It Takes a Heap o' Livin' in a House to Make It Home

"It takes a heap of livin' in a house to make it home." I know that my good teacher, Brother Hinckley, did not mean that Liberty stake has better homes ; he meant that Liberty stake has better houses. I come from a stake so much larger than his that he does not really know that he has any troubles. Our stake is six miles wide and forty-five miles long, and we haven't any paved roads, and very few paved sidewalks. But we have wonderful people and a wonderful lot of homes, homes wherein the Spirit of God dwells, where people are trying to keep the commandments of God and where we are endeavoring to draw near unto him. I appreciate Brother Hinckley, my brothers and sisters. I have loved him for a long, long while. There came into my life some of his teachings in 1897, in the Brigham Young Academy, that have stood out from ¶

then until now. I am glad to follow him and the good things that he taught us in that class. I never have been, in another class, so filled with inspiration. I have never received teaching from another teacher that stood out in my life like the teachings of Bryant S. Hinckley, and so I love him and appreciate him and pray God's blessings upon him. ¶

I appreciate the privilege of laboring in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and the responsibilities that have come unto me have helped me to appreciate more fully the blessings that have come ; because I believe that as we labor we learn to love ; because I believe that as we associate with our brethren and sisters and see their integrity and devotion and determination to keep the commandments of God, we more fully appreciate the gospel that has been given to us. We can see its fruits, we can see its blessings, and we cherish them more the more we work. ¶

I love this wonderful country of ours, and I am glad that our brethren have talked to us about keeping the laws of the land. I desire to read a few words from Abraham Lincoln on this subject : ¶

"Let every American, every lover of liberty, every well-wisher of his posterity swear by the blood of the revolution never to violate in the least particular the laws of the country, and never to tolerate their violation by others. Let reverence for the laws be breathed by every American mother to the lisping babe that prattles on her lap; let it be taught in the schools, in seminaries, in colleges; let it be written in primers, in spelling books, and in almanacs ; let it be preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislative halls, and enforced in the courts of justice. And, in short, let it become the political religion of the nation; and let the old and the young, the rich and the poor, the grave and the gay, of all sects and tongues and colors and conditions, sacrifice unceasingly upon its altars." ¶

My brothers and sisters, I wish we could get that into our souls and appreciate the fact that we should not only live the law ourselves but that we should sustain it by assisting others to live it. We have, to a certain extent, a responsibility in this regard, because we are American citizens. I have been in a position the last few years to know something about the enforcement of law, and I have seen some of the results that have come from people stepping over just a little. First we break some of the lesser laws, disregard some of the lesser things, and then our conscience is seared to the extent that we can disregard some of the greater ones. And in our disregarding those things we are setting examples to those with whom we associate. I wish that every mother in this great country of ours could say to her boy and to her girl, "I want you to live the laws of the land as your father lives them." But what would be the condition if our mothers did that? We sometimes are prone to try to cover up our actions, to try to break the law and not let anyone know it. But there is always someone to watch. There is that boy and that girl who are always seeing and always imitating what the older ones do. This summer we raised a little garden at the back of our house, and not so long ago I took the hand plow and went out and was pushing that plow in the garden. As I stepped in the loose soil after I had plowed it, I looked back and there was our babe, nearly four years old, following. I said, "What are you doing?" "Walking in your steps." My brethren and sisters, there came tears to my eyes. I said to myself, "Am I leading aright? Am I willing that my child should walk in my steps in all the things that I do?" If I can so live that I am willing that they should, if I can so live that my children can appreciate the gospel and appreciate the country in which we live, because they have walked in my steps, then I shall feel that my mission has been well filled. ¶

It is not only in the laws of our land but in the laws of our Church that we must keep the commandments. You know the prophet said that there has been a law irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundation of the world, upon which every blessing is predicated, and if we expect to receive the blessing, we must keep the law upon which it is predicated. Too many of us, my brethren and sisters, are trying to dead-head our way into heaven. Too many of us are expecting to be judged in that great judgment day by the things that we believe rather than by the things we do. The apostle of old said, "The devils also believe, and tremble." The Latter-day Saints believe the gospel. I have a friend who never did anything for the Church ; in fact, he scarcely knew that he belonged to the Church. He went away and someone attacked "Mormonism,""and he began to defend it, but he defended it not as the "Mormon" elders defend it, but with his fists. He believed the gospel, and when the time came that he had to defend it, he defended it the best he could. Will we be judged by the things we believe ? If we must keep the commandments to receive the blessings, it is time that we begin to work." ¶

There are three great commandments revealed that will give to us, as Latter-day Saints, every blessing, I believe, that we could desire. The first thing, it seems to me, that we need — the very first thing that we need as Latter-day Saints, is the Spirit of God to attend us continually, and there is an ordinance given that if we would gather together on the Lord's day and partake of his sacrament and covenant to always remember him, we will always have his Spirit to be with us. I have sat in congregations of the Saints and have watched them partake of that sacrament, have seen them put out their hands — in fact, I believe I have done it myself on many occasions — with my mind just as far away from that ordinance as it was possible for it to be, not remembering him always, not remembering him even while I was partaking of the sacrament. I believe that we should keep that commandment. I believe that we should partake of the sacrament regularly and 'always remember him, in order that we may have his spirits to be with us. ¶

And then, after we have his spirit to be with us, we want next wisdom and knowledge and understanding; we want health and strength. And if we will read the eighty-ninth section of the Doctrine ¶

and Covenants, we can read there the commandment by which we can receive these blessings — wisdom, knowledge, and understanding, and health and strength, and not only that, but we have been given the promise that the destroying angel shall pass by us, even as in the days of the children of Israel, and not destroy us. ¶

And after we have received those blessings, my brethren and sisters, if we turn to the fifty-ninth section of the Doctrine and Covenants, we can read there the commandments by which all things else, it seems to me, that we may need will come unto us ; because we are told in that section (and with your permission I will read a few verses) : ¶

"And that thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world, thou shalt go to the house of prayer and offer up' thy sacraments upon my holy day; ¶

"For verily this is a day appointed unto you to rest from your labors, and to pay thy devotions unto the Most High ; ¶

"Nevertheless, thy vows shall be offered up in righteousness on all days and at all times; ¶

"But remember that on this, the Lord's day, thou shalt offer thine oblations and thy sacraments unto the Most High, confessing thy sins unto thy brethren, and before the Lord. ¶

"On this day thou shalt do none other thing, only let thy food be prepared with singleness of heart that thy fasting may be perfect, or, in other words, that thy joy may be full. ¶

"Verily, this is fasting and prayer, or, in other words, rejoicing and prayer. ¶

"And inasmuch as ye do these things, with thanksgiving, with cheerful hearts and countenances, not with much laughter, for this is sin, but with a glad heart and a cheerful countenance — ¶

"Verily I say, that inasmuch as ye do this, the fulness of the earth is yours, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and that which climbeth upon the tree and walketh upon the earth ; ¶

"Yea, and the herb, and the good things which come of the earth, whether for food or for raiment, or for houses, or for barns, or for orchards, or for gardens, or for vineyards." ¶

All are ours, my brethren and sisters, by keeping the commandments of God. ¶

I bear you my testimony that we "are laboring in the cause of Christ, that we are in his Church, which is indeed the power of God unto salvation. Every fibre of my soul declares unto me that these things are true. My brothers and sisters, I pray that we may live to show to the world that, they are true, for our actions will show more than our words. May the blessings of God attend us in this conference and throughout our lives, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶