How Wonderful Is the Gospel of Jesus Christ

I refer, not to the religions of the world as we find them, but to the gospel of Jesus Christ in its fulness, as it is found in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — the gospel as it was given to us, the children of our Father, with the grave responsibility of bearing its glad message to all the world. In it, I see not only a religion for Sunday, which merely brings us together in our place of worship for the purpose of singing the praises of our Maker, and listening to the words of advice and counsel, but I see in it a religion suited to the weakest and the strongest, to the unlearned and the most profound student, to the wisest of us all, and yet adapted to the needs of every boy and girl. I see in it a force that fits you and me for every walk of life. I see in the working of the great Church, which God has commissioned to teach this gospel, a vital interest in the spiritual and temporal welfare of every one of its members. ¶

I have rejoiced during this conference to hear divinely commissioned servants of the Lord admonish the Latter-day Saints in temporal affairs. I have rejoiced in the counsel of President Grant, that the Saints should rally in the support of the institutions of Zion to the fullest of their capacity; build them up and strengthen them, that there might be means all through the land to carry on the great work, and fill the mission that the Church has. When ¶

we realize that we must buy many things from the outside and ponder the fact that every cent we pay for these things, of necessity, must go to the outside, shall we not support home institutions ; buy the things that can be made here and that can be grown here, so that every dollar that these products bring may remain at home to build up the institutions that are ours and in turn enrich us as a people? ¶

I believe God inspired Wilford Woodruff to back the great sugar industry with the credit of the Church ; and I believe that in these trying times, when the men at the head of the Church have placed the resources of this people back of these great institutions, it has been done with one thought only, and that thought is, that the institutions that have made us prosperous shall be preserved to the people here at home, and shall not fall into the hands of capitalists not interested in us. ¶

I have listened to criticisms of the policy of the Church in these matters, and I am free to say, that I have, in each and every case, expressed my opinion that at this time the Saints dare not resort to any criticism,, lest they lose their faith. Criticism of the men God sustains is the beginning of the loss of faith, and the children of our Father who have been called from all the nations of the earth to love and rejoice in all the wonderful blessings of the gospel, should realize that these men have, deep in their hearts, the interests of every one of us. ¶

I wish every one of you could have come into close contact with President Grant in the trying times that we have been passing through, when it looked as if our great industries might go to the wall. He was in my home in Chicago, in the mission home, weighed down with worry and trouble — not personal trouble, but anxiety for the interests of the people God has called him to preside over ; and I believe that if every true Latter-day Saint realized what President Grant went through for the people, in trying to save their interests for them, they would be more loyal to the work of God and to his divinely appointed servants than they have been in the past. I hope and pray that the Saints will consider this matter and will awaken to the realization that this difficulty has been met largely by the work of the man that God sustains as President of His Church upon the earth, and that he should be sustained by every member of the Church. ¶

What does the gospel mean to you? What does the Church mean to you ? Is it merely an opportunity that you have of mingling together socially, in coming out and studying in the various organizations and auxiliary associations the outlines that are placed before you? Does it mean merely an opportuntiy for you to get forward in the world? If it does, then you have failed to grasp the great mission and the wonderful message and power of the gospel of ¶

Jesus Christ. It is, my brethren and sisters, not for our spirits only, but for our bodies. It is not for time only, but for all eternity. It did not begin for you and me when we came here to receive it, but it began when time began, and it will continue through all the ages. The gospel of Jesus Christ was and is planned for the eternal salvation and exaltation of His children, a scheme that was devised in the heavens, a plan that was laid down with definite laws, with commandments, with ordinances that we must hearken unto and to which obedience must be rendered, if we will have the blessings that this gospel promises. ¶

God has made us free, has placed us here on earth to live our lives just exactly as we want to live them. This gospel of Jesus Christ is the perfect law of liberty, and no man, be he weak or be he strong, is forced to obey its behests ; but every man is given the opportunity, is given the privilege of obtaining perfect liberty contingent upon rendering obedience to its laws. We came here free, free as the very air we breathe, and can elect to go forward along the path of righteousness, or can follow along the path of unrighteousness and error. But we cannot look for, we cannot hope for, nor will we receive, the blessings predicated upon the keeping of these laws unless we live them. It is necessary that we live righteously to gain eternal life. I tell you, my friends, it is a serious thing and the temptations that come to us must be met. We hear people say, occasionally, "What a terrible thing it was that Adam sinned." They do not realize that the sin of Adam, socalled, was in fact a great blessing to you and me, for it made possible the establishing of the human family; the bringing of our souls into mortality, and permiting us to enjoy the experiences of this earth life. By successfully completing the course in this school of experiences, we qualify ourselves to live eternally with God and Christ in the everlasting kingdom of our Father. "Adam fell that men might be, and men are that they might have joy." And so it rests with us, whether we will measure up to the standard, avoid the temptations that come in our way, and gain that experience, that wonderful experience, of the school of mortality, which is absolutely necessary to an exaltation in the kingdom of God, our Father. ¶

When we see temptation round about us, we have the duty of meeting it ; of fighting against it and of triumphing over it. If we will meet it nobly and exert ourselves to the fullest, giving every measure of strength that we have to the great work, then there will come to our lives the wonderful joy that God has promised. And truly, the happiest man, the happiest woman, on the earth, are they who keep the commandments of God. The worth while thing is not the wealth of the world, not the honors of men, but that genuine, deep-seated joy that comes into our hearts, placed there by God the eternal Father through the Holy Spirit, when we do our ¶

duty. O that every child of our heavenly Father, and every member of His Church in particular, might realize what it means to keep the commandments of the Lord, and that we, as one united whole, might put forth a mighty effort to combat evil in its every form. Then day by day we would approach nearer to our heavenly Father, and our righteous example would draw into our ranks many souls to aid us in the great work of redemption, and the joy of all would be increased many, many fold. ¶

It was my privilege recently to visit the site of the City of Nauvoo. As I stood on Temple Hill and looked down upon the majestic sweep of the river, and recalled that there the Saints had been established and had been prospered, only to be driven away and to make that memorable journey across the plains, I thanked my heavenly Father for the class of men and women who came out of the world to accept the gospel, who lived their religion, near to their heavenly Father, and who withstood the persecutions that were heaped upon them. I thanked God for my parentage. Arid as I looked upon the old homes of my ancestors, and the old residences of ethers with whose names you are familiar, I could not help saying, God knew what He was doing when He permitted persecutions to come to those people, for they were tried in the fiery furnace; they grew stronger under opposition; they were victorious over temptations and trials that were placed before them; and they were blessed and sustained, and though they came into' this wilderness with hardly enough food to sustain them through the first season, and though they were opposed by the nation and harassed by the Indians; yet they were true to their covenants, to their heavenly Father, and He blessed them and sustained them, and buoyed them up, and now we are enjoying the fruits of their faithfulness. ¶

If we could only heed that admonition of our president to leave those things alone that come from the outside, that are a curse to us, — I refer to those things decried in the Word of Wisdom — and could the money that we send away from home for tea, coffee, tobacco, liquors and coco-cola be applied to the establishment of industrial institutions, and in the carrying on of the work of the Lord, and if we were to live this holy law, then the peoples of the earth would have to look up in admiration to the people of God. ¶

My brethren and sisters, this gospel is for you and me. It is a reality, a genuine thing, and not a passing fancy Those who keep every one of the commandments of our Father and live near to Him, and do the things that He has laid down for them, are happy. All others receive joy in a direct ratio to the effort they put forth. ¶

We are today passing through a period of persecution. In the British Isles it is especially severe and trying, while in our own country there are some who attempt to injure us by their malicious ¶

stories. The lives of the Saints and the achievements of the Church stand up before the world greater and more glorious than ever, despite the vituperations of the hirelings who do that work. The gospel of Jesus Christ is genuine. It is the power of God unto salvation. It is the true way for you and for me. It stands for good citizenship. Good Latter-day Saints are loyal citizens ill the country, regardless of the party they may individually belong to. A good Latter-day Saint is a credit to his nation, for he upholds the men in power and he is striving continually to do his part as a man, being honest with his fellow men, and with his Master. I believe that this great nation of ours was divinely brought forth, that it might be a place for the coming forth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I believe that that grand old flag of ours, the red, the white and blue, will always shine out as an emblem of liberty to the nations of the earth. I believe that God will not permit men to come into power as leaders in our nation who will disgrace those jnoble colors. That banner of liberty was given to the world that under it the gospel of Jesus Christ might come forth ; and when the time had arrived, when the hour had struck, when the world was ready, God chose a humble boy in the backwoods of New York and gave him the divine commission to go forth and establish His Church. ¶

He did as commanded, and though the Church has been persecuted, and men have heaped upon it all manner of opposition ; yet, after ninety years, it stands unimpeached and unimpeachable, because it is the work of Almighty God. Its destiny is to fill the earth ; its mission is to preach the gospel to all mankind ; its purpose is to prepare the human family for the coming of Jesus Christ to reign as king of kings and Lord of Lords. And we, who remain true, who keep the commandments of the living God, will when Christ comes to take His place be found in our places, glorified, blessed of our heavenly Father, and He will say unto us, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant." ¶

Let us be true, my brethren and sisters. Let us be loyal to our state and to our. nation ; loyal to ourselves and to the Church. Stand back of the men God chooses and sustains to preside over us. ¶

If we will do this, our hearts will be joyful; our lives will be filled with blessings, and the fame of the Latter-day Saints will go forth to all the world. Then nothing can stop the onward march and the work of God will triumph. ¶