Gratitude and Thanks Expressed

I feel very weak this afternoon, and I desire your assistance and the blessing of my heavenly Father that I may be able to say something that will be profitable to you. ¶

Gratitude and Thanks Expressed

My soul is filled with a deep gratitude that I cannot express, for membership in this wonderful organization. I am thankful that my lot has been cast with this people, I am grateful that I was born of goodly parents, and that the environment of my life has been such that I have participated in the greatest blessings that the Lord has bestowed upon his children. While listening to the brethren who have addressed us, I have felt to pour out my soul in thanksgiving because of what we are enjoying. No other people upon the face of the earth have been honored as we have in having been given the know - ledge of the gospel of our Lord. Think of belonging to a Church that has deposited with it the information and authority that is necessary for all humanity to possess before they can realize the purpose of their creation. ¶

I sometimes feel that we do not appreciate the Holy Bible, and what it contains, and these other scriptures, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price that have been referred to by our beloved President as letters from our heavenly Father. They may be so received, at least they are his advice and his counsel to all the children of men given to them that they may know how to take advantage of their opportunities, that their lives may not be spent in vain. One of the sorrowful things in life is to see a man or a woman laid away in Mother earth with a realization of the fact that they have refused the greater blessings that our Father offered to them, and have continued grasping at the bubble that has itself disappeared. When I think of the millions of God's children in the world, and realize how little they are striving for the things that are really worth while, I feel sad, but when I see tins body of people here today — representatives of the great Church that bears the name of the Redeemer — and realize that we who have accepted the gospel have been chosen, as it were, from among the multitude of our father's children to understand him and to know why we are here, my heart is filled with gratitude and praise to Him for his blessings unto us. ¶

We believe in a pre-existence. The Lord has taught us that in the Scriptures, but there are millions of those who profess belief in the Floly Bible who do not believe in, or at least do not understand, what pre-existence really means. They do not realize that we lived before we came here ; they do not comprehend that this body has been given to us as a reward for faithfulness in the spirit world before we came here. They do not know that by partaking of certain ordinances prescribed by our heavenly Father, we, as husbands and wives, may be united for time and eternity and enjoy the companionship of our children for ever. How thankful we should be for that knowledge that has come to us. ¶

As I stand here now, realizing that from infancy until manhood I had the teaching of a loving father and a tender, sweet mother, and that I had explained to me what I should do in order to prepare for eternal life in the presence of our Father, I feel grateful indeed. ¶

If I were to think, as many of the people of the world think, that now my beloved parents are gone, they have passed out of my life forever and that I will never see them again, that would deprive me of one of the greatest joys that I have in life, the contemplation of meeting them again, and receiving their welcome and their affection, and of thanking them from the depths of a grateful heart. These are some of the blessings that appeal to me as coining through the gospel of Jesus Christ. ¶

This Life Is Not the End.

I am thankful that there has been revealed to us and made plain in this latter-day that this life is not the end, that this is but a part of ¶

eternity, and that if we take advantage of our privileges here, that this is but the stepping stone to greater and more desirable conditions. We are all of us passing rapidly to that time when we will be called hence. If we did not understand that there is a future life, if we did not realize that there is something more than the influence that we have received thus far, if there was not anything but the vanity and vexation of life for us to live for there are many, it seems to me, who would grow weary in the struggle that is to be made for existence here. But in the mercy of our heavenly Father he has bestowed upon us the most wonderful gifts that come to human kind. Think of the tenderness of our fathers and mothers, reared as we are under the nurture and admonition of the Lord ; think of the homes of prayer wherein we have been taught that we must pray to our heavenly Father if we would be pleasing unto him. Think of the teachings that have come to us of honesty, of industry, of integrity, of sobriety, of purity, and cleanness of life. Think of the blessings that have come to us, inspiring in us charity for those who are less fortunate than ourselves. All the ideals and virtues that mankind has known, or will know, have been bestowed upon the members of this great Church. ¶

No Doubt as to the Outcome

We are not in doubt as to what the outcome will be. The Lord has not only said unto us, ''In my Father's house are many mansions," "I go to prepare a place for you," but in the day and age in which we live the Lord has described the very places lo which his children may hope to go. He has explained to us that there are various degrees of glory, has described to us certain requirements which must be complied with if we would enjoy those degrees of glory. The man who drinks with the drunken, and who lives an immoral life, and who gives himself up to evil things, should not hope to go into the celestial kingdom of our heavenly Father, for the Lord has said he cannot go there. But the people of the world do not understand that. There are those who profess Christianity, who believe that even the murderer who has imbrued his hands in the blood of his innocent victim may, by saying the words, "I believe in Jesus Christ," be ushered into the presence of the Redeemer of mankind. This is false doctrine and I am thankful that this people are not deceived by such teachings, but that on the contrary we are placed in a condition to know how we may obtain the blessing of Celestial glory, and not be disappointed. ¶

Some Choice Blessings That We Enjoy.

I am glad that there is in this great organization a determination to sustain the laws of the land in which we live. I am grateful for this great government that our heavenly Father gave to us, for he has said that he raised up wise men to prepare for us the Constitutionof this great nation, and I am thankful that he lias given unto us the revelation that as long as the people of this land work righteousness, that he will he their God and their king, and that no other kings shall dwell upon this land. It is pleasing to know that this land has been consecrated to liberty, and that the way was prepared for the coming of the gospel in this great and wonderful nation. ¶

I am thankful to know that all that is good and pure and holy, all thai is sweet and that is worth while in life, may be enjoyed by the members of this Church within the folds of the Church. There has not been withheld from us one single blessing that mankind may enjoy, because of our membership in this Church. ( )n the contrary, the Lord has taught us to be brothers and sisters in very deed, and. not only has he given to us the Old Testament scriptures and the NewTestament scriptures, but he has given to us the American volume of scripture that supplements the teachings of the divine mission of our Lord, and in our day has. revealed to us through the Prophet Joseph Smith the doctrines that are necessary for us to observe in order that we may have the companionship of our wives and our children, our fathers and our mothers, throughout the ages of eternity. ¶

These, my brethren and sisters, are some of the choice blessings that the Lord has bestowed upon us in this day, and 1 wonder if we appreciate them. All that he has asked of us in return for the fulness of the earth, all that he has asked of us in return for the blessings of this life, all that he has asked us to do in order that we may enjoy eternal life in his celestial kingdom, is to follow the simple teachings of our Lord, that he has given to the children of men, that all men may follow if they will, and while doing it, peace of mind, contentment and happiness may be theirs. The gospel of Jesus Christ is not a difficult road to follow, it is the pathway of peace, and gives assurance of the blessings of the Lord when life's labor on earth is completed. The gospel of Jesus Christ does not require us to torment ourselves with physical pain. On the contrary it teaches us that we may so live that health and vigor and strength will be ours, and that we can avoid the pains and anguish that are the result of violation of our Father's laws. ¶

Are We Worthy to Be Called Saints?

I am grateful for that wonderful Word of Wisdom, simple as it is, and as the Lord says, "adapted to the capacity of the weak or the weakest of all who are or can be called Saints." I pause to ask this great congregation, are we worthy to be called Saints ? All who hope to be called Saints should certainly be observers of the Word of Wisdom. And what does it mean to us? It gives us sweetness of life, it takes from us the poisonous vapors that many people breathe as the result of smoking tobacco. It avoids for us that nauseating condition that is the result of chewing tobacco. It preserves us. if we observe it, from the infirmities due to taking ¶

into our systems the narcotics contained in tea and coffee, and from the disastrous effects of, liquor and hot and strong drink. Our heavenly Father, not only tells us what we should avoid, but tells us what we may use with profit. He has said to us that all grain, all wholesome herbs, the fruit of the vine etc., are good for man. Flesh of beast and fowls of the air; and these things he refers to we may use with prudence and thanksgiving ; and, I want to emphasize with thanksgiving. ¶

The Lord of Lords Our Teacher

Brethren and sisters, you have had the greatest instructor that the world knows anything" about. You have had for your school master the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the. Creator of the heavens and the earth ; who in his wonderful tenderness and consideration for us in this day, has sent his prophet into the world to explain to us, and to make clear to our minds the things that he gave to the world hundreds of years ago that have been misunderstood and have been misinterpreted very much to the detriment of our bather's children. But in our day he has renewed to us the truth, has given to us the blessed teachings that should qualify us to be men and women after his own heart, has held out to us the promise that if we will do the things that he advises our lives will be pure and holy, peace will be our portion here, and we shall dwell with him throughout the ages of eternity. What more could he give unto us, or, as has already been quoted by one of the brethren : "W hat more can he say than to you he has said, you who unto Jesus for refuge have fled?" ¶

Thankful for Noble Men to Represent Us in the Nation.

I felt grateful today when one of the members of the House of Bepresentatives of the Congress of the United States, our great legislative bod}', stood here as a humble representative of the community in which he lives, as an Elder of the Church and testified of the truth, while at Washington he should radiate an influence for the uplift of every soul that he comes in contact with without being contaminated with the evils that beset mankind. He is a legislator of the greatest nation on earth, but he is more, he is a representative of our heavenly Father, with authority to officiate in the ordinances of the gospel of our Lord for the blessing of mankind. I am grateful for him and his brethren who are there with him. I am thankful that by reason of faith and good works we see men rising from the ranks, year after year, to stand in high places in our government, not to tear it down, not to break in pieces the structures that have been reared by others, but to show where the better way lies, to say to the children of men who are crying out for a change, and who are not satisfied with conditions : Let us legislate that we may all live m peace in the land and that we all may enjoy the blessings of the Lord while we live upon the earth. ¶

Let Us Not Change Our Blessings for Foolish Attractions.

My brethren and sisters, I am thankful for my membership in this Church. I am grateful to be permitted to have the companionship of my brethren and sisters. I prize my citizenship in this great nation, and from the depths of my soul I am thankful that my lot has been cast with you. This great government was established by our Father, this land was prepared by him, and the particular part of it that is inhabited by the Latter-day Saints has been beautified until the eyes of the world are turned towards us, because of the picturesqueness and the grandeur of the home that the Lord has prepared for us. He has blessed us with all this and with every comfort, with the loving companionship and 'association of wives and husbands and parents and children and the presidency of the Priesthood of our Lord. Let us not be blinded by the cunning of the adversary to exchange any of these wonderful gifts for the foolishness that attracts mankind, for the pitfalls that have been prepared by the enemy of all righteousness. This is our Father's work, this is the gospel of Jesus Christ, it is the power of God unto salvation to all those who believe and obey it, and I pray that we who are here this day, may return to our homes with renewed determination to be loyal and faithful to those things that are righteous, and that we will live to honor him who gives all we enjoy, and who offers us the blessings of eternal life, eternal progress, eternal increase in his celestial kingdom. May the Lord help us to merit his blessings, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶