Faith and the Word of Wisdom

I rejoice in again having the opportunity of meeting the Saints in general conference. I have always during the past 53 years enjoyed attending our annual and semi-annual conferences. It fell to my lot 53 years ago this coming 16th of October to be chosen as one of the apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I have not the language at my command to express the gratitude of my heart for this great honor that came to me so long ago. I was not in the very best of health at the time, in fact, I have no hesitancy in saying that I am in far better health today, after the expiration of 53 years, than I enjoyed when that call came; I can with greater ease perform the duties that devolve upon me, and without the same fatigue. ¶

I recall that during the first two or three years of my administration as one of the apostles, quite frequently after preaching at a quarterly conference two or three times on a Sunday, I would lie awake all night because I was so nervous. I am grateful beyond expression for the vigor of body and mind that I possess today, and my gratitude goes out not only to my Father in heaven for the splendid health that I enjoy, but it goes out also to the people of the Latter-day Saints generally. I believe sincerely that because of the faith and prayers and good-will of the Saints my life has been extended and my health has been improved. ¶

JOY IN LABORS ¶

I can truthfully say that during all of these years I have had great joy in my labors in traveling among the Latter-day Saints. There is a brotherhood and a love existing in the hearts of the Latter-day Saints for one another that I am sure no other people enjoy. When I contemplate my reception as an inexperienced young man, not quite 26 years of age, when called to this important office; when 1 remember the reverence and respect that were accorded to me wherever I went, notwithstanding my lack of knowledge and information, my heart goes out in gratitude to the people in all the stakes of Zion, and as the years have come and gone I have been thankful beyond expression that I have never found anything at home or abroad that has weakened my faith in the divinity of the work in which you and I are engaged. ¶

FINDS MANY EVIDENCES ¶

I am grateful on the other hand that as the years have come and gone I have been constantly finding additional evidences of the divinity of this work. There have been many things in my life, as I am sure there have been in the lives of you, one and all, that have been inexplicable to me; that it has been difficult for me to understand and comprehend. But I am a firm believer that faith is a gift of God, and I am grateful indeed for the gift of faith that has been with me. When I have not comprehended things I have had faith that some day they would be made plain to me. ¶

I remember that the first time I read the Doctrine and Covenants, section 19, about eternal punishment, and so on, that I wept for joy regarding the explanation therein given, that it does not claim that there is no end to punishment. ¶

I remember that it was always a remarkable statement to me that "every ear should hear." I could not understand how that could be possible, and yet I believed in it, I had faith in it and I accepted it without any doubt. Radio has demonstrated that every ear can hear. I have been grateful for the opportunity on two different occasions of having a worldwide broadcast of what I had to say. I wondered how it would be possible that "every eye should see." And yet I have seen and conversed with my daughter and my granddaughter when they were miles away from me at the time. They were in the laboratories and I near the foot of Broadway, New York; they were several miles distant, and great buildings were between us. We had no difficulty in seeing each other, no difficulty in conversing with each other. ¶

The one and only thing for you and me and for every Latter-day Saint to do is to keep the commandments of the Lord, and sooner or later those things that may have been inexplicable and have seemed impossible will be demonstrated to us. ¶

FAITH IN BOOK OF MORMON ¶

I am grateful that as a young man I had faith in the Book of Mormon. When I was ridiculed for believing in that book, the person saying that he could point out to me two absolute falsehoods in it that could not be gainsaid, I told him to go ahead, that pointing them out did not affect my faith nor in the least degree lessen my reverence for and my belief in the Book of Mormon. I read it as a young man in my teens, prayerfully and humbly, and there came into my heart the perfect assurance that that book is just exactly what is purports to be. ¶

One of the two things that this person said were falsehoods was that there were dwellings built of cement in early days by the Nephites in Mexico, Central and South America, that such a thing as a cement dwelling had never been found, and "You know," he said, "that cement is not so destructible as brick or stone, and that if dwellings of cement had been built they would have been found long ago." ¶

I said: "That does not affect my faith at all. Hundreds and hundreds of years have passed since the Nephites were destroyed and there is an abundant tropical growth in that country. If they do not find any cement dwellings during my lifetime I am sure they will when the grandchildren come along, if not then they certainly will when the great grandchildren come." ¶

He said: "What is the use of talking to such a fool, who puts aside an argument that cannot be gainsaid, by referring it to his children, or grandchildren, or great grandchildren?" ¶

HISTORY BEARS OUT FACTS ¶

What is the subsequent history? Within a few miles from the City of Mexico, less than a hundred, if I remember correctly, there is a great monument, the outside of which was apparently covered with cement, and it is 150 per cent higher than this building in which we are assembled, and instead of being one hundred and odd feet by two hundred and odd feet, it is larger than this entire block, covering a space of eleven acres, and from the top of that monument one can see in the valley large mounds and as they are uncovered, lo and behold, they are discovered to be splendidly built houses, with cement covered walls and floor, showing a skill in the use of cement equal if not superior to that of today. ¶

VOICE HEARD THROUGHOUT LAND ¶

He said: "Well, I will give you an argument that you cannot extend the answer to your children, your grandchildren, or your great grandchildren. That book teaches that Jesus Christ after his resurrection, came to this country and organized his church and that he spoke to the people, and his voice was heard all over the land. Now you know that ¶

if you were to get up on top of a house and shout, your voice would carry only a few hundred feet. So you know that is a lie." ¶

I said: "I do not know any such thing. I know that Jesus Christ and others under the direction of God took the existing elements and created this earth, and I am a firm believer that if Jesus Christ knew how to create the earth on which we live he would know how to cause his voice to go all over the world at one and the same time." ¶

He said: "I do not care to argue with such a fool." ¶

THE IMPORTANCE OF FAITH ¶

The radio has demonstrated that faith is a gift of God, and I am grateful that I had it. I have sat in my home and listened to Admiral Byrd talking from the South Pole, there being a little box in the corner that brought the message to me, and my heart has gone out in gratitude that as a young unmarried man my faith in the Book of Mormon could not be disturbed by the arguments of a young man who had his doctor's degree and had graduated from a university, and thought he had knocked me out completely with two of his arguments. ¶

Let us get faith as a people. Let us so order our lives that we are entitled to an increase of that faith. I am thankful that I know of no man or woman who ever joined this Church and attended his or her sacrament meetings, partaking of the sacrament in remembrance of the suffering of our Savior and his death; who was honest and conscientious in the payment of his or her tithes; who divided with the Lord as perfectly as they would ask the Lord to divide with them if they were making up the account; who have kept the Word of Wisdom — I have never known such an individual to lose his or her faith. But I have seen men and women apostatize from the Church and almost without exception I have seen that apostasy come upon them gradually. ¶

IN LINE OF DUTY ¶

When you are in the line of your duty it is like standing in front of a line of posts, and every post is in line. But step one step aside, and every post looks as though it were not quite in line. The farther you get away from that straight line, the more crooked the posts will appear. It is the straight and narrow path of duty that will lead you and me back to the presence of God. I am thankful that from my youth until now such a thought as doubting the divinity of the mission of the Savior has never entered my head. ¶

Many times I have referred here to a book, one of the chapters of which is entitled "The Young Man and the Pulpit." The author of the book said that a certain individual with good opportunities for investigation asked every young preacher whom he met during a summer vacation — they being ministers in the eastern and New England states — the question, "Do you believe that Christ was the Son of the living God, ¶

sent by him to save the world; that Christ was God's very Son, with a divinely appointed and definite mission, dying on the cross and raised from the dead ? I am not asking whether you believe that he was inspired in the sense that the great moral teachers are inspired. No one has any doubt about that. But, yes or no, was he the Son of God, the Redeemer of the world?" ¶

I am grateful that every Latter-day Saint can answer yes to that question. We are all delighted that we have that knowledge. I am sorry that every one of those ministers failed to answer yes, and that the sum total of those answers was that he was the greatest moral teacher that ever lived. ¶

HIS FAITH HAS NOT BEEN SHAKEN ¶

I am thankful that it has fallen to my lot to meet many men not of our faith in my travels. Before I reached my twentieth year I worked for five years for people not of our faith. My business has been of such a character, representing insurance companies, one of them in Canada, one of them way off in New Zealand, one of them in France and some in Great Britain, and others in New York, San Francisco, Chicago and New Orleans, and I have come in contact with many men not of our faith. I do not remember having met in any of the offices of any of the companies I have represented or among the men who came to Salt Lake as traveling representatives or officers, anyone who belonged to our Church, but in all my contacts with these people not of my faith I have been grateful that nothing I have heard or read or come in contact with has in the slightest degree lessened my faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. On the contrary, in my contact with men, I have been finding evidences of the divinity of this work. ¶

I call to mind visiting with an assistant manager of that great corporation, the New York Life Insurance company in London. This man told me he had been connected with the British legation at Constantinople, that he had been in the Holy Land many years, that he had been in the United States and Canada many, many times. ¶

CONSTANTLY FINDING ADDITIONAL EVIDENCES ¶

He said: "Do you know, Mr. Grant, the last time I was in Canada I went up to the northern wilds, beyond all civilization, where I doubt that a white man had ever been before, among those heathen Indians., arid I found there the most inexplicable thing in all my life. I found ' the exact duplicate of a Holy Land rug, the exact pattern and color that I have seen in Jerusalem, and, lo and behold, that rug was woven in little colored beads. How under heaven those people way up there, who had never heard of Jerusalem, could duplicate a Jerusalem rug perfectly, is beyond my comprehension." ¶

I said: "I will send you a copy of the Book of Mormon, in which ¶

you will find that the forefathers of the American Indians who came to this country before Columbus, came from Jerusalem." ¶

"Well, well," he said, "that explains the inexplicable." ¶

I am grateful that as I have read the creeds, the doctrines and ideas of other people and other churches I have never found anything that disturbed my faith. On the contrary, day by day, week by week, and year by year, I am continually finding additional evidences of the divine mission of the Savior and of the divinely appointed mission and labors of the Prophet Joseph Smith. I am grateful indeed when I realize that before the Church was organized wonderful revelations were given stating that the field was ripe already to harvest, and when I think of the wonderful harvest that was reaped in Hawaii by President George Q. Cannon, which country President Clark and myself and others recently visited. During the few years he was there he translated the Book of Mormon into the Hawaiian language, and he baptized over 3,000 natives. I have never been among a people that seemed to me to be more sincere, to have a greater love for each other and for the Gospel, and a greater reverence for those who hold places of honor in the Church of Christ than I met on our recent visit to Hawaii. ¶

GRATEFUL FOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS ¶

I am grateful for the temple that has been erected there, and for the interest of the people in temple work. I am grateful for the organization of a stake of Zion there, which I believe will be of great spiritual benefit to the people. I am very thankful for the evidences that have come to me of the divinity of this work in which we are engaged. ¶

I am grateful when reflecting upon the fact that Wilford Woodruff baptized several thousand people, and that Orson Pratt did the same. Year by year additional evidences have come to me of the inspiration of the Lord and the truth of the revelations given to the Prophet Joseph Smith. There is absolutely nothing in the entire Doctrine and Covenants by way of commandment and exhortation for you and for me but what if we performed those things that the Lord desires us to do would be for our benefit. There is not a thing in them that would not be greatly to our advantage if we would do that which the Lord desires us to do. ¶

I have been requested time and time again — principally by anonymous letters — '"For heaven's sake find a new subject, and quit preaching so much on the Word of Wisdom." ¶

NEED WORD OF WISDOM ¶

Never in all my life have I thought and believed and been convinced that the Latter-day Saints need so much the Word of Wisdom as they need it today. Why? Because the whole United States has discarded prohibition. They have gone back to liquor. This they have done ¶

because the cry went out, "There is more drunkenness, there is more drinking of whisky under prohibition than there was before we had prohibition." ¶

Pardon me, but all of the advertisements of that kind were pure, unadulterated falsehoods. During prohibition I traveled up into Idaho quite frequently attending conferences. During all the years of prohibition I never saw a drunken man or woman while on those trips. I recently went up to Rexburg to dedicate a meeting house. When we reached Pocatello I had to change from the train to a bus to go to Idaho Falls, and at Idaho Falls I changed again. Two men on the bus were drunk. During the fifteen minutes that I waited in Idaho Falls I saw three more drunken men. Men and women by the dozens in this city have been seen standing around in front of one of the principal places where they dispense liquor, waiting for their chance to get their liquor. I have met drunken people in more than one place in Salt Lake City since we did away with prohibition. Millions upon millions of dollars of money were spent in propaganda which was based on falsehoods, to bring back whisky to the people. At a great national convention the people shouted, "Hurrah! Hurrah! We want our beer; we want our beer; we want our beer!" And they got it. Of course it does not intoxicate anybody legally, but they are very careful to keep the Indians from drinking any of it for fear they will become intoxicated. ¶

APPEALS FOR INFLUENCE ¶

Today I appeal to you, each and all, to use your influence at home and abroad, to get the people to keep the Word of Wisdom, and I am going to read it. It may be that it will be the fifty-third time in the past fifty-three years. I think that I have read it at least once a year, if not a half a dozen times. ¶

"A Word of Wisdom" — you know wisdom is almost the greatest thing in the world, second only to health, and this is wisdom from God, not from man. The wisdom of man is "beer, beer, beer." ¶

A Word of Wisdom, for the benefit of the council of high priests, assembled in Kirtland, and the Church, and also the saints in Zion — To be sent greeting; not by commandment or constraint — ¶

I have heard many people say, "Brother Grant, it is not a commandment. That is how I get around it, and can have my tea and coffee." ¶

— Not by commandment or constraint, but by revelation — Revelation from whom? Revelation from God Almighty. ¶

And the word of wisdom, showing forth the order and will of God — It is the will of God that we take advantage of the Word of Wisdom. ¶

— In the temporal salvation of all saints in the last days — ¶

AN ECONOMIC AID ¶

I believe that if every dollar of money that is expended in Utah for liquor and for beer, tea, coffee and tobacco, were saved, Utah would need no help from the United States government to take care of the poor, but that peace, prosperity, happiness and abundance would be given to the people of our fair state, and of every other state in the Union, if in addition we observed the suggestion by the Lord, which is a very wise one, that once a month we refrain from eating two meals, which would be physically beneficial to every living soul, and give the equivalent to help those who are poor. It would go far towards solving our financial problems. ¶

Given for a principle with promise, adapted to the capacity of the weak and the weakest of all saints, who are or can be called saints. ¶

Behold, verily, thus saith the Lord unto you: In consequence or evils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring men in the last days, I have warned you, and forewarn you, by giving unto you this word of wisdom by revelation — ¶

"evils AND designs" ¶

Evil and designs ! Men hired to certify that cigarets do not injure them and never have done, and I have been told that when you challenge some of them regarding these things they say, "Of course they never hurt me, because I have never used any of them." ¶

— In consequence of evils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring men in the last days— ¶

Don't you think it is evil and conspiring to publish pictures of beautiful women, using cigarets, knowing as they do that it destroys the very purpose of life ? We have been warned against these things. A billion is beyond my comprehension, and yet, if I am not mistaken, on an average of 117,000,000,000 cigarets per year were used over a period of many years in the United States. A billion is the equivalent, if you figure it in dollars, to one dollar a minute for every minute from the birth of the Savior until the late World war. So, for a number of years the equivalent of 117 cigarets a minute has been consumed in the United States each year for every minute since the birth of the Savior. ¶

FURTHER COUNSEL FROM THE LORD ¶

That inasmuch as any man drinketh wine or strong drink among you, behold it is not good, neither meet in the sight of your Father, only_ in assembling yourselves together to offer up your sacraments before him. ¶

And, behold, this should be wine, yea, pure wine of the grape Q,f the vine, of your own make. ¶

And, again, strong drinks are not for the belly, but for the washing of your bodies. ¶

And again, tobacco is not for the body, neither for the belly, and ¶

is not good for man, but is an herb for bruises and all sick cattle, to be used with judgment and skill. ¶

And, again, hot drinks are not for the body or belly. ¶

And, again, verily I say unto you, all wholesome herbs God hath ordained for the constitution, nature, and use of man — ¶

Every herb in the season thereof, and every fruit in the season thereof; all these to be used with prudence and thanksgiving. ¶

Yea, flesh also of beasts and of the fowls of the air, I, the Lord, have ordained for the use of man with thanksgiving; nevertheless they are to be used sparingly; ¶

And it is pleasing unto me that they should not be used, only in times of winter, or of cold, or famine. ¶

All grain is ordained for the use of man and of beasts, to be the staff of life, not only for man but for the beasts of the field, and the fowls of heaven, and all wild animals that run or creep on the earth; ¶

And these hath God made for the use of man only in times of famine and excess of hunger. ¶

All grain is good for the food of man; as also the fruit of the vine; that which yieldeth fruit, whether in the ground or above the ground — ¶

Nevertheless, wheat for man, corn for the ox, and oats for the horse, and rye for the fowls and for swine, and for all beasts of the field, and barley for all useful animals, and for mild drinks, as also other grain. ¶

GREAT BLESSINGS PROMISED ¶

Here is the all-important point in the entire revelation: ¶

And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, shall receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones; ¶

And shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures; ¶

And shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint. And I, the Lord, give unto them a promise, that the destroying angel shall pass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them. ¶

Could there be a greater promise made to anyone than wisdom and life, and that the destroying angel shall not slay us? I can think of nothing to compare with it. ¶

INSPIRATIONAL TIME AT CUMORAH ¶

I rejoice in the very wonderful time that we had at the dedication of the monument on the Hill Cumorah, in the wonderful turnout of people who were not of our faith, in the splendid reception given to us by the people of Palmyra, who provided accommodations at a moderate charge for the visitors from Utah and other sections of the country, making them feel at home._ All of the feelings of animosity and hatred that existed in the hearts of the people of that town in early days against the Prophet Joseph Smith and others have entirely disappeared. ¶

I am grateful for the inspiration of the Lord that was given to us in the dedication of that monument. I am thankful for the privilege ¶

I had of being there and offering the prayer at the dedication. I thank the Lord for the inspiration of his Spirit that was given to me in dedicating it. ¶

At the close of those three days I was weary, I felt tired and decided not to speak that evening. But as I listened to President McKay bearing witness of the divinity of this work, and speaking to the people, I could not resist the urgent desire to stand up and pay a tribute to Joseph Smith, the man who in the providences of God was the instrument in the hands of our Lord and Savior of establishing again upon the earth the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I could not resist the temptation to pay my tribute of respect to Brigham Young, to John Taylor, to Wilford Woodruff, to Lorenzo Snow, and to Joseph F. Smith, who have stood at the head of this Church from the time of its organization. ¶

I rejoice in the inspiration of the Spirit of the Lord given to me in speaking to those people at Palmyra. I rejoice beyond my power to explain my feelings of gratitude because of the fifty-three years of peace, joy and happiness that I have enjoyed in proclaiming the Gospel. There is no joy that is greater that can come to man than the joy of bringing souls to a knowledge of the Gospel. In the 18th section of the Doctrine and Covenants we find the following regarding that subject: ¶

Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God; ¶

For, behold, the Lord your Redeemer suffered death in the flesh; wherefore he suffered the pain of all men, that all men might repent and come unto him. ¶

And he hath risen again from the dead, that he might bring all men unto him, on conditions of repentance. ¶

And how great is his joy in the soul that repenteth! ¶

Wherefore, you are called to cry repentance unto this people, ¶

And if it should be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father! ¶

And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have Drought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me! ¶

JOY IN SERVICE ¶

Think of the joy of President Cannon in bringing three thousand souls to a knowledge of the Gospel ! Think of the joy that has come to •Wilford Woodruff and Orson Pratt, who brought nearly that same number into the Church. ¶

I rejoice beyond my power of expression in the pleasure that has come to me in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Germany, France, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Canada, Mexico, Hawaii, and far-off Japan, in lifting up my voice in all humility, proclaiming that I know, as I know I live, that God lives; that I know that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, the Redeemer of the world, and the Savior of mankind; that I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of the true and the living God, the instrument in the hands of ¶

God of bringing to the earth again the plan of life and salvation, and that all the men who in the providences of the Lord have been called to stand at the head of this Church were in very deed called of God, and the servants of God in laboring for truth here upon the earth. ¶

May God help you and me and every soul that has a knowledge that he lives, that Jesus is our Redeemer, that Joseph Smith was the instrument of Almighty God in restoring again the Gospel, so to live it and so to keep his commandments that our lives will proclaim it, and I ask it in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. ¶