Remarks

In this exalted position, being honored to stand before this magnificent congregation, I hope to voice the sentiments of my heart in the testimony which I hope to bear to you today. ¶

The gospel is true. God has indeed spoken from the heavens and called into being the power that has resulted in the organization of this great people constituting the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. ¶

" Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. " He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; and he that believeth not shall be damned,"or condemned. ¶

Time since the organization of the Church has proved this great fact, that the majority of mankind are not prepared or preparing themselves to receive the word of the Lord. Nearly one hundred years have passed since the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and yet among the eighteen hundred millions, or two thousand millions of peoples of the earth, the true Church, as we view it and testify for it, has only about a half million members, proving beyond a question of a doubt that the great majority of mankind has something to attract their attention besides their soul's salvation. Rather than contemplate the future and prepare for future life, it would seem that the large majority of the people of the earth are preparing for social and pleasant enjoyment of the present day, giving to themselves all the pleasures of life that they can gather, and seemingly not impressed at all with the great future and the great reward that will come to those who serve the Lord and keep his commandments. ¶

I am very glad to stand here today and look over this great congregation, this large Tabernacle filled to its capacity; and seemingly every face, so far as I can observe, is anxiously turned this way. ¶

Every person seems devoted and determined to hear the words that are spoken by the servants of the Lord. ¶

This is a day of prosperity for the Latter-day Saints. We are in the midst of a very prosperous season. The years that have gone since the great World War terminated have marked this nation of ours with wonderful, I might almost say supreme, prosperity. The earth has brought forth in its strength all the necessaries of life, and the luxuries; while there are, as we know, nations on the continents of Europe, Asia and Africa, that are suffering with hunger, and in the colder climates with cold, for want of proper clothing; and yet this nation of ours prospers, as it is being well supplied with the food crops necessary for prolongation of life, with health and means for sufficient clothing, and the comforts of home. While this is evidenced here, it is also made plain to us that there is plenty of room for the disposition of wealth and comforts of life to those starving millions on the other side of the ocean; and I believe that there has no other nation responded so readily to those calls of necessity by the agencies that have been established, there is no other nation, so far as I know, that has stood so loyally and so promptly in the gap to help to sustain life in the midst of these suffering nations, and for the prompt reply, favorably, to the calls that have been made, from time to time, by these nations. I believe that for this reason we are thus blessed and prospered today. For we have not refused, but have always sent, and given largely, and many times in excess of all demands. At least there is a united purpose in the midst of our nation, seeking to relieve the sufferings of those who are hungry and cold. ¶

When the Church was organized, on the 6th day of April, -- by the by, this is the 6th of April, the 94th anniversary -- there was considerable disturbance in the minds of religious peoples, and from those very religious or social gatherings came largely the opposition to the Prophet Joseph Smith and to his calling and position as a Prophet of the Lord. Thus the gospel of Jesus Christ has been compelled, through those recognized servants of the Lord, to fight its way through, and by and by, from the time of its organization, I suppose, with the hope of some day living in peace with our neighbors. That day seems to have dawned. We are in peaceful relationship with our neighbors, and with everybody, so far as we can get into their circles with the gospel truths. Never before, I believe, have we had such splendid ministrations in our great missions, I mean as to competent elders and competent missionaries of both sexes; and today we rejoice in the testimonies of the brethren who are at the head of these missions of the Church. They believe that they are making progress in every department of the work, and I am glad to hear the testimonies of my brethren from this stand, for they all bespeak a characteristic of perfect faith and knowledge in the outcome of this work, in its being superior to any other religious work that is now being established. From the President of the Church to the least and ¶

last member, each of those occupying a lesser position, as they have testified here during this conference, and as they will continue to do until it is closed, we hear nothing but what is prompted by the spirit of the Lord, by the testimony of a faithful Latter-day Saint. In each and every case, nothing but the free spirit of progress has been expressed here, and nothing but pure testimonies of the gospel of Jesus Christ have been heard from the lips of the speakers. ¶

Today will probably see the sustaining vote of the congregation, as they are called to vote for the officers of the Church. I do not believe, with the circumstances with which we are surrounded, and the spirit of this great congregation, that there will be one dissenting vote or one contrary to sustaining the authorities of the Church, when the vote shall be taken sometime during the day. ¶

I am glad to be associated with the Latter-day Saints. I began my experience at one year of age, at which time I went through the experience of the massacre at Haun's Mill. I attended a fair in one of the nearby cities a year or two ago, and I saw within the gates of the fair grounds a stone, an old-fashioned burr stone, as we used to call them, for grinding grain. You know it speaks in the Scriptures of the upper and nether mill-stone. And one of these stones, it was stated on a placard, was taken from the old well where twenty " Mormons"were buried after a battle with the citizens of the surrounding country. I said to the people standing by: " That does not tell the truth. It was not a battle, it was a bloody massacre of innocent men who had no means of defense." And, by the by, the toll exacted at that massacre was the largest of any at any one time that had ever been taken from the Church. The deaths amounted to about twenty-two persons, all males, however. There was one female, I think, wounded accidentally but not seriously. The people who came to distress that little band or colony of " Mormons"seemed to shun the idea of killing women and children, and devoted their entire strength to the destruction of the men. Eighty-five years have passed since that massacre, and I would like very much to see a very well-marked stone at the place where the massacre occurred -- not costly, but merely, a mark that will remain for future generations to see. ¶

I rejoice today in the testimonies which I have heard. I testify to you that the gospel is true. I know that God lives and that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. I know as well as I know that I live that Joseph Smith was indeed a prophet of God, and those brethren who have succeeded him, commencing with President Brigham Young, including President John Taylor, including President Wilford Woodruff, including President Lorenzo Snow, including President Joseph F. Smith, and now our beloved President Heber J. Grant, are men called to that high position which they occupied and do occupy, by the inspiration of the Spirit of God, and under the direction of that power and that Spirit, they have led and guided the people; and the conditions with which we are surrounded today proclaim to me ¶

in the most satisfactory manner that the people generally, the majority of the Latter-day Saints, are striving with might, mind and strength, from the President down to the least and last member, to know the mind and will of the Lord and to keep his commandments. The prosperity which we experience today, the plenty with which we are surrounded, and the testimonies of the people who do not belong to the Church, all are convincing arguments to remind us that the Lord is blessing his people more abundantly today than ever before, and the testimonies of the brethren seem to be brighter and clearer than ever before, bringing to my mind and to my great satisfaction, that we are lovers of God more than lovers of pleasure, and that we are trying to fulfil the measure of those two great commandments given to us by. the Savior of the world: " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind * * * * and thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." ¶

I pray the Lord to bless the Latter-day Saints. Bless their labors and inspire them in the future as in the past. Give them joy in their labors, because of the earnestness of endeavor that the people are making to serve the Lord and keep his commandments. God bless the Presidency of the Church, and every responsible leader, and all the people, I pray, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen. ¶