The Light in Darkness

This Conference has been a very profitable one for me. I have listened with deep interest to the speakers and enjoyed the beautiful music. I hope that I may be able to recall many of the things that the brethren have said, so that I may use them in His service. We have been admonished and advised regarding our duties and responsibilities, and no doubt we shall return home determined to take advantage of all this counsel, so that we may become more firmly established in the Church. ¶

Many testimonies have been given to me. I have a testimony of the Gospel. I have been blessed with the knowledge that this is the work of the Lord; that Jesus Christ is the Redeemer of the world; that he came in the meridian of time to redeem us from the fall of Adam and laid down a plan of redemption through which we may obtain eternal life. I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of the living God; that he came and established the dispensation of the fulness of times. ¶

I deeply appreciate my brethren and sisters with whom I labor. I appreciate my presiding brethren, the First Presidency, the Council of the Twelve, the First Council of Seventy, and my Presiding Bishop, Sylvester Q. Cannon, and his counselor, Bishop David A. Smith, both of whom labor diligently. No one could labor harder it seems to me, than does our Presiding Bishop, for the welfare of the youth of Zion. He utilizes his time, talents and energy for the building up of the kingdom of God, giving special attention to the Aaronic priesthood. I sincerely appreciate the feeling of mutual helpfulness and confidence of my brethren in the Stakes and Wards, particularly the bishoprics, for upon them rests so much of the labor of developing the youth of Zion, administering in temporal things, receiving and handling the tithes and offerings, caring for the poor, and many other duties connected with their calling. I also appreciate the close association with the Relief Society. Sixty-five thousand devoted women, presided over by an able presidency, have zealously labored during the past winter to relieve suffering and poverty in all of its phases. President Grant said that large sums have been paid out for charity. Some people say we waste it. I hardly think so. We treat our brethren and sisters who are less fortunate than ourselves, as our neighbors, in harmony with the spirit of the Gospel. ¶

The subject of tithing is very near to my heart. I have been delighted during this Conference to hear Elder Orson F. Whitney and some of the other brethren discuss this principle. I feel that it is important for us to get into the habit of right thinking along this line. We are flooded with magazines and newspapers, so much that many of us spend a great deal of our time in reading and thinking superficially. We should train ourselves to think straight, and when we think straight we shall be in harmony with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The world is passing through a crisis. How long it will last none of us knows. The time of the coming of the Savior is near at hand. Whether we shall entirely recover from this serious business depression, we shall have to leave in the hands of our Father. But I appeal to you not to let these hard times and misfortunes be an excuse to neglect the payment of your tithes and offerings. We must discipline ourselves to meet these situations and in spite of our misfortunes to pay the Lord his one-tenth first and trust that his blessings may rest upon the 90% left. ¶

In one of the Stakes of Zion, a few years ago, after I had spoken on the subject of tithing, a group of young men waited for me after the meeting and asked, "How are we to know how much tithing to pay when we don't know what our living expenses will be?" I said, "If you wait to pay all your living expenses first, you may then not have enough left with which to pay tithing." ¶

Now, my brethren, when the Lord gives us means, monthly or otherwise, why not sit down with our conscience, alone if necessary, and find out on the first or last day of each month what the Lord has given us, and then and there tithe it and not wait until the end of the year or the end of the season. Give the Lord an opportunity to bless the 90%. This is what I call straight thinking in relation to the law of tithing. ¶

What are we doing with the 150,000 young men and women in this Church between the ages of 12 and 20? Are we, as parents, teaching these children the importance of the law of tithing? Are we impressing upon them that this is a fundamental principle of the Gospel; that it will add to their joy and satisfaction in the Church; that the payment of tithing will give them greater faith and greater interest in the work of the Lord? We should teach our children from the time they are baptized that whatever the Lord gives them, whether dimes or dollars, it should be tithed monthly. The bishops in this Church are happy and glad to see these young people come with their tithes and offerings. When a boy is ordained to the office of a deacon, he should be taught to obey this important law, so that it will become a habit of his life. Good habits fixed in childhood or early youth are dominating factors of the lives of men and women. We owe it to the Church to teach them this principle. ¶

The great prophet and statesman, Joshua, succeeded Moses. The book of Joshua records that after the land of promise had been occupied and when Joshua had become old, he called upon the chiefs of the tribes of Israel to meet him in the land now known as Samaria. There, on the hillside, he recited to them his labors and what the Lord had done for the Israelites to bring them into that goodly land. He called attention to the worshiping of false gods, and then closed with this statement: ¶

"Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in truth: * * * Choose you this day whom ye will serve: * * * but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." ¶

Now, brethren, heads of households, give heed to your families, and may this counsel of Joshua be our motto. Let us serve the Lord. May we remember him with our tithes. ¶

I pray that we may grow in spirituality and in the service of the Lord, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶