Remarks

Yesterday morning, as we were coming to conference and as the clouds betokened that we might have a storm, we heard on every hand the old saying, " Yes, its going to storm -- the regular conference storm." Well, it did not storm, and to-day we have the most beautiful weather that could be found anywhere in the world. I do not know where you would go to equal it. So I feel happy this morning for the good weather with which we are blessed for our conference. ¶

I am grateful to the Lord for being permitted to labor with my brethren in connection with this great work, in which labor I have been engaged for many years, I rejoice in its growth and in its development, and I am glad to add my evidence or testimony to that of President Grant that I believe the Church, spiritually and temporally, is in a stronger, a better and more advanced condition to-day than it ever has been in its history. We are more numerous to-day than we ever have been and therefore we ought to be stronger, and are. ¶

I can speak, I believe, for the work that is under the care of the Presiding Bishopric of the Church, the work of the Lesser Priesthood. I think I can safely say that never in the history of the Church has that work been in such good shape, nor has it been better looked after, nor indeed as well looked after by the bishops and those in ¶

charge of the responsibility of looking after the lesser priesthood, as it is to-day. So that also shows growth and development. Notwithstanding all that, we are far from doing and far from being what we should do and what we should be, but we are making progress, thank the Lord. ¶

This Church stands for all that is best in the world. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report, or praiseworthy, we seek after these things; that which is best, that which makes for the success and prosperity and blessing of the people, that which extends and magnifies and upholds the principles of liberty. This Church has the gospel of Jesus Christ and according to St. Paul that system, that gospel is the perfect law of liberty, more perfect than anything else that has ever been devised, and I am thankful for that. I am grateful for this nation, for the privilege of living in this great nation, and that we are a part of it where there is more liberty for, and a better understanding of, human rights, and more of the respectful deference and tolerance for the views of others, religious Views, views of different questions, more of tolerance I say, in this nation than in any other nation under the sun. ¶

If you do not believe that, go and live awhile in the South American countries, or go down to Mexico, our neighbor on the south, or anywhere in Europe, Asia or Africa, anywhere outside of this nation, if you think you would be more contented than here, and you will come back and say, " This good old U. S. A., the United States of America, is the very best country, the very best nation, the very best people in all the world,"and I am thankful that I am a partaker of it. ¶

This Church in its beneficence, in its helpfulness, goes far in its missionary activities, and the sacrifices that are made in that connection stamp the people with having done and trying to do better, and more in helping others and extending these principles, these blessings of liberty, than any other people in all the world. The missionaryactivities are not only to our own race, the white race, but we have gone to the islands of the sea. This Church established, many years ago, on the Hawaiian Islands, schools, educational helps, teaching the people also how to work, how to live, how to establish themselves and be independent, and to practice the principles of righteousness and liberty and thrift which the gospel inculcates. The Church has sent tens of thousands of dollars there, helping those poor people, during the many years that have passed; has done it recently and is doing it now, during this administration of President Grant. ¶

Then again, down in New Zealand, the Church has established there an agricultural college to help the Maori people. Of the tithes, the means that you have contributed, money has been sent down there to help those people, to educate them, to teach them the way of life and to help them in many ways, which have been a blessing to them. So also in Samoa. So with the Indians, up here in Washakie. The Church has spent a considerable amount of money to help the Indians there, to teach them and to be a blessing to them -- a few of the Papago Indians down in Arizona also; a few down here at Cedar City and a few elsewhere who live around us. The Church has always been and is now helping in all these different directions, and it is a good work, a commendable work. I wanted to make a note of these items so that you may know, my brethren and sisters, how the means that you contribute to the Church are used. You have heard from the President how practically all the means contributed have been sent back to the people for schools, educational purposes, for the building of churches, for the operation and maintenance of church activities. Practically all of the tithes have been sent back to the people in the wards, in the stakes, for temples, for hospitals and in all these activities which are good, which are commendable and which are a blessing to the people. We should try to do a little more than we are doing, if we have, and we do have, the best principles to govern us, laid down by the Lord Almighty; we have a knowledge that he established his work and that he raised up wise men, as he says in one of the revelations, for the very purpose of establishing the Constitution of this land, this law of liberty and tolerance that we are enjoying and being blessed with. Having that, then, there should be further evidence to show that we have the gospel. I ought to be a better citizen in consequence of the religion of Jesus Christ, this perfect law of liberty, than I could be without this gospel. It certainly does not make me a worse citizen, more narrow or bigoted; but it enlarges my soul; it makes me tolerant; it makes me helpful; it makes me kind to my neighbor; it enjoins upon me all the duties of helpfulness and righteousness that pertain to the gospel of Jesus Christ; so that I should be better as a citizen, in a civil sense. My home should look as nice as the home of anybody else, and as good as my circumstances will permit. My fence should be kept up nicely; my surroundings should be clean; my home should be clean. Cleanliness is next to godliness. In fact, I think you will never get any great amount of godliness till you first get cleanliness. So our places, our homes, our gardens, all that we have, should be just a little better in consequence of the gospel. Our taxes should be spent more carefully than any other people spend taxes. We should be able to invite people to settle among us in consequence of low taxes and good orderly government, in comparison with others. So I say improve your homes, brethren and sisters, improve your fields, improve your stock. Clean up, plant trees, beautify Zion, make the desert as a garden, and the wilderness to blossom as the rose. In the old scriptures the Lord said he "will make the wilderness like Eden, and the desert like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving and the voice of melody." The voice of song and melody should be extended also, and all that is good and all that is great, all that pleases mankind we should try to do, and the knowledge of God will be extended. We have heard repeatedly, and we will always hear it, for it is the mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to make known the story of Jesus and him crucified. Just ¶

what he is, just what he stood for -- that will always be the great endeavor and the great part of the mission of this Church; after we are all gone, it will still be going on. ¶

But in all of the little things of life we should be just a little better, a little more kind as husband and father, a little more courteous, a little more polite. Do we exemplify that in our lives, in our families? Are husbands -- these husbands that I see by the thousands before me -- are we just as good to our wives as we could be and should be? You know if you are invited out to a dinner party, it is quite customary, quite the proper thing, and a very genteel thing too, to say: " We have had an excellent dinner. It was very fine. I have enjoyed it immensely." Did you ever say that to your wife -- do you, husbands? She has cooked for you many a good dinner. Did you ever say: " Wife, that is a fine dinner. That is just as good as anybody can cook." No; if she said: " Well, John, husband -- how did you like your dinner?"" Why, it was all right, wasn't it? I didn't see anything wrong with it." It would be so unusual to get a word of courtesy and compliment from the husband to the wife. I recall a line or two of Burns on this subject: ¶

" Ah! gentle dames, it gars me greet, [it makes me cry] To think how monie counsels sweet, How monie lengthen'd, sage advices The husband frae the wife despises!" ¶

And it is often so. Of course, the counsel, good as it is, can be too lengthened. You sisters ought to remember that, too, not to make your advice and counsel so everlastingly long. Be tolerant and improve in that. " How many lengthened, sage advices the husband from the wife despises." Well now, we can be courteous with our children, and kind; we can teach them politeness -- these little civilities, these little things after all distinguish between the savage and the civilized. That is all they are, decent civilities, politeness, courtesy, a little attention. How many husbands help their wives as they should? ¶

I stood at my window, only the other day, and watched a couple going down the street -- a big, strong young fellow and his wife, a beautiful woman, tagging behind him. I thought, " They are married, all right." If he had not been, why he would have had hold of her arm. showing her a little attention and courtesy, and I felt like I would like to go out there and kick that fellow. She was good looking, too. That made me dislike him more. But after all. brethren and sisters, these kindnesses, these attentions are what make people better. Why, that man and woman put me in mind of the Indian with his squaw, she walking behind, tagging behind. She was not carrying any load. If they had had a baby, she would probably have been carrying the baby in her arms and he would have carried the door key. That is the kind of courtesy that was shown. ¶

Now, plant trees, take care of your farms, save your means. ¶

We are living in an extravagant age. Don't you know that there are very few people nowadays who know how to save a dollar. We know how to spend it galore; but to save it, to practice self-denial and say, " No, I can get along without that,"we cannot do it, seemingly, any more. We just have to spend and spend. Now let me put this into your mind, brethren and sisters, you can always spend your money tomorrow; don't forget that. It will be good tomorrow. Keep it in your pocket today and then wait until tomorrow again. You can always spend your money tomorrow; practice many other good qualities which make for independence and well-being and which will deliver us from so much trouble; that which helps to keep us out of debt. Get out of debt and keep out of debt. Cultivate your farms; stay with your farms; make one acre produce what two are now producing -- it can be done as a general rule. Why not do it; why not show to all the world that by our very surroundings, here are " Mormon"settlements, the best in the land. I remember the first time I went up into Canada. We rode through those endless miles of plains and not a tree, Presently we came in sight of some trees growing away up in the country there, and I said: There is civilization; there is a " Mormon"settlement, because it was different. There were settlements straggling here and there all along, but no trees. But when we came to the " Mormon"settlement there were trees, there were evidences of something more, something better than other people had. ¶

So in all of our surroundings and all that we have to do and to do with, we ought to practice those principles which the gospel teaches. And as President Grant emphasized yesterday, walk in obedience to the commandments. That is repeated all the way through, in almost every revelation given to the Prophet Joseph Smith. In the revelation on the Word of Wisdom we are commanded to abstain from this and abstain from the other; if you do all these things and walk in obedience to the commandments as well, blessings are promised. Now walking in obedience to the commandments of the Lord, we ought to do all these little things, for they are commandments. I am commanded by those who have presided over me to get out of debt, to pay up my debts when I can, and as soon as I can; to keep out of debt, to practice every virtue -- be honest, be true, be faithful, be courteous, be tolerant, be all that makes for the best citizenship in all the world. That is what should distinguish us from the world. The Savior said in his time: If you give merely to your sisters and your cousins and your aunts, (he did not use that phrase but that is undoubtedly what it amounted to) do not even the Publicans so? What better are you than they? ¶

We ought to be better, having the best government that there is, I mean Church government, which supplements, adds to and enhances and glorifies the civil government, good as it is, the Church government is still better. For as St. Paul said, " It is the perfect ¶

law of liberty." Having that, ought we not to show it in all our surroundings, in all our walks of life, in everything pertaining to us in our civil government with which we have to do -- in treatment of our brethren and sisters, settling our difficulties one with another, in all things that make us better and more civilized, more polite, more generous, more big-hearted, more unselfish in all things; to build up the kingdom, to glorify our God and make us different, a little different from most other people. If the gospel does not do that, then it has failed with us. I say that it does accomplish these things. If you do not think there is a difference between the people here of this section and other peoples abroad, you just go and live abroad six months, anywhere outside of the confines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: you will find a difference. There is a power of godliness here that cannot be found anywhere else in the world, and I testify to it. The revelation to the Prophet Joseph, I think it is in the 84th section of the Doctrine and Covenants, says this, that with this Priesthood which he has given to this Church, the power of Godliness is manifest, and further, without this Priesthood and the ordinances of the gospel, the power of godliness is not manifest to men in the flesh, anywhere, at any time. Now having that influence and power, we know, my brethren and sisters, that it will make us better and that we are a little different in so many ways. It was pointed out to us yesterday that there is a brotherhood and a fellowship and an interest, an unselfish interest in people, more than most peoples have. ¶

I see that my time has expired. The Lord bless you, my brethren and sisters, and bless this work. I testify to you, once again, that it is God's work. I believe most thoroughly, completely, and potently in the fact that the Lord Most High and his Son Jesus Christ did appear and teach and instruct Joseph Smith the boy prophet. I believe it as powerfully as if I had seen it with my own eyes; and that the angel Moroni did come and instruct Joseph Smith and reveal the Book of Mormon, and that that book was translated by the gift and power of God. I believe it as potently as if that angel himself had talked to me. I do not see how I could believe it any more if I had the ocular evidence. I know it is true, I feel it in my soul. God bless you, bless this Church, bless these servants of his who labor all the day long for your benefit and for the benefiting of the Church, and for the glorifying of the name of our God in the earth, I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. ¶