Servants to Obey

"Know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are whom ye list to obey, whether of sin unto death, or obedience unto righteousness." This scripture has borne itself upon my soul as I have listened to the instructions received from our presiding brethren. There are two great forces working in the world, the forces of evil and of righteousness, or the powers of sin and the powers of God. ¶

I have been very much impressed with the sessions of this conference, and I shall leave this place with my face towards the rising sun, and my heart against doing the things against which our leaders have spoken. I believe there is no thing that will destroy the faith of the Latter-day Saints so much as criticism of the Presidency of the Church, or the presiding authority of the Church, and in the stakes of Zion, over one of which I have the privilege and honor to preside, I have raised my voice against these damning practices; and I believe that it will undermine the faith of the young people of Zion if they indulge in these things. ¶

Permit me to read to you from the Book of Mormon. Alma, that mighty prophet of the living God who declares repentance to the people of this great nation, a thousand years and more ago, found the same condition prevailing among the people of that day and time, and he raised his voice in protest against it. I realize that it is time when we should instil into the hearts of our young people the love of God, a love for their fellow men, a love for the gospel of the Master. And I believe, in order to do that, we should be exemplary in our lives, that we should have in our souls a testimony of the truth, and we should endeavor to surround the youth with the influences of the gospel of the Master, and to hedge up the way that the power of the adversary shall not overcome them in their lives. Alma, you will remember, desired that he might have the voice of an angel to declare repentance unto the ends of the earth, and then he says: ¶

I ought not to harrow up in my desires, the firm decree of a just God, for I know that he granteth unto men according to their desire, whether it be unto death or unto life; yea I know that he allotteth unto men, according to their wills; whether they be unto salvation or unto destruction. Yea, and I know that good and evil have come before all men; or he that knoweth not good from evil is blameless; but he that knoweth good and evil, to him it is given according to his desires; whether he desireth good or evil, life or death, joy or remorse of conscience. Now seeing that I know these things, why should I desire more than to perform the work to which I have been called? Why should I desire that I was an angel, that I could speak unto all the ends of the earth? For behold, the Lord ¶

doth grant unto all nations, of their own nation and tongue, to teach his word; yea, in wisdom, all that he seeth fit that they should have; therefore we see that the Lord doth counsel in wisdom, according to that which is just and true. I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it; I do not glory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God, to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy. ¶

I care not, my brethren and sisters, how much opposition comes from without. We meet opposition in the Western States. There are men and women who, in the language that has been quoted by Elder Iverson, used by the reverend gentleman in a discourse in Denver, "with their hell-flamed tongues are poisoning the minds of the people" against this thing that is known as "Mormonism;" but all the powers of darkness and of earth and hell combined cannot stay the onward progress of the work of God. He has set his hand the last time to accomplish his purposes in the earth, to establish the truth, and to bring to pass his righteousness, and there is no power that can stay its progress. It is destined to go on until it fulfills its destiny in the earth. But there is danger when there is internal strife, when there is bitterness in the hearts of the sons of God, that they will destroy our faith, and undermine our lives, and thus we will be servants to sin; and I raise my voice in protest against these practices. ¶

I rejoice, my brethren and sisters, in the testimony of the gospel and in the privilege that I have of lifting my voice in its defense. There is no joy that comes to the soul equal to that joy that comes in declaring the message of salvation. I want to say to you that men and women by the thousands are willing to listen to our message, and I care little for these fellows who oppose us. I want to testify to you that it is a splendid thing that opposition comes into the lives of the missionaries; it puts them on edge, it makes them determined and very anxious to bear witness of the truth that has been restored in this day and age of the world. ¶

Now, may we, my brethren and sisters, go from these gatherings and carry with us the inspiration and the spirit of them, and let us carry it to our various wards and stakes and missions, that the work of God may go on unhindered, and that our brethren and sisters who hold positions of responsibility may receive the sustaining power of the Priesthood of the Son of God, that they may carry on the great latter-day work entrusted to their care, I humbly pray, in Jesus' name. Amen. ¶