Keep the Commandments of God

I rejoice again to have the opportunity of meeting with the Latter-day Saints in another general conference. I am very happy to see so many here at this, our opening session. I desire with all my heart that all that I may say during this conference, and all that is said by my associates who speak to you, shall be inspired of the Lord. I am grateful beyond expression for the rich outpourings of the Spirit of the Lord during our conferences that we have held since it fell to my lot to preside over the Church. I am free to confess that I approached our June conference, and the other conferences that have been held here since my presidency, with fear and trembling. When I thought of the wonderful blessings of the Lord in the past at our general conferences and the inspiration to Brigham Young and those who have succeeded him, I desired with all my heart that there should be no falling off in the inspiration of the Lord to those who might address us, and earnestly supplicated him to this effect. And I am indeed grateful for the blessings that we have enjoyed, and I pray that that same blessing, that same rich outpouring of his Spirit may be given to all who shall speak to us during the sessions of this conference. ¶

A Magnificent Gift to the Church

I received a letter last night that was very gratifying to me, and before making any remarks, I will read it: ¶

Salt Lake City, Utah, October 7, 1920. President Heber J. Grant and Council: ¶

Dear brethren: We desire to give to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints our home on Main and First North streets to be used preferably for the women's building, thus housing the three women's organizations, or for such other purpose as may be deemed best. ¶

Yours faithfully, ¶

(Signed) A. W. McCune, ¶

Elizabeth A. C. McCune. ¶

I remarked to one of the wealthy men of our Church, within the last forty-eight hours: "When you come to pass away don't leave all of your property to your family, but give a portion of it as an endowment for some good cause for the advancement of the work of God." I have always regretted that those who have been abundantly blest of the Lord with the wealth of this world have failed to leave a part of it to some of our charitable institutions or our various organizations. I believe that where a man is worth a half million dollars or even less, if he were to give a tenth or even a quarter of his means for some charitable purpose in this Church, the remainder that he left to his family would do them more good and they would have greater wisdom in handling it and would accomplish more than though all the wealth had been left to the heirs of the departed man or woman, as the case may be. My heart has gone out in gratitude to the late Matilda M. Barratt for building us the splendid build- ¶

ing known as the Barratt Hall, in the days of the adversity and financial hardships of our schools. And I pray God to bless Brother and Sister McCune'for this magnificent gift, and to multiply their substance. ¶

Historical Events Since April Last

Since our last conference the following bishops have passed away: ¶

Bishops Who Have Died Since April Conference

Norman S. Anderson, Sugarville ward, Deseret stake; Otto J. Poulson, Timpanogos ward, Utah stake. ¶

New Stakes Organized Since April Conference

Franklin stake, Samuel W. Parkinson, president; Logan stake, Oliver H. Budge, president; Roosevelt stake, William H. Smart, president; Garfield stake, Charles E. Rowan Jr., president. ¶

New Stake Clerks Since April Conference

Oneida stake, Joseph W. Olson; Cache stake, John C. Peterson; Duchesne stake, LeRoy W. Rust; Franklin stake, Jessie P. Rich; Logan stake, John E. Olson; Roosevelt stake, William H. Gagon; Twin. Falls stake, Wilford Johanson. ¶

New Wards Organized Since April Conference

Manavu ward, Utah stake, Nephi Anderson, bishop; Lost River ward, Lost River stake, Henry N. Mickelson, bishop; Logan Eleventh ward, Cache stake, Hans A. Pederson, bishop; Manassa Second ward, San Luis stake, Silas S. Weimer, bishop; Roosevelt Second ward, Roosevelt stake, David Bennion, bishop; Star ward, Burley stake, Alma C. Tilley, bishop; Payson Third ward, Nebo stake, Leonard A. Hill, bishop; Rupert Second ward, Blaine stake, Richard T. Astle, bishop. ¶

Mission Changes (Called But Not Yet in the Field)

Australian mission, Don C. Rushton, president; New Zealand mission, George F. Taylor, president; Swiss mission, Serge F. Ballif, president. ¶

The Spirit of Helpfulness

This morning, after coming to my office, I happened to see lying upon my desk the first volume of what is known as Heart Throbs. I had brought it from my home to have a couple of poems copied, several days ago, and as I looked at the book I remembered a poem in it that I decided to read here today: "I shall not pass again this way," is the title. Preceding the poem is the following note: ¶

(For several years before his death, Mr. Daniel S. Ford, the proprietor, editor and builder of the "Youth's Companion," because of delicate health, did his work and managed his mammoth business from a little room in his home in one of the beautiful parks of Boston. When loving hands cleared the plain, but convenient desk, there was found, in a conspicuous place, much worn with frequent handling, the following poem. If the poet had intended to describe Mr. Ford's daily words and actions, he could not have done so in more appropriate language.) ¶

The bread that bringeth strength I want to give, The water pure that bids the thirsty live; I want to help the fainting day by day; I'm sure I shall not pass again this way. ¶

I want to give the oil of joy for tears, ¶

The faith to conquer crowding doubts and fears. ¶

Beauty for ashes may I give alway; ¶

I'm sure I shall not pass again this way. ¶

I want to give good measure running o'er, And into angry hearts I want to pour The answer soft that turneth wrath away; I'm sure I shall not pass again this way. ¶

I want to give to others hope and faith, I want to do all that the Master saith; I want to live aright from day to day; I'm sure I shall not pass again this way. ¶

I feel that every Latter-day Saint ought to have the same desire as Mr. Ford found expressed in this very beautiful poem. I am sure I have it in my heart this very day, as I stand before you. I feel, as expressed in the Psalms: ¶

Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts: ¶

And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.--139:23, 24. ¶

The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. ¶

More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. -- 19:9, 10. ¶

Pained Over Political and Financial Differences

In speaking to a few friends the other day I made some remarks and as my secretary happened to be present to take notes, I decided to read what I said on that occasion: ¶

"I am anxious to see the Latter-day Saints devoted to the work of God above everything else in the world; and I have never been so pained in my life as I have been during the past few months over the conditions -- political, financial, and otherwise -- that we find among the people. The spirit of bitterness that seems to exist in the hearts of some true, faithful and honest Latter-day Saints, because of their difference of ideas and opinions on business matters and political matters is very painful to me. I do hope and pray, with all my heart, that the Spirit of the Lord may come to the Latter-day Saints in great abundance; that this spirit of almost hatred and animosity, that seems to be existing today among the people may disappear." ¶

The Lord's Demand

In section 64:8-13, Doctrine and Covenants, we find the following: ¶

My disciples, in days of old, sought occasion against one another, and forgave not one another in their hearts, and for this evil they were afflicted, and sorely chastened: ¶

Wherefore I say unto you, that ye ought to forgive one another, fo' he that forgiveth not his brother his trespasses, standeth condemned before the Lord, for there remaineth in him the greater sin. ¶

I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men; ¶

And ye ought to say in your hearts, let God judge between me and thee, and reward thee according to thy deeds. ¶

And he that repenteth not of his sins, and confesseth them not, then ye shall bring him before the Church, and do with him as the Scripture saith unto you, either by commandment or by revelation. ¶

And this ye shall do that God may be glorified, not because ye forgive not, having not compassion, but that ye may be justified in the eyes of the law, that ye may not offend him who is your Lawgiver. ¶

And in section 121:45, 46, we read: ¶

Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly, then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God, and the doctrine of the Priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven. ¶

The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy sceptre an unchanging sceptre of righteousness and truth, and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee for ever and ever. ¶

Illustration from Personal Experience

I have a very wonderful respect and regard for this quotation from page 240 of the Doctrine and Covenants. Some years ago a prominent man was excommunicated from the Church. He, years later, pleaded for baptism. President John Taylor referred the question of his baptism to the apostles, stating that if they unanimously consented to his baptism, he could be baptized, but that if there was one dissenting vote, he should not be admitted into the Church. As I remember the vote, it was five for baptism and seven against. A vear or so later the question came up again and it was eight for baptism and four against. Later it came up again and it was ten for baptism and two against. Finally all of the Council of the Apostles, with the exception of your humble servant, consented that this man be baptized and I was then next to the junior member of the quorum. Later I was in the office of the president and he said: ¶

"Heber, I understand that eleven of the apostles have consented to the baptism of Brother So and So," naming the man, "and that you alone are standing out. How will you feel when you get on the other side and you find that this man has pleaded for baptism and you find that you have perhaps kept him out from entering in with those who have repented of their sins and received some reward?" ¶

I said, "President John Taylor, I can look the Lord squarely in the eye, if he asks me that question, and tell him that I did that which I thought was for the best good of the kingdom. When a man holding the holy Priesthood of God goes forth to proclaim the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, to call the wicked to repentance; goes to proclaim that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, that Joseph Smith was ¶

a prophet of God, and that the gospel has been restored again to the earth, and that man in the mission home of the Church of Christ commits adultery, I can tell the Lord that he had disgraced this Church enough, and that I did not propose to let any such a man come back into the Church." ¶

"Well," said President Taylor, "my boy, that is all right, stay with your convictions, stay right with them." ¶

I said, "President Taylor, your letter said you wanted each one of the apostles to vote the convictions of his heart. If you desire me to surrender the convictions of my heart, I will gladly do it; I will gladly vote for this man to come back, but while I live I never expect to consent, if it is left to my judgment. That man, was accused before the apostles several years ago and he stood up and lied and claimed that he was innocent, and the Lord gave to me a testimony that he lied, but I could not condemn him because of that. I got down on my knees that night and prayed God to give me the strength not to expose that man, seeing that he had lied but that we had no evidence, except only the testimony of the girl that he had seduced. And I prayed the Lord that some day additional testimony might come, and it did come, and we then excommunicated him. And when a man can lie to the apostles, and when he can be guilty while proclaiming repentance of sin, I think this Church has been disgraced enough without ever letting him come back into the Church." ¶

"Well," repeated President Taylor, "my boy, don't you vote as long as you live, while you hold those ideas, stay right with them." ¶

A Change of Heart—The Spirit of Forgiveness

I left the president's office. I went home. My lunch was not ready. I was reading the Doctrine and Covenants through for the third or fourth time systematically, and I had my bookmark in it. but as I picked it up, instead of opening where the bookmark was, it opened to: ¶

I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men; but he that forgiveth not his brother standeth condemned before the Lord. ¶

And I closed the book and said: "If the devil applies for baptism, and claims that he has repented, I will baptize him." After lunch I returned to the office of President Taylor and I said, "President Taylor, I have had a change of heart. One hour ago I said, never while I live, did I expect to ever consent that Brother So and So should be baptized, but I have come to tell you he can be baptized, so far as I am concerned." ¶

President Taylor had a habit, when he was particularly pleased, of sitting up and laughing and shaking his whole body, and he laughed and said, "My boy, the change is very sudden, very sudden. I want to ask you a question. How did you feel when you left here an hour ago? Did you feel like you wanted to hit that man right squarely between the eyes and knock him down?" ¶

I said, "That is just the way I felt." He said, "How do you feel now?" ¶

"Well, to tell you the truth, President Taylor, I hope the Lord will forgive the sinner." ¶

He said, "You feel happy, don't you, in comparison. You had the spirit of anger, you had the spirit of bitterness in your heart toward that man, because of his sin and because of the disgrace he had brought upon the Church. And now you have the spirit of forgiveness and you really feel happy, don't you?" ¶

And I said, "Yes I do; I felt mean and hateful and now I feel happy." ¶

And he said: "Do you know why I wrote that letter?" I said: "No, sir." ¶

"Well I wrote it, just so you and some of the younger members of the apostles would learn the lesson that forgiveness is in advance of justice, where there is repentance, and that to have in your heart the spirit of forgiveness and to eliminate from your hearts the spirit of hatred and bitterness, brings peace and joy; that the gospel of Jesus Christ brings joy, peace and happiness to every soul that lives it and follows its teachings." ¶

Love and Forgiveness

And so he went on. I cannot remember all of the teachings, but he continued in this way, telling me that he could never have given me that experience, that he could not give to me a testimony of the gospel; that I must receive that testimony for myself; that I must have the right spirit come into my heart and feel it -- the spirit of forgiveness, the spirit of long-suffering and charity -- before there would any good come to me as an individual; that by simply surrendering my will to his, and voting to baptize this man, I would never have learned the lesson that the spirit of joy and peace comes in the hour of forgiveness, and when our hearts are full of charity and long-suffering to those who have made mistakes. From that day to this I have remembered those teachings. ¶

The Prophet of the Lord said: ¶

My boy, never forget that when you are in the line of your duty your heart will be full of love and forgiveness, even for the repentant sinner, and that when you get out of that straight line of duty and have the determination that what you think is justice and what you think is equity and right should prevail, you ofttimes are anything but happy. You can know the difference between the Spirit of the Lord and the spirit of the adversary, when you find that you are happy and contented, that you love your fellows, that you are anxious for their welfare; and you can tell that you do not have that spirit when you are full of animosity and feel that you would like to knock somebody down. ¶

I am reminded of one of the finest chapters in all the Bible (1 Cor. 13): ¶

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. ¶

And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. ¶

And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. ¶

Charity, suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, ¶

Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own. is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; ¶

Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth: ¶

Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. ¶

Charity never faileth; but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. ¶

For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. ¶

But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. ¶

When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. ¶

For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face; now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. ¶

And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity. ¶

Many people imagine that charity is giving a dollar to somebody; but real, genuine charity is giving love and sympathy, and that is the kind of charity that the apostle had reference to in this 13th chapter of First Corinthians. ¶

I remember that after that teaching given to me as a young man, as a boy, almost, by the President of the Church, I read this chapter about once a week for quite a while, then once a month for several months. I thought I needed it in my business, so to speak; that it was one of the things that were necessary for my advancement. ¶

I remember that a year ago, here at the conference, I read a very splendid and wonderful song, the half of the first verse of which reads as follows: ¶

Let each man learn to know himself, To gain that knowledge let him labor, ¶

Improve those failings in himself ¶

That he condemns so in his neighbor. ¶

The whole poem was published in the conference pamphlet. I quoted it some weeks ago, and was asked where one could get a copy, and again last Sunday, when I told some people that they could read it in next Saturday night's News. So I shall not take up your time by quoting the whole poem. I also quoted the four short verses from our hymn on page 66, a part of which reads as follows: ¶

Should you feel inclined to censure ¶

Faults you may in others view, Ask your own heart, ere you venture, ¶

If that has not failings too. ¶

I had not the slightest idea when I quoted these poems, that I would desire to quote from them again today; but in view of the condemnation and the spirit, almost, of animosity, and hate that seems to be manifested by some people among the Latter-day Saints, at the present time, regarding business and political affairs, I desire to emphasize, with all the power of my being, the last verse of that little hymn, on page 66: ¶

Do not form opinions blindly, ¶

Hastiness to trouble tends, Those of whom we thought unkindly ¶

Oft become our warmest friends. ¶

Every Man Innocent Until Proved Guilty

There are a great many people who believe that if a person is indicted, he is undoubtedly a criminal. There are very few people who stop to reflect upon the fact that when a Grand Jury finds an indictment against any man, it is seldom, if ever, the case that he is permitted to appear before the Grand Jury, or to have a representative there to state his case. The law itself provides -- as I understand it -- although I am not a lawyer -- that every man shall be considered innocent until such time as he is proved guilty; and no man is guilty, in the true sense of the word, of an offense, just because a Grand Jury finds an indictment against him. In criminal cases a man is to be considered innocent unless the evidence against him shall be so conclusive that there is not even a reasonable doubt as to his guilt. Certainly Latter-day Saints ought to be as liberal in their judgments, as the cold law of the land; and certainly every man ought to be considered innocent in the estimation of the Latter-day Saints -- particularly if that man is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and has devoted his life for the up-building of God's kingdom until such time as he has what is known as "his day in court." We can afford, I believe, to be as liberal as the cold law itself. ¶

I desire to repeat the last verse of that excellent hymn, which I learned thirty-five or forty years ago, when Francis M. Lyman first sang it for me. I wrote it that very night, and learned it the next day. I would like every Latter-day Saint to apply the teachings of this splendid verse in his or her life, and if we do that I believe we will grow in love and charity; that the spirit of peace and happiness, that President Taylor promised me when I entertained the feeling of determination to keep a man out of the Church, and the spirit of joy and peace which came to me, after the change of heart, will come to Latter-day Saints: ¶

And in self-judgment, if you find ¶

Your deeds to others are superior, To you has Providence been kind, ¶

As you should be to those inferior. Example sheds a genial ray ¶

Of light, which men are apt to borrow, So first improve yourself today ¶

And then improve your friends tomorrow. ¶

Regrets That the League of Nations Question Is in Politics

A year ago, at our conference, I expressed sincerely my regrets that bitterness was being engendered in the hearts of the Latter-day Saints, because what was known as the League of Nations had been injected into politics. I expressed my sincere regrets that this great document should ever have been made a subject for political discussion. I felt that all people in these United States of America should approach the consideration of this great document, independent of party affiliation. I desire to express my regrets that, if anything, it is in politics more today than it was a year ago. ¶

I sincerely regret that what is known as the "sugar question" has been injected into politics, in this State of Utah. I feel in my heart of hearts that it has engendered bitterness, that it has created a great deal of animosity, and I think it is something that ought to have been eliminated from politics, and that all questions of that kind should be settled by the interested people. I desire, beyond my power to tell, that there shall always be perfect harmony and perfect justice between the farmer and the sugar producer. I desire that all judgments by Latter-day Saints upon the course of men connected with any industry in this state, shall be withheld, at least, until there has been passed a final judgment by a court that has the right to pass upon it. ¶

I wish to say to all Latter-day Saints: ¶

Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. ¶

Keep the Commandments of God

I beg every Latter-day Saint to cultivate the spirit of charity, of long-suffering, and brotherly love. I say to all Latter-day Saints: Keep the commandments of God. That is my keynote speech, just those few words: Keep the commandments of God. Read the psalm that tells you not to fret your soul about the sinner. It is a magnificent psalm to read. I thought some of reading it here to this congregation, but I have read so much that I am afraid you will get tired of the reading. Keep the commandments of the Lord. Be honest with God. Never fail to pay an honest tithing to the Lord, on every dollar that comes into your hands. "Oh but," says one, "the Church does not need it." You are right; you are correct. The Church does not need it, but the man who has made covenant with the living God to keep his commandments, and then does not keep them, he needs it. A man who is not honest with the Lord should repent and be honest with the Lord, and then the windows of heaven shall open and God will pour down upon the heads of the Latter-day Saints blessings, if they are financially honest with the Lord. Observe the Word of Wisdom. Never indulge in those things that the Lord God Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth, has told us are not good for man. ¶

Conclusion

I rejoice that we have national prohibition. I rejoice that many, even in. our own community, who were wrecks financially, almost wrecks spiritually, because of prohibition and the taking away of temptation, are making men of themselves today. I rejoice that prohibition-- to my mind the greatest financial and moral blessing that has ever come to humanity: -- has come to the people of the United States, and I hope and pray that it may soon come to every nation under heaven. ¶

I rejoice that the women have the franchise. I rejoice in all of the great and wonderful advancements that are being made for the benefit of mankind; and I rejoice, above all things, in a knowledge that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, that Joseph Smith is a prophet of the true and living God; that the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the plan of life and salvation, has been restored to the earth. I rejoice that you and I have a knowledge of that gospel; and oh, may God help us to live it; may he fill our hearts with charity, with love, with forgiveness, with the desire to serve him, and may we in very deed be Latter-day Saints, is my prayer and desire, and I ask it in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶