Central States Mission Report

I sincerely trust that I may enjoy the Spirit of the Lord, and be able to say something that will be for our benefit. One of the great testimonies that comes to me, from time to time, is the presence of so many people who gather at the conferences of the Church in this city many of whom come hundreds of miles to spend a few hours in meeting, listen to the truths that are made plain by men who are appointed to speak; and who, undoubtedly, make a great sacrifice to be present. Those of you who live in this immediate section of the country, I feel never understand fully what it means for men and women to come to conference from great distances. You are not put to much expense. Your homes are here, which can be reached in a few hours or a few moments. But the fact that people travel from the northern end of our country, and from the south, and from all parts, is a wonderful testimony to me; and if it were not for the testimony of Jesus that is found in the hearts of men and women, they would not come. It is the power of our Father made manifest in their souls, that this is the work of the Lord, that this gospel is the power of God unto salvation, and the inspiration that comes to them as individuals prompts them to a high sense of duty. And when one attends to his duty in the highest sense of honor, he is always happy and in a. progressive state of mind, and the inspiration of the Almighty is found in him. ¶

This comes through a continual observance of the principles and doctrines of Christ, and through a repentance daily. While much improvement could be made by all of us, yet I believe that the spirit of repentance is felt by the majority of the men and women in this Church, and as they repent, the more the spirit of repentance comes upon them, and they feel their weakness, and their need of living near the Lord, in order to obtain the blessings that are so necessary to last them through the day, or as the days come and go. Paul, upon one occasion, said, "I die daily." And that is true. There were many things that he put out of his life daily, as all men and women do who progress and grow in a knowledge of their Redeemer. And if there ever was a time when repentance needed to be preached or practiced it is at the present time. ¶

It takes a lifetime to repent. We hear of men who repent at the last moment of time on the earth. Not long ago the great newspapers ¶

of the country contained an account of a certain individual who had lived a most wicked life; his experiences all testified that he had no reverence for God. But just before his death, his minister met with him in his confession, and "he made peace with his God," repented of his sins. While I have never felt to criticise what was in the heart of that man, who professed to be a minister of the Lord Jesus Christ, the fact is that millions of people read an account of this man's repenting at the last moment of time, and I am quite sure that thousands were impressed with the idea that even at the last minute a man can repent. Such a doctrine never came from the Lord. It is not true, because men do not know that they are absolutely relieved or pardoned for all sin until they have fought the fight which they came into the world to fight, until they have lived, and have made an attempt during their life to overcome. The spirit' of repentance must be found in the hearts of men and women continually, and it must be there to keep them not only from the greater things that are wrong, but the lesser things, for it is the little things in life that cause men and women to stumble and fall. A man walking along does not fall over great objects, he goes around them; but the little things, even the small stone or splinter, may upset him, and cause him injury. So it is with troubles in life. Men become influenced by little things that really ought not to enter into their hearts, but which do nevertheless. And people are often led to oppose the work of God until they finally find themselves outside the Church. Men do not go wrong all at once. It takes time. ¶

And so it is with our duties. They cannot be accomplished all at once. It takes time. For who knows how strong he is until he has been tested and tried. This whole life is the time for men to be tested and tried. We are away from home. This is our temporary abode only. We did not have a beginning here. We existed before we came here, and we lived and walked in the presence of an immortal Sire and Mother, and were there taught in the principles of life as revealed in this dispensation through the Prophet Joseph Smith; and as we lived there we' were given power to overcome when the time should arrive in which we should be called upon for our reserves. After we had advanced in that life, perhaps as far as we could, we were given, in accordance with our desire, the privilege of coming into this world. And here we are in these bodies of flesh and bones, enjoying full faculties of mind with the laws of God always before us, associating with men and women of righteous desires and also with those of the opposite nature. We find evil as well as good, and men and women are swerved by the things to which they pay attention; one is swerved one way, and another, another. Some things that would tempt me perhaps may not tempt you at all, and vice versa. And so the fact of the matter is that as we live we grow daily, and if we keep the commandments of the Lord as well as we can, we are always found in a progressive state, and we are in a measure able to say ¶

"no" when we ought to, and say "yes" when it is right to do so. But it takes time and study and faith and work and devotion and attention in order to do it. ¶

I believe that men and women ought to commit to memory, so that they would become a part of their lives, the principles of the gospel as they are given unto us from time to time in the pulpits of the Church, and in the revelations of the Lord, both of these last days and of ancient times. I fully believe that the Ten Commandments were not only for ancient Israel, but were given as a guide unto the Children of Israel forever, of which we are a part. That man or woman who becomes better acquainted with the laws of life is less likely to violate them. For instance, that man who has become fully convinced of what it means to violate the law of chastity, when he has been fully converted to the fact that it is wrong and contrary to God's law -- when he remembers that the Savior of the world gave to Moses and the Children of Israel this commandment which he wrote with his own finger, that it was as their life and their guide! -- that man will not be found violating it. The man that has learned in his heart, "Thou shalt not commit adultery," and who cherishes the law and who loves it, will not be swerved by adulterous men and women to crime. So you may take any one of the commandments that the Lord has given, a man will not be found violating them when he has learned to believe in and cherish them. The Sabbath day was a day set apart for men and women to honor, whereon to rest from their daily labors; they were to prepare their food in singleness of heart, even the day before if necessary, they were to feast spiritually, they were to study, they were to go to church and bear testimony, and let that be a part of their lives. Men and women who do this will always be found much richer and better in a spiritual way, they will be more firm in the faith, and more fully established in the gospel of Christ and also in the things of this world, than those who do not. These laws are given, they are within our reach. They are testified of continually by men and women in every part of the Church, the bearing of which testimonies brings the inspiration of God. ¶

We make a great sacrifice, we think, as missionaries. It is true that the man or woman who sends a son or daughter into the world does make a sacrifice in more ways than one. The money they pay out for them is indeed a sacrifice; but if it were not for that sacrifice there would not be the blessings. For there is a great blessing which comes to the individual who answers this call, even one that is not to be measured. I have seen men grow so in missionary work that you would not think them to be the same individuals as before. As Joseph Smith, the prophet, said, some men were called before the world was, called while still they were in the prior estate, and given this privilege, to be ordained and to go into the world as missionaries at certain times, and each one who goes and fills a mission is fulfilling the blessing that was there pronounced upon him. ¶

Further than that, it is the duty of men and women who have learned the truth and who have become obligated to the Lord for the things which he has given to them, to give them unto others, and in the future I believe there will be much room for criticism if we fail to do our duty. Opportunities come to all men, and that man or woman who makes the best of life is the man or woman who succeeds. I tell you, it is wonderful to find men and women who have had the power to resist evil and to stand for the right. It only proves that God is no respecter of persons; but in every country and clime men who respect the Lord are given power to overcome, and when they have overcome, and they have substantially proved that they have overcome, they are not tempted, but they are blest and revered and given privileges that men never know who have not had that experience. ¶

So I say, in conclusion, that the spirit and testimony of Jesus Christ is in the earth; it is borne by the thousands of men and women who live upon the earth, men and women who are in this congregation and others coming from all parts of the country, who are working today, testifying to all men that there is a spirit and a vitality in Mormonism that cannot be found in all the world. And this spirit will lead men to repent. That is the great key-note that was given through the Prophet Joseph Smith, that men must repent and prove themselves to the Lord, and honor him and keep his commandments. It takes time, and cannot be done at the last moment before the death of any individual, no matter what men may preach or declare. Such doctrine never came from the Lord, nor is it reasonable or true. The spirit of testimony is what brings about the spirit of repentance, and correct living only clinches it and proves it to be true; and when men find out this truth it enables them to do what they were intended to do. ¶

May the Lord help us, that we may not be swerved by fear or by things that may be wrong, great or small, but may so live that we may correct things that go wrong and set men and women straight, and at the same time set ourselves straight; that we may have the testimony of Jesus, and may be able to declare and know that. Joseph Smith was called to be a Prophet of God, and that he was selected to be a leader of men that he, indeed, received a visitation from the Father and the Son, that he heard them and saw them, and that he died for his testimony. May we live according to the truth that the Lord has revealed, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶

Enid Orlob and Bessie Newman sang a duet entitled, "I waited for the Lord." ¶