The Foundation of a Great Work

Ninety-nine years ago, about a year after the Church was organized, among other instructions that the Lord gave to his prophet for the guidance and comfort of the Church, were these words, found in the sixty-fourth Section of the Book of Doctrine and Covenants : ¶

"Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great." ¶

THE FOUNDATION OF A GREAT WORK ¶

Later in the same revelation : ¶

"For, behold, I say unto you that Zion shall flourish, and the glory of the Lord shall be upon her. ¶

"And she shall be an ensign unto the people, and there shall come unto her out of every -nation under heaven. ¶

"And the day shall come when the nations of the earth shall tremble because of her, and shall fear because of her terrible ones. The Lord hath spoken it." ¶

As we listened to the review, as given by the President yesterday morning, of the changed conditions that have occurred in the attitude of the world toward the Church, and as we see the hundred years of progress that has been made, we have every reason to believe that the Lord is fulfilling these wonderful promises ; that insignificant as was the beginning, those words of promise are fulfilled; that they were laying the foundation of a mighty work, and that out of small things great things will proceed. Evidence of that is clearly shown in the accomplishments of the past. ¶

AN ENSIGN UNTO THE PEOPLE ¶

But this promise goes farther than the foundation — it extends into the future, for "Zion shall arise and flourish, and the glory of the Lord shall be upon her; and people shall come from every nation." They have come from every nation. How could the prophet know, except he were inspired of the Lord, that this gospel message would touch ¶

the hearts of the children of men in all nations? They have fulfilled that prediction, and here they are assembled ; and now comes a new charge to the Church : This Church "shall be an ensign unto the people." ¶

My brethren and sisters, as we look at the future there seems very clearly, to me, in the Lord's program a definite purpose, that his work shall arise and shine. This is an age that is full of theories. Many churches have solutions for the present problems. There are many societies and organizations being promoted in the world for the solution of our present troubles among the nations, and dealing with individuals. ¶

TRUE CHRISTIANITY"' S OPPORTUNITY ¶

It does seem to me that after these many years we have come to the place where we have an opportunity to be heard, and the world is willing to listen, and prejudice is so far removed that they are willing to give credit where credit is due. We have been more or less contending, for these hundred years, for the right to exist, to be heard and understood, and yet we have been drilling ; we have been rehearsing. We are ready to come on the scene in a great drama, to demonstrate before the world that there is virility and strength and power in the Gospel of Jesus Christ to solve the problems of the world. ¶

For all these centuries Christianity has been in the world, and has been helpless, very largely, to solve these problems, until the skeptic has concluded there is no power in Christianity, there is no virtue in the Gospel of Christ to solve these difficult problems that bring war and bloodshed and wickedness among men. ¶

The Latter-day Saints recognize that there has been, during all these ages, some little truth, and many honest souls have struggled towards the light ; but the world has been in a state of apostasy. The power of the Gospel has not been among men. The form of it, yes. So that true Christianity has not had a real test. It has not had a chance to demonstrate what it really could and will do. ¶

POWER TO SOLVE THE WORLD'S PROBLEMS ¶

This Church was established for the express purpose of proving to the world that there is power in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, power to solve the problems of the world, power to change the hearts of men, and bring to a distressed world its golden age, its peace, its prosperity, and its happiness. The dream that Daniel saw is to be realized, when the God of heaven is to establish a work that shall stand forever and fill the whole earth. ¶

The prediction of the modern prophets has been to the effect that this was but the beginning of that great movement, and now that we are being given the opportunity to be heard, now is the time for the Latter-day Saints to rally to their standards, and demonstrate to a world that is in doubt and uncertainty, and full of skepticism, that there is power in the Gospel of Jesus Christ to change the hearts and the lives of men, and to influence the destinies of the nations towards that dream of the prophets of the past that a golden age would come, ¶

when all the distresses that have afflicted men would pass, and universal brotherhood would come, and peace be in the world. ¶

Let me just touch one or two of the problems that this Gospel is solving and can solve — setting a pattern for the world. ¶

THE LORD'S PLAN FOR HELPING THE POOR ¶

Here is the problem of the world's poor. The Lord's plan for its solution, without humiliation to the poor, and a blessing to those who offer relief — the fast offerings given by the membership of the Church once a month, following abstinence from food for two meals. Fasting is a blessing in itself to the physical being, and a blessing to the spiritual being, because it tends, in its very nature, to give spiritual control oyer the physical being. Gratitude for the goodness of the Lord in providing food and life comes from that fast, also sympathy for the poor who are without food, and then too we are giving that which has been saved. ¶

I know that there are many who do not seem to clearly understand what ought to be given — the equivalent of the meals saved. I should say that certainly ten cents a meal would be the minimum, or twenty cents per individual, per month. I wish that were the standard maintained by the membership of the Church. It is not up to that point, but even as well as the Latter-day Saints are performing that service, it is creating a large fund, and if we would observe it strictly it would create ample funds to care for the needs of the poor, and industrialize them. ¶

The method of the Lord's plan is excellent, the giving to the bishop, who distributes to the poor. It is not my business to give to the poor. It is the business, in the Lord's Church, of the bishop to give. I give to the bishop, and he dispenses to the poor. Those who receive it do not know from whence it comes, and those who give it do not know to whom it goes. That is not letting your right hand know what your left hand is doing. I know of no other scheme by which the Lord's plan could be carried out better than that established in this Church. This plan would perpetually solve the problem of the poor, and I say industrialize them and make them independent economically. ¶

The Lord's plan does not contemplate the pauperization of the poor. I remember my father being a bishop for forty years, and it was my privilege, as a boy, to carry the charities to the poor of, that ward. I was impressed, when I went to the home of a widow who needed help, and found her knitting stockings ; and when I went to a poor man who needed help, I discovered he was cutting the widow's wood, while she knitted stockings for the poor man who needed help. Everybody was encouraged to do something to help somebody else, even though they received charities. ¶

I am told that on the tithing yard here east of us, when there wasn't work for worthy poor, there was a pile of rocks in one corner of that yard, that the worker that wanted a job was set to carry into another corner of the yard, and he received his pay at the end of the day. If on the following day there was a worthy applicant, but no work for him, he might be given the task of carrying the rocks back into the ¶

original corner, and he came to get his pay at night with the feeling that he had earned it. ¶

That is the spirit of industrialization among the poor of the Church that has been with us from the beginning, and is to be carried on. ¶

A SOLUTION FOR CAPITAL AND LABOR PROBLEMS ¶

The problem that exists in the world between capital and labor can be solved in the Lord's plan of tithing. The struggle for the maintenance of one class over another is not the Lord's way of solving this problem. Let me read to you, from the fifty-sixth Section of the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, what the Lord himself has to say upon this subject : ¶

"Woe unto you rich men, that will not give your substance to the poor, for your riches will canker your souls ; and this shall be your lamentation in the day of visitation, and of judgment, and of indignation — the harvest is past, the summer is ended, and my soul is not saved ! ¶

"Woe unto you poor men, whose hearts are not broken, whose spirits are not contrite, and whose bellies are not satisfied, and whose hands are not stayed from laying hold upon other men's goods, whose eyes are full of greediness, who will not labor with your own hands ! ¶

"But blessed are the poor" — yes, and the Lord could have added, blessed are the rich — '"whose hearts arc broken, and whose spirits are contrite, for they shall see the kingdom of God coming in power and great glory unto their deliverance." ¶

The deliverance of the poor shall not be through any legislation. It will come through the Lord's plan, for they shall see the power of God coming in glory unto their deliverance, for the fatness of the earth shall be theirs. ¶

"For behold, the Lord shall come, and his recompense shall be with him, and he shall reward every man, and the poor shall rejoice. ¶

"And their generations shall inherit the earth from generation to generation, forever and ever." ¶

That is the plan that will succeed. Neither in the control of the affairs of the world by the rich, nor by the poor as in Russia ; neither element will succeed, from its own selfish point of view, but they must be brought together in the spirit of brotherhood, in the spirit of union of interest, and that will never be accomplished, only under the Lord's plan. Tithing is the first step toward that plan, where both the rich and the poor contribute according to their means, for the common welfare of each. There is no pew in this Church for the rich to sit in, and denied to the poor ; no blessings extended to the wealthy in the temples of God, and denied to the poor. They share alike, and the rich man gets no more than the poor man. Tithing the Lord designated as a schoolmaster in this Church to bring us to the more perfect order of things that obtained in the days of Enoch, and every man that will come into the celestial kingdom of God will have to learn the lesson, to live not only under the schoolmaster, but ultimately to come to the United Order, or the Order of Enoch, wherein there shall be community of interest, and yet individual responsibility and opportunity, but such combination as will eliminate jealousy and hatred and envy in the hearts of men. ¶

This Church is a hundred years nearer the solution of that problem than any other community in the world, and the Latter-day Saints should rally to the law of tithing and be prepared in time to demonstrate before the world the real genuine solution of this question. ¶

A STANDARD FOR THE PERFECTION OF MEN'S LIVES ¶

So with the Word of Wisdom, dealing with the perfection of men's lives by living up to a Gospel standard. Oh, it may be true that we do not maintain the prohibition law that has been enacted into the Constitution, but I hope it shall be preserved. If we abandon it we shall see worse times than we are seeing today. I believe that if this nation could persevere under the prohibition law for twenty-five years, we would raise a generation of men and women that would easily subscribe to that law, and that problem would be solved. But if this nation is not able to do that, and shall return to the old conditions, what of us? ¶

The Lord gave to this Church a plan that will succeed when all the schemes of men shall fail. I recognize that you cannot legislate men into righteous living. That must come from the heart. Our plan contemplates the conversion of the hearts of men to an obedience to the Lord's plan, and to the strict observance of that revelation that enjoins upon us the obligation not only to refrain from the use of liquor, but from tea and coffee and tobacco, that are injurious to the physical being. ¶

The Lord knew the needs of this fast-moving age, that we need the power that comes from observing the Word of Wisdom, if we shall endure under these strenuous conditions that are around us. Now is the opportunity for the Latter-day Saints to rally to that standard, and demonstrate, though the world may fail, through its legislation to correct this evil, that we will correct it by the conversion of men, and demonstrate the way for the world to follow after in the solution of that problem. ¶

FOR THE ESTABLISHING OF PEACE ¶

So with all the other problems. In this Gospel is the plan and the way by which peace can come, and war be abolished. If every person in the world had in his heart today the spirit that is in the hearts of these Latter-day Saints, you would not need a League of Nations, you would not need a court to limit armaments. It would be solved, because into the hearts of these Latter-day Saints has come the power of God, the gift and power of the Holy Ghost, that takes envy and malice and hatred out of the heart, and puts the love of men there. You could not think of one stake of Zion going to war with another. No. Although they come from the ends of the earth, the men of all nations live here in peace and in love. If that spirit could be extended to the ends of the earth, our problems would be solved. ¶

Now is the opportunity for the Latter-day Saints to arise and shine. ¶

As we enter into this second great period of the Church's history an opportunity comes to us, since we have the stage, and since the people of the world are willing to listen and give credit. Now is the time for us to rally to our standards and demonstrate the power there is in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. ¶

God help us to see our opportunity and embrace it, and carry forward gloriously the Lord's purposes, until his work shall be consummated and become the glory of the earth, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶