From the way we have nearly always been

From the way we have nearly always been crowded in the conferences that have been held during the past ten years, at which I have had the privilege of presiding, I am wondering if it would not be advisable, as I am sure we dislike very much not to hear from all of the General Authorities, to arrange to hold a conference meeting the night before the usual conference sessions. I thought that inasmuch as two of the brethren, Elders Reed Smoot and John A. Widtsoe, are not here, there might be ten or fifteen minutes left for me. But in some way when people start to talk on the Gospel they get warmed up, and although the clock is right in front of them, they very frequently do not see it. ¶

In my opening remarks I occupied ten minutes, in addition to the time required to give the statistics of the Church, and I was in hopes that I might have some little time in which to speak to you before the close of the conference. I have made up my mind to take it notwithstanding the usual time of closing has arrived. ¶

The Testimony of Twelve Witnesses

The theme of this conference has been the Book of Mormon. I do not believe that in any court of justice in the world if a man was being tried for murder and twelve reputable citizens testified of their knowledge of the circumstances leading to the murder, and there was no one who could testify against what they said, there would be a failure to convict the man. We have the testimony of Joseph Smith and the testimony of three witnesses to the effect that God gave them a knowledge regarding the Book of Mormon, that an angel of God declared from heaven that the book had been translated by the gift and power of God. ¶

These men were Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer and Martin Harris. They left the Church, but to the day of their death they maintained their testimony regarding the declaration of the angel, and that they were commanded to bear witness of the divinity of this book, and they did so. Eight men, some of whom were excommunicated from the Church, maintained their testimony that they had seen and handled the plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated, and they remained true to that testimony to the day of their death. The disbelief of all the world does not prove that those men did not tell the truth, because there are no witnesses on the other side. ¶

A True Witness for God

It has been said that the Book of Mormon has fraud written upon every page of it. ¶

The Book of Mormon is in absolute harmony from start to finish with other sacred scriptures. There is not a doctrine taught in it that does not harmonize with the teachings of Jesus Christ. There is not one single expression in the Book of Mormon that would wound in the slightest degree the sensitiveness of any individual. There is not a thing in it but what is for the benefit and uplift of mankind. ¶

It is in every way a true witness for God, and it sustains the Bible and is in harmony with the Bible. No group of men can write a book of six or seven hundred pages that is a fraud and have it in harmony in every particular with the scriptures that were given to us by the prophets of God and by Jesus Christ and his Apostles. A gentleman told me that he had read Joseph Smith's own story. He said that no liar ever told such a story. No liar could write such a book; and the evidences of the book's truthfulness are coming to light day by day. ¶

The Use of Cement

I have often said and desire to repeat here that when I was a young unmarried man, another young man who had received a doctor's degree ridiculed me for believing in the Book of Mormon. He said he could point out two lies in that book. One was that the people had built their homes out of cement and that they were very skilful in the use of cement. He said there had never been found and never would be found, a house built of cement by the ancient inhabitants of this country, because the people in that early age knew nothing about cement. He said that should be enough to make one disbelieve the book. ¶

I said: "That does not affect my faith one particle. I read the Book of Mormon prayerfully and supplicated God for a testimony in my heart and soul of the divinity of it, and I have accepted it and believe it with all my heart." I also said to him, "If my children do not find cement houses, I expect that my grandchildren will." He said, "Well, what is the good of talking with a fool like that?" Now, since that time houses made of cement and massive structures of the same material have been uncovered. Not very far from the City of Mexico there is a monument two hundred and ten feet high, built of cement, that was supposed to be a big hill. My first counselor has stood on that monument. You could put forty tabernacles like this one inside of it. ¶

It covers more than ten acres of ground and is two and a half times higher than this building. From the top of that monument one can see small mounds, and as these mounds are being uncovered they are found to be wonderfully built cement houses, with drain pipes of cement, showing skill and ability, superior almost to anything we have today so far as the use of cement is concerned. ¶

The Voice of the Savior

Another statement that this doctor made was this: that the voice of man can only carry a few hundred feet, and yet the Book of Mormon teaches that when Jesus Christ was resurrected and came to this country he spoke to the people and his voice was heard all over the land, not alone by the people that were near, but all over the land. "That is a lie," said he, "and you know it." I said, "That is no lie at all. Jesus Christ, under God, was the Creator of this earth, and if he had the power and ability to create the earth I believe that he could arrange for his voice to carry all over the world at one and the same time." The radio is doing what? ¶

I read the other day that a song had been heard nine thousand miles away, not only every word of it, but every note. (There are several notes in every word.) We had four letters from New Zealand or Australia, I have forgotten which, to the effect that people there had heard perfectly the programs that had been broadcast over the radio by the Martha Washington Candy Company. In that program the announcement was made that if anybody in a foreign land who heard the program would so indicate there would be sent to him a pound box of candy, and four people wrote for the boxes of candy. It takes the sun eighteen and one half hours to travel that far, yet the voice carried that distance as quickly as you can snap your finger. I said to this man: "The voice of the Savior could go all over the world if he so arranged it." The radio has proven what I said. ¶

Faith is a gift of God, and I thank God for the faith in and the knowledge of the divinity of the Book of Mormon which I had in my youthful days, and that these two alleged scientific facts, which are now known to be fallacies, did not destroy my faith. ¶

Listeners in Distant Places

I rejoice in the wonderful time that we have had together here. I want to request our people and any that are not of our faith who are listening in distant places to what I am saying, to send a postal card informing us of that fact. If there is a little gathering of a dozen or more people in a home, or in a meeting-house, in any part of the country from Canada to Mexico, listening over the radio to these services, please send a postal card to the Bishop's Office telling how many were listening to the services. And if there are any who are not of our faith who are listening in we would appreciate it if they, too, would notify us that they have heard the services. We would like to know how many people have heard the testimonies that have been borne during this conference, given by men who are devoting their lives and all that is in them for the advancement of truth and the spread of righteousness. ¶

Blessings Invoked

I pray God to bless each and every soul on the face of the earth that believes in God, and for those who do not, I pray that God may help them to obtain a testimony that he lives, that he is the Father of our spirits, that Jesus Christ is the Son of the Living God, the Redeemer of the world. ¶

Should Live the Gospel

I hope and pray that the saints will live the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I hope that they will listen to the teachings of the presidents of stakes and bishops of wards. I want to say that we expect every president of a stake and every bishop of a ward to teach the people the truth. We want them to tell the people that they are expected to obey the Word of Wisdom, to be honest tithe-payers, to remember the covenants that they make in the temples of God, and not mutilate their garments: that we expect them to quit playing cards; and that we expect them to do their duty as saints, and to preach the Gospel by living it. May God help each and every one of us that has a testimony of this Gospel to live it, is my earnest prayer. I pray God to bless the Latter-day Saints and the honest the world over, and I do it in humility and in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. Amen. ¶