Our Mission

I am glad to know that there are people in the world who are not discouraged. For months it has been my privilege to be in different parts of our country and it is rare that one finds those who are not exceedingly pessimistic, because of conditions over which we seem to have no control. Men and women are unemployed and in many cases they will be in dire distress unless ways and means be prepared for them to ¶

earn their living. The wise men of the earth are seeking to find some way whereby this difficulty may be overcome. Quite recently the most terrible war of all time occurred, and when that was finished many people thought that would be the end of war. At present there is suspicion and jealousy among the nations of the earth. There are groups that are preparing to take by force what they cannot obtain by honest toil, and "Men's hearts are failing them for fear." ¶

These things have been predicted. We have been told that in the last days serious difficulties would arise, and before that time the true Gospel would be preached. ¶

BLESSINGS FOLLOW OBEDIENCE ¶

In the year 1830 this Church with which we are identified was organized. It was patterned after the Church that had been organized by Jesus Christ our Lord on the other side of the mighty ocean. It was intended to prepare people for the things which were to come, and hundreds and thousands have rejoiced in the blessings that have followed obedience to the teachings of our Lord and obedience to the laws that govern his Church. ¶

IN THE DAYS OF NOAH ¶

It has been remarkable to me as I have read the history of the world, both religious and secular, that the children of men so easily forget the Lord and turn away from him. In ancient times it became necessary for Noah to go about teaching the truth for more than a hundred years, and yet people rejected him and his message and the prediction that he made that they would suffer the penalty that always follows disobedience to God. They were drowned in the flood. History discloses the fact that whenever people have served God and kept his commandments they prospered, and when they turned away from him and lost their faith they fell into transgression and they suffered the punishment that they merited by reason of their disobedience. That is not only true of the nations that have dwelt upon the European lands and in Asia and in Africa, but it has been true of those who have dwelt upon this hemisphere. ¶

THE ANCIENT INHABITANTS OF AMERICA ¶

When the Lord prepared to people this land, Ether and his group crossed the mighty ocean. This was soon after the confusion of tongues at Babel. They were not able of their own wisdom to cross the ocean, but the Lord taught them how they might make barges, how they should provide themselves with food ; and then under the guidance of his Holy Spirit they migrated to this great western hemisphere and were prospered. Then they forsook the Lord and fell into transgression, and the result was that as a people they were destroyed. Then another people came, about six hundred years before the birth of our Savior, under Lehi. They came to this western land led as had been the other people by the power of God. When they observed the commandments of the ¶

Lord they were happy, and when they transgressed they suffered the penalty which always follows disobedience of the laws of our Heavenly Father. They separated into two groups after they arrived here, and while they became numerous upon the face of the earth there was a large portion of them who did not serve the Lord, and eventually they became so wicked that the Nephites or fair-skinned people perished, being destroyed by the Red Man. They had builded great cities and wonderful things were accomplished by those who kept the commandments of the Lord, but those who would not obey him dwelt in idleness, or in a way that compelled them, if they would live, to take that which belonged to others. The Lord blessed those who honored him and kept his commandments as long as they were faithful, but eventually they were entirely destroyed, leaving their records buried in the earth, where they remained until they were delivered to the prophet Joseph Smith. History has repeated itself many times. ¶

THE RESULT OF DISOBEDIENCE ¶

In several places in the scriptures we read that "the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid," and in the day and age in which we live that is very plainly manifested to the children of men. The condition that has come upon the earth is not the result of righteousness; it is the result of disobedience to the laws of our Father in heaven, and we as members of this Church have been warned of what was to come. We have not only been warned by the scriptures that were given in the days of the Savior and prior to his time, and those that were given after him, but in our own day and age the Lord has spoken and the revelations of our Heavenly Father are found in the Doctrine and Covenants. If we will read these revelations we will learn that the experiences through which we are passing were predicted, that the very promises that the Lord made are now being fulfilled. ¶

It does seem strange that so many of our Father's children think they are finding satisfaction in doing things that are wrong. The distress of the world today is very largely because men have turned from the teachings of the Lord. Men are seeking the wealth of the world, and it appears to make little difference to some of them how they obtain it. They cannot take it with them. The things that they obtain by selfishness will not be beneficial to them. For thousands of years the Lord has been teaching this lesson, yet today it seems to me that men and women are as disobedient, as unthankful and unholy as they have ever been in any period of the world's history. ¶

THE ONLY REMEDY ¶

The message that the Lord has given to the earth, that we have been asked to disseminate, is the only rule of conduct whereby this difficulty may be removed. By following the teachings of the Lord, by turning unto him and repenting of sin, by going about doing good — that attitude will bring happiness and prosperity. Mankind will love ¶

one another, and the hatred and the unkindness that have existed so much in the world will pass away. The Lord has not required something that is impossible. On the contrary, he has given us commandments and advice and counsel that it is possible for all of us to follow in this clay and age in which we live. The daily press brings to us accounts of disasters that are everywhere — the sea being tempestuous and loss of life upon it, earthquakes, great tornadoes, such as we have been told would occur in the last days — and it does seem to me, brethren and sisters, if men are thinking seriously, if they are reading the scriptures, they must know that the happenings that the Lord said would occur in the last days are occurring. The fig tree surely is putting forth its leaves, and those who are thoughtful must know that the summer is nigh, that those things that the Lord has predicted as preceding his second coming are now coming to pass. ¶

As we sit in this comfortable house today and enjoy the teachings that have been given to us under the influence and power of our Heavenly Father, how grateful we ought to be for our blessings, for the fact that the Lord has removed from us uncertainty. There should be no doubt in the minds of this congregation as to what the Lord desires. There should be no uncertainty in our minds as to how we may be happy. There is only one way that we can enjoy our lives, and that is by being obedient to the teachings of an all-wise Father who knows the end from the beginning and has given to us understanding and the opportunity to add to that understanding and to prepare for every vicissitude of life. ¶

COMFORTS IN ABUNDANCE ¶

Isn't it a singular thing that what the world has struggled for from the beginning, wealth, power, all those things that make men comfortable, are to be had in abundance today — better and more clothing than ever before, more food than can be consumed, more wealth of all kinds than the world has ever had before. Our homes are more comfortable. The conveniences of life have been multiplied marvelously since the Gospel came upon the earth, and today everything that we have struggled for we have. Education has arrived at its highest point. More knowledge of the things of this earth is possessed by men than ever before. Everything mankind has struggled for from the beginning of time that is considered most desirable is upon the earth today ; and notwithstanding that, there is doubt and dread of what the future has in store. ¶

THE CAUSE AND CURE ¶

What is our trouble ? It is that we have sought the creature comforts, we have sought the honors of men, we have sought those things that selfishness puts into our souls. We have sought to set ourselves up and have preferred ourselves to our Father's other children. I am speaking now of the world. We have ignored the commandments that we should honor God and keep his commandments, that we should love our neighbors. We have failed to pray in the way that we were taught ¶

to pray, and men and women have set their judgment up against the teachings of an all-wise Father, and of course we are paying the price. ¶

Now if we would enjoy the blessings that the Lord has prepared for us, the things that we have struggled for, there is yet something else for us to do, and that is to love one another. That is to honor God and keep his commandments, obey the laws of the land in which we live, be considerate of one another, observe the teachings that have been given to us from the beginning of the world ; and if we will do that all our problems will be solved. The wisdom of men will be added upon, the power of God will come upon his children, and this earth will be cleansed and purified from the evils that exist that are rapidly destroying humanity. ¶

Knowing that, brethren and sisters, we ought to be faithful. The land that we live in should be sanctified by our lives of righteousness, and we should go about doing good. There should be no doubt in our minds as to the power of God to safeguard our interests. We know that he can do that, and in this wonderful Church, with its marvelous organization, with the authority of the holy priesthood bestowed upon thousands of our Father's sons, with these marvelous organizations that are given for the training of our youth — our Primary, our Mutuals, our Sabbath Schools, our Relief Society organization, our educational facilities — there is everything that should prepare us to know what God would have us do here. All that we need is to repent of our sins, turn from the error of our ways, cleanse our lives of impurity, and then to go about doing good. It does not require that we shall be set apart for that purpose. Every man, woman and child in the Church of Jesus Christ may go about doing good and receive the blessing that results therefrom. ¶

OUR MISSION ¶

Looking back through the experiences of those who have lived upon the earth, and remembering the privations and afflictions of those nations that have turned away from our Heavenly Father, let us not be among those who unwisely and foolishly set our judgment up against the wisdom of the Lord. Let us acknowledge his wisdom, let us set our hands to the work that he has entrusted to our care, let us bless our Father's children wherever they may be, and our lives will be enriched and this world will be made happier. This is the mission that has been placed upon our shoulders. Our Heavenly Father will hold us responsible for the manner in which we fulfil it. God grant that in the humility of our souls we will go about with the desire in our hearts to do good to all people wherever they may be, and bring to them the joy that can only come through observing his laws and keeping his commandments. That peace may abide in our hearts and in our homes, that we may radiate sunshine and cheer wherever we may go, that we may prove to the world that we do know that God lives, by the lives that we lead, and receive his blessings therefor, I humbly pray" in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶