Remarks by Samuel O. Bennion

{President Central States Mission) ¶

I hope that the Spirit of the Lord may direct my remarks, that what I may say may be in accordance with his holy mind and will, ¶

for the good of all who are gathered here. I do not remember a more beautiful Sabbath, at this time of the year, than today, when everything seems favorable to us, everything seems saturated with the spirit and the power of our Father in heaven. Surely his Spirit has been made manifest to a very great extent in the sessions of the conference thus far. I think I have never attended a conference when there seemed to be a greater interest, when the people themselves seemed more devoted. The large numbers in attendance show that the Spirit of God is upon the Latter-day Saints and in their hearts. They have a desire to be taught that which will do them good for all time to come. They desire to serve God and keep his commandments more than they have ever done before. ¶

As the Church grows older its influence must be greater. There is a growth in all scientific lines in the earth. The great discoveries that have been made by men in the last few years are far in advance of the theology of the churches of the day. They have not advanced. And truly this Church, under the divine inspiration of our Father in heaven must stand as the fountain head of all of the wisdom that comes to men, for God has revealed it and he makes known to his people his mind and will if they will but listen. I firmly believe that the truths that have been revealed to men in the dispensation of the fulness of times, in which we live, have had their beginning in the principles of truth that are found in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. ¶

A short time ago I heard a man of international fame deliver a lecture in Kansas City, before a convention of Sunday School workers. I heard this gentleman say, that there are one or two passages of scripture in the Bible that are worth more than all the books that have been written from time to time by the so-called professors of the day. One of them which he drew attention to is the doctrine which plainly declares that God "created man in his own image, male and female." He said there are many men and women who do not believe that scripture; but he said, "the Bible teaches it." I never heard this doctrine taught, in my experience out in the world, before, save by the elders in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but I want to assert to you, that it would not surprise me at all if in the very near future it should be taught by many of the leading sects of the day. I believe it will not be long until there shall be teachers who will be preaching the doctrine of an ante-mortal state. They will be teaching in plainness that mortals had a preexistence. I believe that there shall be men arise not of our faith who will declare that there is a salvation for the dead, and that men may live and attain the blessings of the almighty Father if they have not forfeited their right to those blessings in mortality. The law of tithing is taught in many of the churches of the day. The principle of divine healing as taught and practiced by Christ and his ancient apostles is taught in many of the so-called Christian sects. Whoever asks of God in the name of his Son Jesus Christ, may receive, and with the light that came ¶

into the earth through the visistation of the Father and the Son to the Prophet Joseph Smith, and the visitation of holy angels, the principles of truth will find lodgment in the hearts of the honest among the children of men, and God's Church shall receive more endorsement and greater influence than ever before. ¶

It will be found, then, when they shall attempt to teach the principles and doctrines of Christ, that in our day, for more than ninety years the principles of eternal truth as taught in the Bible and revealed in the Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants have found place in the hearts of the children of men. ¶

One of the first things that the Prophet Joseph Smith taught was, that he had beheld the Father and the Son, that they were immortal men, that he was in their image. He declared this with boldness, and it has now been preached by this people for nearly a hundred years. It has been testified of in all the civilized nations of the earth, where the elders of Israel have been sent. And when men begin to lay claim to the principles of Christ they will have to acknowledge that there was a prophet raised up in the dispensation in which they live ; and a people raised up through him, who have taught these principles ; that God has revealed these things in plainness unto the children of men, and that he has revealed to us the true state of the world and the truth with respect to all his creatures. And then they will have to admit the superiority and the originality of God's truth in the earth, for the Lord has never allowed any son or daughter to come to the earth but he has provided a way for them to live and be taught the truth. ¶

And when men testify that they know that Jesus is the Christ they will be confronted again with this fact, that the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy, and that as men receive the testimony of Jesus they must believe in prophecy. And when they believe in prophets they must acknowledge that God revealed his mind and will to prophets. They will have to turn again to the true order of worship, and they will find again that God has revealed his truth to the children of men, and has raised up men, and conferred upon them divine authority to proclaim his truth. Then they will come to know that the true gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored, and is preached with power in the earth. ¶

And now I want to say that the man that is at the head of this Church truly* is a prophet of the living God, a man who was ordained to that calling before the earth was created. And associated with him are men of power ordained to stand in the name of God in the earth, which power will remain until the Lord shall come. When a man questions the divine authority of this Church, he needs only to investigate the doctrines of the Church and listen to the preaching of the men who declare the gospel. To my mind the man to whom I referred has read "Mormonism." There are thousands that believe it, but had it come from a "Mormon" elder, it is a question if they would have received it at all. ¶

I want to say to you that the Lord will raise up men who will further his cause in the earth by allowing them to preach parts of the restored gospel. The apostles in the days of Christ saw men who were casting out devils in his name, and they forbade them, but Jesus said, "He that is not against us is on our part." That same privilege is in the earth, for men and for women to stand for the right, and to stand for the gospel itself, no matter where they have heard it, no matter where they obtained it. There will come a time, just so surely as the sun shines, that they will have to acknowledge that to the Church of Christ in the days of the dispensation of the fulness of times, our Father gave that light and that power with authority to declare it to the children of men. I fully believe that the gospel as it is taught by the servants of God bearing divine authority, will find place in the hearts of thousands as the result of the faithfulness of the men of God who have declared it, and that in many of the churches of the day the restored gospel will be taught, and it will establish faith in the hearts of men. Sooner or later, men and women will be drawn unto the Lord, through prayer, and shall seek him by faith and by study and they shall discover that that knowledge of the truth, and that light and knowledge of God and his gospel came through the Church of Christ in this day, and that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God through whom it was revealed and restored to the earth, who sealed his testimony with his blood ; died for the truth which through him God gave to the world. He became a martyr to the cause of Christ, and no man ever became a martyr for the cause of Christ without having known him and the truth that he declared, though that truth be preached by men who are not called of God. We pray that the honest in heart, may be honorable enough to admit, when it is brought to their attention, that the truths which they have been taught, were received through the Prophet of the Lord in the day in which we live, and that they must repent and believe the gospel; that the law that John taught is in force and in effect for people who have not been baptized by men having authority. And that in order to partake of the glorious principles of Christ, they must enter into the straight gate and live according to the truth and the laws that has been revealed for their salvation. ¶

I pray for the children of men. I pray for the honorable men of the earth, men and women who are blinded by the cunning craftiness of men who deceive by teaching doctrine that is not true. I pray for the Latter-day Saints, that they may walk uprightly before the Lord, that they may testify before the world that God lives, and that they may rejoice in the truth which comes to them through these conferences and through attending to the duties of Saints of God upon the earth. May we all feel determined in our hearts to live the lives of Saints, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶