Remarks

My brethren and sisters: I am glad to meet here with you in conference. This is the first time in my life I have stood here and spoken to an audience. In my childhood I understood nothing of the services of this people. I had seen them going to Church. Not until I yielded obedience unto the word of God and accepted the ordinances of the gospel did I know what they were doing. Since I have accepted this gospel I have felt to be a friend to this people, and I have no desire to kill, or to do anything wrong that would displease the Spirit of the Lord. ¶

I believe the Lord is in existence. In my younger days I was sent with others to this country towards the west in search of a Great Spirit. But I have found that the Spirit of the Lord is among this people. While in search of that Great Spirit, the company of Indians traveled by foot day and night, and endured hardships, hunger and thirst. When we did reach our destination in the west, we found it was the elders of this Church, and we were baptized by those elders. Since I have been baptized and accepted this gospel I feel to live it to the best of my ability. And it encourages us one and all to live sacred lives before the Lord and keep his commandments, as we have been instructed during this conference. ¶

I look upon these men sitting here the same as I look upon our heavenly Father. I want to be obedient unto them and their teachings. Upon one occasion in my life I was very sick and my spirit left my body and went to my Creator, and the Creator would not accept my spirit, but it was sent back to my body. And now I testify that I am a living witness to this thing. I rejoice in the work that I have accomplished in this Church, the acceptance of the ordinances of the gospel, the performance of the same in my own behalf and the work that I have accomplished in behalf of my dead kindred. ¶

I feel that the earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof is his, and we are his children and are placed here to obey him. Everything that we receive from this earth in the shape of grain, I feel is a blessing from the Lord unto us, and that we should consider it such, and thank the Lord for these blessings. I want to encourage you to be faithful and serve the Lord and keep his commandments. You people have the advantage of me. You can read the word of God from the scriptures and can store it up in your minds and prepare yourselves to live it. I, being unable to read, have to get my instructions from my bishop and remember them, and whenever he calls upon me I depend upon the Lord to bless me with his Spirit to bring to my mind the things I should say. I am in this position this morning, called unexpectedly to stand here before you, and I have expressed the few things that I have spoken under the direction of the Spirit of the Lord. ¶