Remarks by Owen Bennion

I am reminded strongly, my brethren and sisters, of the vision of the Prophet Nephi and of the fruit which he beheld that was white and delightsome above all other fruits, and the strong yearning that runs through that vision, and the desire that he had that his posterity #and those who were associated with him should partake of that fruit. T feel that I have in my heart the same yearning that my brethren and my sisters may partake of that same fruit through keeping the commandments of the Lord, and I earnestly pray that what I say this afternoon may contribute to that end. It is not only my testimony, my brethren and sisters, that there is joy, satisfaction, progress and prosperity in keeping the commandments of the Lord, but it is my testimony, through a recollection extending over a period of fifty years, that that has been the case. I have known of no promise made by the servants of the Lord, either of reward or of punishment, in that period of time, but what has inevitably followed. Whatever the servants of the Lord have told us to do, that we have done, and the promised reward has come. If we have clone the opposite, the promised punishment has come. ¶

As I listened to the statistics that were given yesterday, I thought of a definition that President Penrose, I think, gave us one time, of the difference between being sure and being certain. He said : ''I am sure that the sun will rise tomorrow morning. I am certain that it rose this morning." From the same standpoint, brethren and sisters, I can testify that the promises that are made to the Latter-day Saints, if they keep the commandments of the Lord, are certain to follow. ¶

I noted yesterday morning, if T heard aright, in the figures given by Pres'dent Grant, that this past year we had about six thousand converts, and there were baptized into the Church something over fourteen thousand children, all, or in the main, children of the Latter-day Saints ; and I wondered if, as parents of Zion, we had so trained and educated those children that they understood what they were doing when they went into the waters of baptism ; and I wondered if our example in life has been such and will continue to be such that the best result can come to those children from our examples. It would seem to me that we have a very great responsibility. I would, my brethren and sisters, that every mother could say to her son, "Consider well the ways of your father," and not say to her son: "You keep the commandments of the Lord," or, "Your father is going to keep the commandments of the Lord, and the results will be good," but could say to her son : "Consider well the ways of your father, who has kept the commandments of the Lord. Consider his character, his kindness and his love for his family, his devotion to his Church, and his capability and value as a citizen in the community wherein he lives ; and this, in a great measure, is the result of keeping the commandments of the Lord." And I would that every father among us could say to his daughters : "Consider well the ways of your mother. Consider her kindness, her influence, her unselfishness, her devotion to you and to me, and to the work of the Lord, the exemplary life that she leads, the happiness of her disposition and the value of her life that has resulted therefrom. Follow you in her footsteps." How many of us. brethren and sisters, can do that? If we cannot do it, the Lord will hold us responsible, and we will suffer therefor. But that is not all of it ; those children of ours will suffer therefor, and a considerable portion of the best part of their lives will be lost through our fault. When we are tempted to find fault with our neighbors, with our brethren and sisters and with the servants of the Lord, let us consider what effect it will have on our children; remembering that, in due course of time, knowing that the gospel is true, we may come back into the fold and may work and labor diligently, but we cannot undo the damage that we have done to our children while we were off the track. ¶

I pray that the Spirit of the Lord may be with us as parents, that we may realize our responsibility, that we may set examples worthy of imitation before our children, that we can say to them not only, "If you keep the commandments of the Lord, you shall be blessed," but we can say to them and we can show to them the effect, — that through keeping the commandments of the Lord we have been blessed. I ask it in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶