instructions and quoted much Scripture to him; then disappeared. He returned and repeated his instructions and disappeared. He returned again and repeated those instructions, the three visitations occupying the entire night. The next day when that boy went to his work in the field with his father, having had no rest during the night, his father saw that he was not feeling well and told him to go home; and as he was climbing a fence he fainted, but he was aroused from his faint by the voice of the messenger who for the fourth time repeated all that he had said during the previous night, and told him to go back to his father and tell his father all that, he had heard and seen. This he did. and the boy's father answered: "This is of God. Listen to the teachings of the angel." The boy visited the hill Cumorah; he saw the plates and was instructed by the messenger to come there once a year for four' years, to be instructed by that angel of God, regarding the great and marvelous work that was to come forth in the last days. At the end of four years the plates containing the record were delivered to him by the angel Moroni. He translated those plates, and the translation is the Book of Mormon. ¶

Vast Multitude Have Testimony

0 but, says one, I don't believe a word of it. There are thousands, there are tens of thousands of men and women, from the midnight sun country in Scandinavia to South Africa, all over Europe, from Canada to South America, in every state of the Union of the United States, upon the islands of the Pacific, who stand up and in all humility bear witness before high heaven that God has given to them a knowledge that Joseph Smith did see him, that Joseph Smith did see the Savior of the world, that Joseph Smith was visited by angels of God, that he was ordained to the apostleship, that he did in very deed commune with the Savior of the world, that he was a prophet of the living God. All the non-belief, all the lack of faith of all the people in all the world cannot change that fact, if it be a fact, and God has given many of us a knowledge, an absolute knowledge that it is a fact, that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that this Gospel, called by the world "Mormonism," is in very deed the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. ¶

Testimony of President Joseph F. Smith

I want to read one of the latest testimonies regarding the divinity of this gospel, given from this stand by our late beloved Prophet, Joseph F. Smith, as to where divine authority exists today: ¶

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is no partisan church. It is not a sect. It is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is the only one today existing in the world that can and does legitimately bear the name of Jesus Christ and his divine authority. I make this declaration in all simplicity and honesty before you and before all the world, bitter as the truth may seem to those who are opposed and who have no reason for that opposition. It is nevertheless true and will remain true ¶

until he who has a right to rule among the nations of the earth and among the individual children of God throughout the world shall come and take the reins of government and receive the bride that shall be prepared for the coming of the Bridegroom. ¶

Many of our great writers have recently been querying and wondering where the divine authority exists today to command in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, so that it will be in effect and acceptable at the throne of the Eternal Father. I will announce here and now, presumptuous as it may seem to be to those who know not the truth, that the divine authority of Almighty God, to speak in the name of the Father and of the Son, is here in the midst of these everlasting hills, in the midst of this intermountain region, and it will abide and will continue, for God is its source, and God is the power by which it has been maintained against all opposition in the world up to the present, and by which it will continue to progress and grow and increase on the earth until it shall cover the earth from sea to sea. This is my testimony to you, my brethren and sisters, and I have a fulness of joy and of satisfaction in being able to declare this without regard to, or fear of, all the adversaries of the truth. ¶

We heard sung here three verses of the hymn, "O, say what is truth?" and I request that in the future the choir sing all four verses, and not omit the last. ¶

Oh, 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 flittering 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. ¶

Closing Testimony

And I bear witness to you here today that we have the truth, that God has spoken again, that every gift, every grace, every power, and every endowment that came through the Holy Priesthood of the living God in the days of the Savior, are enjoyed today. God lives, Jesus is the Christ, Joseph Smith was a prophet of the true and the living God. "Mormonism," so called, is in very deed the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. God has given me a witness of these things. I know them and I bear that witness to you, in all humility, and I do it in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶