I have greatly rejoiced in the testimonies

I have greatly rejoiced in the testimonies and instructions we have received from our brethren, and in the excellent music which has been rendered here in this session of conference. Surely our hearts have been filled and we have rejoiced in the blessings of our heavenly Father. No greater work was ever undertaken than that of saving the souls of the children of men. No greater work has the Lord God of heaven ever undertaken than to save the souls of his children. It is the grandest, the greatest undertaking that ever has been inaugurated. Even he who fashioned the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are, has no greater work than that of saving his own children. We find that in the revelations of God given to the Prophet Joseph, as recorded in The Pearl of Great Price. Indeed, it is the writings of Moses, translated by the gift and power of God, through Joseph Smith the prophet, wherein he says, "This is my work and my glory, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." We may look out upon this great universe in which we live ; the planet on which we stand, the earth, is merely a little speck in that great universe ; yet, he it is who made that universe. And this earth upon which we stand, with all of its wonderful mechanism, with the wonderful revolutions which this earth makes upon its own axis, once in twenty-four hours, giving us day and night, and then upon its orbit around the sun in its allotted time of 365 days 5 hours 46 minutes and 48' seconds, year in and year out with mathematical precision ! What a wonderful thing it is ! The other planets make similar revolutions in their allotted times. And then again we look farther out into the universe and see those glittering stars, each one, as we are told by astronomers, is a blazing sun, having its own planetary system similar to the one of our own solar system. How marvelous is the work of God, all over this universe! ¶

Is there anything greater than the making of a universe? Yes, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of God's children. The worlds have been created to become the habitations of the children of God. Shall they be of greater consequence than the children of God themselves? Oh, no! The great work of God is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of his children. And it has been written that though a man shall labor his whole life and save but one soul, how great shall be his joy with that soul in the kingdom of our Father. These reflections ought to make us think seriously of this work of God, with which we are identified, and in which we should have our part, for he has invited us to have part with him in that great and glorious work. How great shall be our joy, or how great shall be the joy of those men and women who go out into the world, who leave their homes, their fathers and their mothers, their wives and their children, and all that they love and hold dear, and go out and devote years of their time in helping our Father in heaven to accomplish his great and glorious work of bringing his children to a knowledge of the truth, that they may have eternal life ! ¶

This gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ has within it the power of God unto salvation, it is working upon those who have embraced it, who have received it, and the result is that this people are the best people on all the face of the earth. It is working in their lives! They are learning how to do something for their fellow-men ; they are learning how to control themselves and to become better men and better women day by day. And as we come from week to week, partake of the emblems of our Lord's suffering, to our Sacramental meetings, and there with clean hands and pure hearts, we are indeed eating and drinking eternal life into our souls. Why? Because in doing so we are keeping this command of God and bearing witness that we do always remember Christ, who gave his life as a ransom for all mankind. But we must come to the table of the Lord in a repentant mood ; full of faith, manifesting our faith in him 'as the Savior of the world, for there is no other name given under heaven whereby men and women can be saved. ¶

I say that this gospel is working. It is sanctifying and purifying our hearts ; if we are living it, and practicing the principles of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, it is sanctifying our hearts, it is making us better men and better women than we were, we are growing in the knowledge of God and in good works day by day. That is the plan that the Almighty had, and he expects that his children shall derive the benefit if' they will only obey him. ¶

The saving of a human soul! What a great work it is. Even though that soul be only your own, what a great and glorious work it is, if you shall only succeed in that! ¶

What is a soul? You know .there are a great many peculiar ideas in the world regarding what a soul is. Men have an idea that it is something fluttering around on the inside of this anatomy, and they call it a soul. Contrast their vague conception of that soul with the clear, concise definition that was given to the prophet Joseph in that glorious revelation known to us as Section 88, in the Doctrine and Covenants, "And the spirit and the body are the soul of man." Our spirits which came from God, begotten of him in the eternal worlds, and for which this world was created, and our bodies that we obtained in coming here, constitute our souls. The spirit, dwelling in this body, animating it and making it alive, is a child of God. ¶

There are many things to accomplish in bringing to pass the soul's immortality and its eternal life, but before it can ever enter into the presence of God it will have to be sanctified from all unrighteousness, for no unclean thing can enter there. And so we read in that same section of the Doctrine and Covenants, "And the resurrection of the dead is the redemption of the soul." The spirit and this body, in conjunction, make a human soul. After a while they separate and the spirit will go back to God, whence it came, and the body, the other part of that soul, will return to mother earth, whence it came, and that separation that takes place we call death, the natural death, the temporal death. But after a while it is to come and take up that body, this spirit is, and become immortal. By what power can that be done? By your own individual power? No. This same revelation explains by what power that shall be done, for it says, "The redemption of the soul is through him who quickeneth all things" — through him who created man in the very beginning, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, who makes the grass to grow, who makes the birds to fly, the fish to swim, the beasts to rove upon the fields — every living thing. Through him who quickeneth all things, through him shall be brought to pass this resurrection from the dead which is the redemption of the soul. Redemption from what? From death and the grave. Therefore, we read on, "This soul must needs be sanctified from all unrighteousness." Why? "That it may be prepared for celestial glory." That is what the revelation says. Hence the gospel has been revealed, that we might sanctify and purify our lives from all unrighteousness. ¶

That is what the gospel is for, and it is working upon this community. We are not all perfect ; we are a long way short of it, but it is working. It is making us better men and women than we were, we are growing in the knowledge of God and in good works day by day. Let us continue to advance and to grow. Let us lay hold on eternal life by keeping the commandments of God, by cleansing and purifying ourselves from all unrighteousness. That is what the gospel teaches us and that is what it is for. Now we hear of the glad tidings that come from the mission field, how our boys and girls, our young men and women, who go out as missionaries, are placing splendid examples before the people in the world. What splendid news we hear of our young men and our young women everywhere throughout all the missions of the world! And we also hear a good report of our young men and our young women here at home. They are the best, the cleanest, the purest men and women, boys and girls, that are to be -found in all the world, freer from the contamination of the world, freer from those terrible diseases that afflict a wicked and a corrupt world. Let us continue to walk in the truth, let us continue to abide in that gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, for it will cleanse and purify us from all unrighteousness. ¶

This is the work of a lifetime. Do not get the thought that you are good enough just as you are, for though good as you are and clean as you are, honest as you are, virtuous as you are, we can all improve, every one of us. Let us grow in the knowledge of God and in good works. Let us not approach the world in that Pharisaical spirit, "I am holier than thou." Oh, no ; for "we are all sinners, and if any man think he is without sin, he deceiveth himself and the truth is not in him." What advantage, then, have we over the world? Why do our missionaries go out into the world if they are not perfect, if they are not free from sin and also have need to practice repentance? Do our missionaries need to repent? Of course, they do; so do you, and so do I, and so does every child of God. And there is no progress without repentance from sin, and without faith in God. These are matters for daily practice in these things that pertain to sanctifying and cleansing ourselves from sin. ¶

Good? Who is there that is good? Remember the Pharisee who came to the Savior and said, "Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may obtain eternal life?" And the Savior turned around to him and said, "Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is God." That tells the story. We are weak, mortal, human beings, but we have received the gospel, that has within it the power of God to cleanse us from those sins and from that weakness. Why do we go out to the world? Because we received that gospel, and it is our duty to promulgate it and carry it to the farthest ends of the earth. We have advantages that the world does not have. And what are they? We have the help of God. And how does he help us? By giving us the Holy Ghost. But he does not give us that holy Spirit until we have been through this cleansing process, until we have faith in him, until we have repented of our sins, until our sins have been remitted by our being baptized, and buried with him by baptism unto his death and then come forth in the likeness of his glorious resurrection. Then we are prepared to receive that marvelous gift. And that is what we have received, and that is the way the Lord helps us to gain the victory over evil — by his help, the sweet companionship of his holy Spirit, and every man and every woman who receives this gospel has the gift of the Holy Ghost. It remains with them. Its influence is felt wherever they go. And those who come in contact with them feel in their souls that this is a servant of God, or a handmaiden of God, sent to them with a message of life and salvation; for they have the gift of the Holy Ghost; that is what our elders go out with. They go out prepared, ¶

having been endowed with power from on high. They go out prepared to bestow that gift upon their fellow-men, that they may have the same advantages which the Lord in his mercy and goodness has granted unto us. ¶

That is the gospel. Let us appreciate it. It is the power of God unto salvation. It is working with the Latter-day Saints. Let us endeavor to make it work with all the children of God with whom we can possibly come in contact, for they are all the children of God, precious souls in his sight. He desires to save them. He loves them. He so loved them that he sent his Only Begotten Son into this world, that they might not perish, that those who belong to him and keep his commandments, obey his gospel, might obtain eternal life. ¶

Now, brethren and sisters, may the Lord bless us all ; may his Spirit be our constant guide and companion ; may we all grow in the knowledge of truth day by day and in good works, that we may glorify our Father in heaven, that those who see us shall glorify him and glorify his work, I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶