Remarks by John Wells

The afternoon has been well spent. We have heard from the previous speakers much that has been very profitable and it is not ¶

my intention to keep this congregation more than a few minutes. Were I to give way to my feelings, I would rather not speak, but as President Grant has sent over six of us to address you this afternoon, I feel that I should not be doing my duty unless I spoke to you. ¶

This conference has been one that will be long remembered. We have been fed with the bread of life. We have received the word of God from those who hold the Priesthood, after the order of his Son, and they have given us instructions concerning our spiritual upbuilding" and comfort, and concerning our temporal affairs. The scriptures have been opened to us; the experiences in the lives of our brethren have been given to us with profit and benefit, and I hope when we go home we shall do so determined to put into practice these instructions and take to our families the spirit of this great conference. Let me suggest that around our home fires in the evening, we tell our sons and daughters and others, our impressions of the conference, reciting the instructions and advice that we have received. It is very necessary that this be done, as not more than one out of every forty Latter-day Saints have heard the speakers during this conference. ¶

"Mormonism" is to me a modern marvel; and how did it come? It came from that overwhelming idea of the boy prophet, Joseph, to go into the woods and ask his Father, in faith believing, which church should he join, and in that simple prayer of a boy, and the visit of the Father and the Son who came in answer to that prayer, has brought about this wonderful work of which we are a part. The Lord chose to take an unlettered boy unlearned and unsophisticated in the things of, the world, but with a simple child-like faith to start his great work, and on that boy's prayer began the whole structure of "Mormonism." ¶

There is something unique about this great work. It was not split off from any sect or party like nearly all the sects of the day have been, but it came direct from our Father in heaven when the set time had come to establish his great work in the latter days, and the message of the gospel appealed to the honest in heart ; to those who were sweet in their lives and habits. Wherever the gospel went, they picked up these rugged, frugal, honest, God-fearing people, and under the influence of the Spirit of the Lord they accepted the gospel and upon them came the spirit of gathering. This gathering came to them as a part of the power and gift of this great work, and will come upon all those who accept the gospel in foreign lands. ¶

•Another part of this great miracle of "Mormonism" is to be seen right here in the valleys of the mountains, where men and women who previously held all shades of theories and ideas concerning religious matters, and many of them rooted deeply in the traditions of the world, on hearing the sound of the gospel, their minds were clarified ; they understood its principles ; they come here and mingle with one another until there has been welded here a solid body of ¶

people with the highest ideas of spirituality and religion that the world has yet seen. ¶

We should be thankful that we have been permitted to come on the earth in this dispensation, when this wonderful gospel, with all its gifts and powers and blessings, has been restored, and we have been permitted to partake of these blessings. Mighty men and prophets of old, men who have headed dispensations and whose works are partly recorded in the Scriptures, have longed for this time; and some have desired to live in this dispensation, when the Lord intended to gather together the works of all dispensations and establish his Church, never more to be thrown down nor given to another people. ¶

Let me ask you, as a bishop, to go home with determination to observe the Sabbath day and keep it holy before the Lord ; to pay your tithes and offerings in the time and the season thereof; to sit down alone with your conscience once a month and see what the Lord has given you, and tithe it there and then. Remember your sacrament meetings, and renew your determination to be at the table of the Lord to partake of the emblems of his body and blood in remembrance of his sufferings, and renew your covenants with him. Nothing should interfere with this duty and privilege, for it is a privilege of every Latter-day Saint to be present at the Lord's table to partake of the sacrament and remember of his death and suffering's. ¶

Let us continue that friendly, neighborly, helpful cooperation among the communities of the Latter-day Saints. Let us build up business on cooperative principles of mutual helpfulness and ownership. Let us get rid of some of our envy and pride and let us also get rid of the habit of spending in excess of our earnings. Let us avoid speculation, and if we have spare means to invest, let it be done in well established and well developed businesses and institutions. Let us free ourselves from the bondage of debt. The Lord never intended his people to be in bondage to any community or to any person. We can only keep out of bondage by keeping out of debt. ¶

In the very nature of things we may expect panics. We may expect hard times. The chastening hand of the Lord will be felt throughout the world, but the man who is out of debt, who owns his home, who owns the land he cultivates, who is not borrowing, will not be seriously affected by panics. ¶

Above all, let us train our young people, around the family table, in the principles of the gospel and the obligation we owe to the Lord and to one another as Latter-day Saints, remembering our secret prayers, as well as our family prayers night and morning, for, after all, it rests upon the fathers and mothers of the children of Zion to train them in the fear and admonition of the Lord. ¶

Sometimes I think the world is ripening for destruction, but I do hope and pray the Lord will stay the avenging angels until the honest in heart throughout the world, particularly the House of Israel, have heard the gospel and have had the opportunity of gathering to Zion. ¶

May the Lord bless us. May his spirit be with us. May this conference be one long to be remembered, for its deep spirituality and the influences that have come through associations with one another, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶