Remarks by Hyrum G. Smith

{Presiding Patriarch of the Church) ¶

I am very much impressed with the spirit of this conference. We are a record-making people. I have been in parties that have climbed to the top of some of our highest mountains, and I have found there hidden away in monuments or some kind of hidden place, records of those who have made the climb. ¶

I believe we make our own records, whether it be in our schools, in our homes, in our places of business, or in our fields, or wherever our lot may be cast. ¶

A Name in the Sand

Alone I walked the Ocean strand, A pearly shell was in my hand; I stooped and wrote upon the sand ¶

My name, the year, the day : As onward from the spot I passed, One lingering look behind I cast, A wave came rolling high and fast ¶

And washed my lines away. ¶

And so, me-thought, 'twill quickly be With every mark on earth from me : A wave of dark oblivion's sea ¶

Will sweep across the place Where I have trod the sandy shore Of time, and been, to be no more, — Of me, my day, the name I bore, ¶

To leave no track nor trace. ¶

And yet, with Him who counts the sands, And holds the waters in his hands, I know a lasting record stands ¶

Inscribed against my name, Of all this mortal part has wrought, Of all this thinking soul has thought, All, from these fleeting moments caught, ¶

For glory or for shame. ¶

George Denison Prentice. ¶

There was a time in the. history of this people when it was difficult for us to obtain books in which to keep the records of our work and our doings, but today we have almost astonishing equipment; that is, it is astonishing to our minds because of its nature. It is so convenient, so adequate to our needs. I remember when I was about sixteen or seventeen years of age, my father moved his family from the ward, and when we went to get our transfer we discovered that the record was not complete. The ward clerk had failed to record the dates of baptism of the children. Well, what was to be done? We knew that we had been baptized, we knew that we were members of the Church, because we had kept our own records. My father had kept a record of his family and the bishop and his clerk were provided with the record of the baptism of my father's children, and so when we moved away from the ward we left it with a complete record of our standing and membership in the Church. Well, now I am wondering how many before my day found it difficult to keep a record of the fact that certain ordinance work was performed in the Church, and I suppose that in the early history of this people a great many records were neglected for the want of suitable and prepared material. But today scarcely anything is neglected for the want of suitable material and equipment. I thank the Lord for the many wonderful things that have been provided by way of lightening the burdens of those who keep records. In my experience I can appreciate these material blessings which we enjoy today. I can see my grandfather in the many, many years that he was Presiding Patriarch of the Church, waiting patiently while someone wrote by hand, in longhand, hundreds and hundreds of his blessings pronounced upon the heads of the Latter-day Saints. Today nearly all of this record making work that is done in the Presiding Patriarch's office, is done by machinery ; a great blessing in the saving of time and energy to all parties concerned. And in my opinion the process of record keeping in the Church was never more satisfactorily done than at the present time. So I speak personally with gratitude in my heart for ¶

the blessings of the Lord in providing means of equipment to lighten our burdens, that we may do the work required of us in a pleasing and acceptable way, and not avoid any of it or let it pass unaccomplished. ¶

I am grateful unto the Lord for the comfortable homes that we as Latter-day Saints possess today. I thank the Lord that he has blessed us with homes and fields and flocks and herds, with the industries that are suitable and needful, as well as some of the best schools in all the world, with some of the best teachers in all the world. I thank the Lord that we have at our disposal such adequate means of transportat'ion, that such a body of people as was seen here yesterday morning could come even in the middle of the week if necessary to meet in general conference at the call of the President of the Church. People from almost all quarters of the world met here at an appointed date and time. ¶

I thank the Lord for this good weather which makes it possible for us to enjoy this conference, the occasion is a time in my life of rejoicing and thanksgiving. I take the liberty, my brethren and sisters, as an officer in the Church, to acknowledge the hand of God in his blessings to us and to this people; not only in the few things which I have mentioned, but in the many,, many things, even in the detail of our work, in the different responsibilities that come to us who are called to carry on the Lord's work. I acknowledge his hand in the many blessings which he has placed at our very doors. ¶

Now, my brethren and sisters, let me urge that we, both old and young, begin to appreciate our blessings, begin to take notice of the fact that the Lord is blessing us, for I declare to you that the Lord has prepared many great and important blessings, and every one of them, as the Prophet Joseph Smith has declared, is predicated upon obedience to law. There isn't the slightest kind of a blessing, neither small nor great of any kind, that you or I may receive or do receive except we obey the law upon which that blessing is predicated. Now, what a grand and a glorious thing it is when we know the laws upon which our blessings are predicated. They have been taught to us in our own language, revealed from heaven for our own benefit, for the salvation of both the living and the dead. What a glorious thing to know. Let us take advantage of the fact that these blessings and the laws upon which they are predicated are revealed to us, a people who have been gathered into this quarter from every civilized nation under heaven, to bring about the purposes of God in these the last days, to fulfil those wonderful prophecies that were made upon the head of that wonderful progenitor of ours, Joseph, who was sold by his brethren ; and as was related yesterday, the great majority of us discover through our blessings that . we are descendants of his chosen son Ephraim, to whom the greatest responsibility was given at the time of his blessing. Brethren and sisters, let us appreciate our privileges and the day and time in which we live, for the Lord has said where ¶

much is given much is required. None of us, I suppose, are above making mistakes, but when we discover that we have made mistakes it is a very simple thing on our part to correct them. When we do wrong we know we do wrong, every one of us. What a noble thing it is in us, when we discover that we have done wrong, to do our duty, and correct that wrong. The Lord through his ancient and modern servants has declared that he that is a committer of sin is a servant of sin. When we discover that we have done wrong we know that we have grieved the Lord. ¶

Therefore, my brethren and sisters, let me urge you to repent of wrong-doing when you discover that it has been done, that we may obey the laws which have been given to us, the laws of the everlasting gospel, the laws of life and salvation. Let us prepare ourselves, through the light of truth that has been given us, that the wonderful blessings which were promised hundreds and hundreds of years ago would be given, may be given to us who live in the very time that the prophet declared they should be, for these truly are the last days, when the Lord has set his hand for the last time to accomplish his work upon the earth, and may we be true and faithful and be able to carry the burdens placed upon us, and with all the advantages and the blessings of equipment of every name and nature that are placed at our disposal, may we not be worldly, but may we remember our blessings and our privileges, and the promises that are made unto us. May we receive those blessings ; and may we be spared from the calamities and judgments which may come into our midst or surround us. May we observe to live pure and simple lives, — true Latter-day Saints, and enjoy the blessings of the home and the field and the office, the blessings of God which are surrounding us. May his blessings continue to be with us and with this people, that we may enjoy his preserving and protecting care, that we may not fall heir through our weaknesses to disturbances and calamities which are prepared for the world. I know, brethren and sisters, that we are very prone through our pride, sometimes, and perhaps through our false education, or perhaps through some other cause, to be very prompt in following the fashions of the world ; but let me raise my voice in warning against this practice among us as a people, that we be not followers of the fashions of the world, lest we be followers of those for whom the judgments and the calamities have been prepared. If we follow the fashions of the world, then we place barriers in our own pathway, and prevent our Father from bestowing upon us those marvelous blessings which he has prepared for the faithful. Let me urge you, my brethren and sisters, to remember that we are not of the world, therefore we need not follow the follies and the fashions of the world, but let us be oldfashioned enough to be Saints of God, pure and modest in our conduct, in our dress, and in our social affairs. ¶

May God bless us that we may have the courage of our convictions, whether we be young or old, to live true to the faith, receive these marvelous blessings, and stand prepared to carry forward the ¶

work of God, to be his chosen people and accomplish his work, whether we be reared here in the valleys of the mountains or whether we come from foreign countries. Let us be faithful and the Lord will remember us, for he is a just God and his mercies and favors will be upon us as individuals and as a people if we will only observe to follow the laws and commandments which have been given us, upon which our blessings are predicated. God bless you all, those whom he has called to hold positions of leadership and responsibility, from the President of the Church to the least and last one called. ¶

I rejoice in having the privilege of being a member of this great conference, in the presence of leading spirits, both men and women. I rejoice in the privilege that I have of going about in the stakes and wards of Zion mingling my soul and spirit with these choice men and women of the Church. God bless you all in your different responsibilities that the Lord's work may be accomplished to his honor and glory, both in this life and in the life to come, through Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶