I assure you, my brethren and sisters, it is a pleasure

Of the Presiding Bishopric ¶

I assure you, my brethren and sisters, it is a pleasure for me to be with you this morning. I regret that we can not be in the Tabernacle where we could listen to the opening address of our President, for no doubt we shall miss something through not having that privilege; yet I am sure that if we have faith, desiring the blessings of the Lord, we shall be blessed with his Spirit and shall have a time of rejoicing here. ¶

As I looked upon the great throng as they were making their way early this morning to find seats in the Tabernacle or in this building, I remarked to Bishop Cannon that they were showing their faith by their works. The fact that so many will come out in a rain storm such as we have this morning, making the atmosphere so disagreeable, shows that these people here hope to be fed the bread of life; and I sincerely pray that those who are assembled will not go away hungry, and that the Lord will bless me while I address you and will give me strength and wisdom to speak to you words of truth and encouragement. We have all, no doubt, discovered that there is always more to be gained through personal contact with the speaker than through reading his addresses alone, for personal contact enables us to catch the spirit of the remarks better than can be done through the written word. This may explain why so many are willing to face wind and rain to be where they can hear the words of those whom God has chosen and whom we sustain as our leaders, for they are anxious to receive that spiritual food which comes to those who attend such gatherings, hungry for spiritual food. Each individual may test for himself the Savior's words: "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled." What a wonderful privilege it is to partake of this spiritual uplift which brings us together in one great cause! ¶

I found an interesting example of this during the latter part of July. I was called, by the First Presidency of the Church, to take charge of an excursion of the Salt Lake Tabernacle Choir to California. It was a pleasure to accompany them and help to look after them, although a strenuous undertaking. The Choir train carried more than three hundred fifty people, two hundred fifty of whom were choir members. They gave nine concerts in ten days and traveled every night but one. During the trip each member seemed to have a desire to make the most favorable impression upon the people, both in their singing and in their conduct, which was above criticism. Through the help of President McCune, of the Los Angeles stake, and his associates, President McMurrin, of the California mission, and the missionaries laboring under him, we were received cordially and had full houses wherever concerts were given. This enabled us to return home, having paid our expenses through the receipts from these concerts and from others given at home prior to our departure. ¶

On the way, and before we entered the city of Sacramento, an official of the Chamber of Commerce of that city boarded the train, and, coming to the car where I was, he said, "Bishop Smith, I have come up here because I desire to talk to you concerning matters which we consider important and I knew I could not have much of your time when you arrive in Sacramento. It is my business to look after the Tourists' Department and the Colonization Department of the Sacramento Chamber of Commerce and the development of the Sacramento Valley. After studying the situation carefully, we have decided to request that your Church give us a stake organization in this district." I asked him whether or not he was a member of the Church, although I did not think he was, for when he boarded the train he was smoking a cigar. He answered, "No, I am not a member of the Church." Then I asked, "What do you know about a stake organization?" His answer was, "I know that it is impossible to get your people to gather in one place in any great numbers unless they have an organization to keep them at work and supply their spiritual needs, and we want to fill this valley with Latter-day Saints. ¶

"Years ago," he said, "settlers in this valley started to get the water out upon the land. Among these settlers were a few 'Mormon' families. The first year these people failed, and their crops failed, and many of the settlers moved away. The next year they continued their work and planted their crops, but were not successful in getting sufficient water to save all of them, and still more of the people moved away. The 'Mormons' stayed and continued digging ditches to provide a means of getting water on to the land. They worked with one another and for one another, divided their substance, and helped one another in every way, that all might succeed. They showed none of the spirit of selfishness commonly found, and were filled with hope that they should eventually succeed and make prosperous homes for themselves. The next year they succeeded and put water on to the land, and their ground became productive, a garden spot in a desert; and those who had moved away, and others who had come in to look and see what had been done, were encouraged. Then men with money, seeing what had been accomplished, and having dreams of what might be accomplished, came in with their money, and the result is that the Sacramento Valley is today the best watered valley in California." ¶

I have not verified that statement, but the thing of interest to me is that this man and many others have discovered a principle that is a fundamental doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: That to succeed we must cooperate one with another, we must help one another, we must set aside all feeling of selfishness which is found in all the world in this day, and we must have an interest in our brother and render assistance to him whenever it is possible to do so, whether that assistance be temporal or spiritual; and this help should be rendered in the spirit of love and good fellowship, following the teachings of the Savior. This spirit must be manifest in great abundance before Zion can be finally redeemed, for Zion is to be redeemed only when the people keep the celestial law; and this is a state preparatory to the coming of our Lord and Savior to establish his kingdom in the earth. ¶

Down there in California men whose only interest is to make money, and who are seeking to bring settlers in upon their land, for the main purpose of bringing wealth to them and their communities, see a way of capitalizing this principle, a principle which I believe many Latter-day Saints have not fully discovered, although it is a dominating factor in their success. In order to succeed, we must have the spirit of this work, and when I say we must have the spirit of this work, I mean the God-given power of discernment which keeps before us the vision of eternal life; and unless we serve God we cannot possess this spirit, and the nearer we draw to him, the more this spirit is felt. Having discovered this, his servants find that strength that comes from personal contact with one another and through hearing the word. This is, no doubt, one reason why so many have gathered here today, in spite of the storm, to hear the word of the Lord. It is what causes them to stay where they can serve God as he has commanded them to do. One of the apostles of old has stated in I Corinthians 3:13-19: ¶

"Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire ; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. ¶

"If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. ¶

"If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. ¶

"Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? ¶

"If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. ¶

"Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. ¶

"For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness." ¶

We see how those Latter-day Saints in California referred to were tried, how their work was revealed, how their success came through the spirit of cooperation and unselfishness, just as the pioneers who settled this valley performed their work in unselfishness, and whose sufferings and hardships were tempered with songs of thanksgiving and praise to their God, for through their faith and their works they hoped to get a reward, perhaps not in this life, but surely in the life to come. ¶

Man may easily deceive himself, and say in his heart, "There is no God." He may see no injurious effects from contaminating his body through mental debauchery or physical contamination, and "Why should God interfere?" they may ask. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who have received the gift of the Holy Ghost, should have no trouble in answering these questions, for they believe their bodies to be the temples of the living God and that his Spirit dwells within only when that dwelling place is clean and made fit to house that spirit. ¶

We have recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants the revelation known as the Word of Wisdom. It was not given as a commandment or by constraint, "but by revelation and the word of wisdom, showing forth the order and will of God in the temporal salvation of all Saints in the last days — ¶

"Given for a principle with promise, adapted to the capacity of the weak and the weakest of all Saints, who are or can be called Saints." ¶

Since this time, it has been accepted as a revelation and made binding upon the Church. When first given, it seemed revolutionary in its nature, but now, after ninety-three years we find leaders in health movements and physical culturists advocating these principles. They mean more to us than to others, for they look only for physical strength to enable them to enjoy life. We add to that a desire to make of our bodies fit dwelling places for the Spirit of God which, when possessed, brings joy unmatched by physical strength alone. Time will not permit me to dwell at length on the many wonderful promises made in this revelation. I am, therefore, referring only to the use of tobacco and strong drinks : ¶

"Behold, verily, thus saith the Lord unto you: In consequence of evils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring men in the last days, I have warned you, and forewarn you, by giving unto you this word of wisdom by revelation — ¶

"That inasmuch as any man drinketh wine or strong drink among you, behold it is not good, neither meet in the sight of your Father, only in assembling yourselves together to offer up your sacraments before him. ¶

"And, behold, this should be wine, yea, pure wine of the grape of the vine of your own make. ¶

"And, again, strong drinks are not for the belly, but for the washing of your bodies. ¶

"And again, tobacco is not for the body, neither for the belly, and is not good for man, but is an herb for bruises and all sick cattle, to be used with judgment and skill." ¶

It may seem strange, but nevertheless is a fact, that men who use tobacco or liquor soon lose the spirit of Church work. Let me give you an example of what I mean: ¶

The other day I met a young man, a member of the Church who has filled a mission and who knows the doctrines of the Church, and who at one time was active in Church work. He had a cigar in his mouth, and I asked, "Aren't you ashamed of yourself?" He answered, "You don't know how good a cigar is after meals." And I answered, "You and the Lord for it. He says it is not good, and the fact that it is a filthy habit and what the Lord has said, would keep me from it, even though it did taste good." He answered, "This doesn't hurt anybody. It is jail nonsense to think tobacco hurts a person. I am just as strong physically today as I have ever been." I asked, "Are you, mentally?" He answered, "It has not hurt my mental condition a bit. I can carry on my business as well as ever I could." "How has it affected you spiritually?" "Well," he answered, "I don't think it has hurt me spiritually. I still have a testimony of the gospel." I asked him if he attended his meetings. "No," he answered. "Are you active in your Priesthood quorum?" He said he was not. "Do you pay your tithing?" "Well, I am not a full tithepayer; I pay a little once in a while." I said, "Now, honestly, do you ever do anything in the Church at all?" "No," he answered, "I must admit that I do not." "And why don't you?" After a moment's pause he answered "I don't know." I then quoted for him a part of the passage quoted above, and as he looked at me he said, "Well, I don't know. I have never looked at it in that way before." ¶

My mission calls me, as one of the presidency of the Aaronic priesthood, to study the conditions of the young men in the Church. I have seen them grow into manhood, become active in Church work; and I have seen some drift away and become inactive. In every case investigated — and I have studied many — the cause of their indifference has been traced to the use of tobacco; and I am satisfied that the use of tobacco or liquor will drive the Spirit of the Lord from a person and leave that person to grope in darkness. To partake of and enjoy the Spirit of the Lord and the blessings promised, we must keep the commandments and remember that every man's work shall be made manifest, for the day shall declare it because it shall be revealed by fire. ¶

I don't know that the Lord meant that he would destroy the body in the literal sense of destruction, although there is no sound argument that can be used to show that liquor and tobacco do not have an injurious effect upon the body. They are injurious not only to the physical body, but to the spiritual body as well. I have yet to find one person who has had the Priesthood of God conferred upon him who indulges in the use of tobacco and who insists upon continuing in this habit who has retained the Spirit of God and continued active in the Church. This is evidence to me that it destroys a man's usefulness and spirituality. ¶

I suggest that we give some little thought to this, that we may see for ourselves, not for the purpose of ridiculing our brethren who are so weak that they give themselves over to these filthy habits, but to encourage them and to strengthen ourselves, in order that we might see the dangers lurking in our midst and keep ourselves free from these dangers. Let us cultivate the Spirit of the Lord; let us cultivate that spirit of cooperation and love which the world has discovered exists in our midst, and let us go to those who are engaging in these pernicious practices and encourage them to clean themselves up, in order that they too may be fed spiritually and may partake of the blessings of God which he has promised. Do we truly believe that we are the children of God, created in his image, and that we are bought with a price, the price of the blood of our Redeemer shed for us? If so, let us glorify God in our bodies and in our spirits, which are God's. We should always be in possession of the Spirit of God and should give heed to its whisperings, for without that Spirit, we are told, we cannot know the things of God. His Only Begotten Son suffered and was crucified that we, as his children, might enter again into his presence and partake of his joys. He has provided different degrees of glory and has given us to understand that we are to inherit the degree we earn, through our faithfulness upon this earth, which we are told is a preparatory state. Being a kind and loving Father, he has given every opportunity for us to know of the things that we should know to prepare us for the glory in which he dwells. ¶

One of the ancient apostles has said: ¶

"But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. ¶

"Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. ¶

"For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. ¶

"For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." ¶

May we conduct our lives that we shall never grieve that Spirit or cause it to depart from us, but may we possess it always to guide us and help us in our efforts to serve God, is my prayer which I ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶