Remarks

The last congregational hymn that we sang brought to my mind great events in the life of our Redeemer and events dealing with the last week of his ministry when, after having partaken of the usual passover feast and before his departure for the Garden of Gethsemane, he instituted the Sacrament, which we call the Lord's Supper. "Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body." (Matthew 26:26.) And after each disciple had partaken of this bread, "He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood." (Matthew 26:27, 28.) And he told them that as often as they should meet together they should do this in remembrance of him. Our Savior left no Church ritual, nor did he outline in detail the proceedings that his followers should adopt for their meetings. He gave them no sermon and no form of worship distinctive from that which they had been accustomed to in the synagogues; but he did leave that one definite thought: that as often as they should meet together they should partake of the bread and wine in remembrance of his body and blood and of his death and sufferings, and this they should do until he should come again. ¶

I wonder why it is that, with such definite instructions from our Lord and Master the day before he was crucified, these words have not so sunk into the hearts of Latter-day Saints that they should feel afraid to neglect the Sacramental service. I believe it is one of the most solemn occasions in the Church, the time when a Latter-day Saint sits in silence in a place of worship and partakes of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper. ¶

It has been my privilege to visit several of the stakes of Zion recently and to see the marvelous development of the Priesthood work of the Church. I have listened to powerful testimonies of men and women concerning the authority of the holy Priesthood and the gifts and blessings that have come to those who hold it, through obedience to the gospel. I have listened to some wonderful singing by quorums of the Priesthood and other organizations -- young men and boys. It has made me happy because I believe that in song we may worship the Lord, for he has said that the song of the righteous is a prayer unto him, and he will answer with blessings upon our heads. ¶

In one stake of Zion the presidency of the stake announced that they had decided to call upon every active and useful member holding the Melchizedek Priesthood to aid the bishoprics; each one of these persons to have assigned to him some neglectful or indifferent boy, over whom he will watch and teach the gospel and try to implant in his heart the love of the work of the Lord and a deeper appreciation for the blessings and opportunities that come to him. And he will be taken care of by this older and more experienced man until the boy can practically walk alone. ¶

What a wonderful possibility this thought opens to our minds. Take into consideration those who hold presiding positions in the stake alone and consider the bishoprics alone. If each of these brethren would take upon himself to be a brother's keeper to one of these indifferent boys for a year and see that these boys are trained and directed in the right manner, think of the good that would result. There are in the stakes of Zion 282 brethren holding the office of presidency; there are 94 stake clerks; there are 1,400 high councilors and alternates; 200 patriarchs; in the neighborhood of 1,500 holding offices as presidencies of councils of seventies; 500 quorums of elders, each quorum presided over by three men, making 1,500 men; then there are nearly 3,000 bishops and counselors. If each of these brethren made it his duty to take charge of one wayward or neglectful boy, thousands of young men would be on the road to improved conditions and would be diverted from paths of waywardness and neglect to a better understanding and appreciation of the gospel. ¶

Tithing matters have been touched by our President, and incidentally by two or three other speakers. We have recently had a tithing settlement, and the tithes of the Church have materially increased. Crops in most districts have been bountiful, and some of our brethren have been blessed with larger incomes, as a result of the high prices obtaining for certain products. The Lord has blessed this land, and he has done so because it is occupied by his people. As we pay our tithes and offerings gladly and willingly, as a part of our service to the Lord, so will he bless this land. What was once a barren waste is now a marvel to those who travel through this country. ¶

No doubt, during this tithing settlement that has recently passed, many of our brethren and sisters went happily and gladly to their bishoprics, who are common judges in Israel, and were pleased to tell these good men that they had fully observed the law of tithing. Every person is happy when he fulfils the law of the gospel. Others, no doubt, went to the tithing settlement feeling more or less conscience-stricken, and made resolves for the future, that they would more diligently observe this important law and would try to pay their tithes and offerings in the season thereof. ¶

I appeal to my brethren and sisters not to leave the settlement of their tithing until the end of the year. I firmly believe in the idea of paying tithing each month. Every Latter-day Saint who earns something, whether he be old or young, rich or poor, should sit down with his conscience on or about the last day of the month and find out what the Lord has given him, and tithe it there and then. So many of our people get into the habit of leaving the payment of tithing until the end of the year, feeling that the next month they will be better off. The end of the year creeps along, settlement comes, and then instead of seeing how much we owe the Lord and paying it gladly, there is a tendency to see how little we can get off with and ease our consciences. ¶

Tithing is a fundamental principle of the gospel of Jesus Christ. To those who observe it fully there comes a deeper love of the gospel. It is just as essential to our growth and development in this Church as are repentance, baptism, or any other fundamental laws. It will develop in men and women a deeper devotion to the truth and greater willingness to serve their fellowmen; and, above all, it will increase their testimony of the gospel. ¶

I picked up an old Journal of Discourses a few days ago. It was forty years old. I opened it casually and found there a very fine discourse given in Provo, in 1855, by Brother Franklin D. Richards, in which he urged obedience to the principle of tithing. He said: "In the receipt which the Prophet Joseph Smith gave to me in Nauvoo, signed by himself and the tithing clerk, he stated that having paid my tithing in full to date, I was entitled to the benefits of the baptismal font, which had just been dedicated in the basement of the temple." So, evidently in those days it was understood that those who paid their tithing in full had the privilege of the House of the Lord. Twenty years later President Joseph F. Smith, from this very pulpit, spoke these words: ¶

"By the principle of tithing the loyalty of the people of this Church shall be put to the test. By this principle it shall be known who is for the kingdom of God and who is against it. By this principle it shall be seen whose hearts are set on doing the will of God and keeping his commandments, thereby sanctifying the land of Zion unto God; and who are opposed to this principle and have cut themselves off from the blessings of Zion. There is a great deal of importance connected with this principle, for by it it shall be known whether we are faithful or unfaithful. In this respect it is as essential as faith in God, as repentance of sin, as baptism for the remission of sin, or as the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost." ¶

After all, we are creatures of habits. The habits formed in our childhood stay with us throughout life. Every boy and girl, for this reason, should be taught the principle of tithing and should be urged to tithe all that comes to them, and fathers and mothers should see that their children have something to tithe. At one time I was out with Elder Stephen L. Richards, at a stake conference, and he expressed the thought that every member of the Church should see if the Lord has given him something, and if so, should tithe it in the month in which it was received. He recommended that fathers and mothers encourage boys and girls to tithe even their spending money, not because it has not already been tithed, but to develop the habit of paying tithes and offerings as children, so that when these children become grown the habit will have been formed. ¶

I am glad that I am a Latter-day Saint, thankful to my heavenly Father that I heard the gospel, thankful to be associated with my brethren and sisters in the work of the Lord. I have been blessed with a testimony that this is God's work; that it is the power of God unto salvation; that the holy Priesthood is the agency by which he operates in this Church through those who have received the gospel; and I pray that the Spirit of the Lord and the blessings of the gospel may be upon all of us, which I ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶