My brethren and sisters: I do not suppose

My brethren and sisters: I do not suppose that I shall again have the same peculiar feeling that I had when my name was announced in the conference this morning, as a speaker for this afternoon's session. It was a feeling of great fear, and yet into my heart came a desire to perform the mission that the president of the Church had called me to perform. I came into this building with the same fear — a fear of you and a fear of myself, but as I heard you sing that wonderful song, "Redeemer of Israel, our only delight," the fear of you left me, because I knew that I should have the privilege of talking to men and women who had in their hearts a testimony of the gospel, and that when the spirit of that testimony was upon them, who had time and again borne testimony to the fact that they knew God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God, that Joseph Smith was a prophet of the true and living God, and that notwithstanding their many weaknesses, God had blessed them. I knew that I would have the privilege of talking to men and women who, in their hours of trial, had called into their homes the bishop of their ward, the president of their stake, who had been with them, who had laid hands upon the heads of their loved ones and to their loved ones had come health and strength, and into their hearts had come the peace of the gospel, and my fear of you had left me entirely, though for myself it still remains, that I might not have the ability, the power to make the contact with the Spirit of our Father in heaven that might leave a message with you today. May I not ask that the few moments I stand before you that you offer a silent prayer in my behalf, that God may give me the power to say something that you may carry home, that will make you a little better, make you a little happier, that will give us a little more power that we may perform the mission to which God has called us, and also that he will give to you an understanding heart, that what I say may find lodgment therein? ¶

I know, brethren and sisters, beyond the shadow of doubt, that there is in this gospel of Jesus Christ a power beyond the power of men, that will take men and women of mediocre ability and raise them up and magnify them so that they may perform a wonderful service to which they have been called by God, so that they may perform the service of representing our Father in heaven upon this earth, so that they may come to the people and convey to them, under the authority of God, the power of the Priesthood, that they may be changed in their minds, so that the Spirit of God may actuate them, may impel them forward to do the thing that God would have them do. ¶

I think there is one principle of the gospel that is more important, probably, than all else, and it is that of which I wanted to speak this afternoon. It is this principle announced by our Savior, through Joseph Smith, that we should be one, and if we are not one, we are not his. ¶

The question has often come to me, "How may we be one?" It has come to you, too, I know. Some of our brethren and sisters think that it is to carry out their own particular ideas, their own views, and a few have gotten together and tried to carry them out. I do not believe that it is true. I believe that when the Lord said we should be one, he meant that we should be one with those who preside over us, be one with the prophet of God. Is not that true? The Lord has said some marvelous and wonderful things for the blessing of those who would be in harmony with those whom he calls to leadership. In the matter of priesthood, he says, in the 84th section of the Doctrine and Covenants : ¶

"For whoso is faithful unto the obtaining these two priesthoods of which I have spoken, and the magnifying their calling, are sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies. ¶

"They become the sons of Moses and of Aaron and the seed of Abraham, and the church and kingdom, and the elect of God. ¶

"And also all they who receive this priesthood receive me, saith the Lord ; ¶

"For he that receiveth me receiveth my Father ; ¶

"And he that receiveth my Father receiveth my Father's kingdom; therefore all that my Father hath shall be given unto him." ¶

How could that be possible, that all the Father hath should be given unto them? And to make it sure. ¶

"This is according to the oath and covenants, which belongeth to the priesthood, * * * which he cannot break, neither can it be moved. * *" ¶

And I have often wondered how it could be, how I could be one with God, how we could be one with God. And a testimony of it came to me. We shall never have the authority of God ; he will always preside. We brethren who have received the Priesthood have received authority to act in the name of God, and to the extent of that authority we may act, and any act we perform in righteousness under that authority is a binding act and God will recognize it. But there needs to come something else into our lives, and that is, if we would be one with God, if we would have the power of God, we must exercise that Priesthood, must magnify it by our lives, by our clean living, and by our service. ¶

It is a wonderful testimony borne to you by Brother Junius F. Wells, who received the spirit of his calling and was the means in the hands of God of establishing our wonderful Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association. ¶

Now, my brethren and sisters, the Lord has said that the time would come that those who would not receive the servants of the Lord, nor hear the words of the prophets and apostles, and the servants of the Lord, should be cut off from among the people. The prophet Mormon bore that testimony but he said some other marvelous things. There is one marvelous promise, with which I am going to close, after warning you, if I may, against those who would come into your lives and sow the seeds of discord and put a bar between you and the men whom God has called to lead this Church ; between you and the bishop of your ward, or the ward teachers, or the president of the stake, or the president of the Church. I would warn you that those men and women who would do this are not actuated with the spirit of God but by the spirit of evil. I will read to you what the Lord says in regard to that in the 121st section of the Doctrine and Covenants : ¶

"Cursed are all those that shall lift up the heel against mine anointed, saith the Lord, and cry they have sinned when they have not sinned before me, saith the Lord, but have done that which was meet in mine eyes, and which I commanded them. ¶

"But those who cry transgression do it because they are the servants of sin, and are the children of disobedience themselves. ¶

"And those who swear falsely against my servants, that they might bring them into bondage and death — ¶

"Wo unto them ; because they have offended my little ones they shall be severed from the ordinances of mine house. ¶

"Their basket shall not be full, their houses and their barns shall perish, and they themselves shall be despised by those that flattered them." ¶

Let me read again : ¶

"But those who cry transgression do it because they are the servants of sin, and are the children of disobedience themselves." ¶

Do not permit it. As you love your lives, your salvation, the salvation of your boys and girls, brethren and sisters, never let a word be said in your house or hearing against the constituted servants of the Lord, because I tell you, when they go out of the way, the Lord himself will remove them, that his people will not be deceived. But there is one thing, brethren and sisters, that you can do, and it will make a tie between yourselves and our Father in heaven, between your children and our Father in heaven that can never be broken — they may drift one way or another, but ultimately they will come back and receive the blessings of the gospel — and that is the thing that the Lord has revealed in the 21st section of the Doctrine and Covenants, in which he said: ¶

"Wherefore, meaning the Church, thou shalt give heed unto all his [speaking of the president of the Church] words and commandments which he shall give unto you as he receiveth them, walking in all holiness before me ; ¶

"For his word ye shall receive, as if from mine own mouth, in all patience and faith." ¶

Here is the most wonderful promise, one which would make this gospel an absolutely vital force in your lives : ¶

"For by doing these things the gates of hell shall not prevail against you ; yea, and the Lord God will disperse the powers of darkness from before you, and cause the heavens to shake for your good, and his name's glory." ¶

I want to leave with you my testimony, my brethren and sisters, that I do know beyond the shadow of a doubt that God does operate through these men whom he has called to lead in Israel. You may go to your bishop with any problem, and if you will act on his advice given you as you go prayerfully to receive it, you may know it is the word of God to you. You may go to the president of the stake and president of the Church in their proper order, and receive that same blessing. I do know that President Heber J. Grant is the prophet of God, and is actuated by the power of God, and the counsel he gives us in these conferences is the word of God, the living scripture to us, and if we obey it, we and our families may return to the presence of God and receive those blessings that are ours. May this be the lot of all of us, I ask, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶