Grateful for Support of Members

I feel that a great mistake was made in announcing that there are 10,000 people here ; I am sure the number is nearer 12,500, if it is not 15,000. This building seats 8,000 people comfortably, and there are many of you that are not very comfortable now. ¶

Brother Richard Evans has given me a subject. I had not fully made up my mind what to talk about here today. I have marked a half dozen passages in the Doctrine and Covenants, and I have thought of three or four poems that I repeated this morning before leaving home and also before getting out of bed. I take the following from the continuity used by Brother Evans : ¶

Fret not thyself because of evil doers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. ¶

For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. ¶

Trust in the Lord and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. ¶

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A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked. ¶

I receive regularly any number of anonymous letters. I receive any amount of advice as to what I should do, even over the signatures of Latter-day Saints. ¶

GRATEFUL FOR SUPPORT OF MEMBERS ¶

I am very grateful to know, as I am entering upon the eighty-first year of my life, that the Latter-day Saints are behind me. I believe and acknowledge here today that the remarkable and splendid health that I enjoy is due principally to the faith and the prayers of the Latter-day Saints, and to God hearing and answering those prayers. ¶

Since we last met I have celebrated my eightieth birthday, and since that time I have put in as many hours in working, if not more than the average in years gone by, and have done so without fatigue and without feeling the least injury by reason of the labor that I have done. I desire here to render to the Latter-day Saints, from Canada on the north to Mexico on the south, and in the islands of the sea and our missions all over the earth, my sincere and heartfelt gratitude and thanks for the many wonderful letters of congratulation that I received for my eightieth birthday. ¶

I am truly grateful to all those who saw fit to contribute articles ¶

to the November number of the Improvement Era. I am particularly grateful to Brother Richard L. Evans for the great amount of work and study and research that he has given, and for the work that he did in asking people to contribute articles for that issue of the Improvement Era. ¶

ACTS WITH FULL APPROVAL OF OTHERS ¶

I want the good people to know that I am not wasting any time or any sleep, in thinking or planning because of the anonymous letters that I receive and the advice that I get from a great many good Latter-day Saints, first-class Latter-day Saints, full tithepayers, who think that I am making a mistake. I want you good people who are here assembled, and all the members of the Church, to know that I shall do nothing but what I have the approval of my counselors and of the Council of the Twelve Apostles. I want you to know that from the day that I became the President of the Tooele Stake of Zion, in 1880, I have desired to know the mind and the will of the Lord. In humility and in prayerfulness I have sought for that, and I pledged myself in Tooele to give the best that was in me for the advancement of the work of the Lord in that Stake of Zion, and I have fulfilled that pledge. I made the same pledge to the people who were assembled in this building when I first became the President of the Church, over eighteen years ago, and I rejoice that I have kept that pledge. I have but one desire and that is the advancement of the work of God and the individual salvation of those who have received the witness of the Holy Spirit. My constant prayer is that my ideas and desires shall be subordinated to the desires of God. I am anxious only that the will of our Father in heaven shall be carried out in all the works of the Latter-day Saints. ¶

CHURCH SETS EXAMPLE TO WORLD ¶

I am grateful for the loyalty of the Latter-day Saints. I believe there is no other spot in the world where an audience of this kind can be brought together — in fact, I am sure of it — in which, almost without' exception every one has an abiding testimony and a knowledge that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the world, and that in very deed Joseph Smith was a prophet of the true and the living God. The Prophet Joseph Smith went willingly to martyrdom for the cause, and made the statement that he was going like a lamb to the slaughter, but that he had a conscience void of offense towards God, and towards all men, and that it should yet be said of him that he was murdered in cold blood. I believe that that fact is acknowledged today all over the world. ¶

To me one of the greatest of all the great evidences that he was a prophet of God is shown by the wonderful revelations that were given to the people before the Church was organized. Revelation after revelation tells that the field was white already to harvest, and those who would thrust in their sickle should reap. It is marvelous when we contemplate the way in which this hymn that we have sung here today, ¶

"God Moves In A Mysterious Way," has been fulfilled by the record of the Latter-day Saints. This was the favorite hymn of the late President Wilford Woodruff. He loved it. We sang it, I am sure, sometimes twice a month in our weekly meetings in the Temple, and very seldom did a month pass by when that song was not called for by Brother Woodruff. He believed in this work with all his heart and soul, and labored with all the power that God gave him for its advancement. That hymn is an inspiration. ¶

HYMNS FOUND AID IN GOING TO SLEEP ¶

This morning I repeated ten hymns while lying in bed, trying to go to sleep. Sometimes I can get to sleep before I can repeat all the verses of "A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief," — seven long verses. Generally I can get to sleep by the time I have repeated four verses ; but I tried to get to sleep this morning by repeating ten first-class prayers to the Lord. The song of the righteous, we are told, is a prayer unto the Lord, and I rejoice in praying to the Lord in those songs morning after morning, and have done so, I am sure, for thirty long years. I have learned that by repeating hymns, and taking some exercises, and then sitting up and talking to a dictaphone I become level enough in my mind to go to sleep. After trying for about two and one-half hours to go to sleep this morning I finally did get to sleep. ¶

By the way, something else that I generally repeat nearly every morning while I am lying awake in bed is a revelation given to the Prophet Joseph Smith, after, please remember, a court martial by the entire forces of the State of Missouri had tried him and had condemned him to be shot to death the next morning, as I remember it, at nine o'clock. But he told his friends they need not worry, that God had told him his day had not come. To my mind, one of the greatest of all the revelations that he received was given to him while he was lying on a stone floor in Liberty jail. ¶

, QUOTES FROM MEMORABLE REVELATION ¶

I quote from that revelation : ¶

How long can rolling water remain impure? What power shall stay the heavens? As well might man stretch forth his puny arm to stop the Missouri River in its decreed course, or to turn it up stream, as to hinder the Almighty from pouring down knowledge from heaven upon the heads of the Latter-day Saints. ¶

Behold, there are many called, but few are chosen. And. why are they not chosen? ¶

Because their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world, and aspire to the honors of men, that they do not learn this one lesson — ¶

That the rights of the Priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and that the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness. ¶

That they may be conferred upon us, it is true ; but when we undertake to cover our sins, or to gratify our pride, our vain ambition, or to exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold, the heavens withdraw ¶

themselves ; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved ; and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the Priesthood or the authority of that man. ¶

Behold, ere he is aware, he is left unto himself, to kick against the pricks, to persecute the Saints, and to fight against God. ¶

We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion. ¶

Hence many are called but few are chosen. ¶

Now mark this: ¶

No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the Priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness and by love unfeigned ; ¶

By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile — ■ ¶

Reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost ; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy. ¶

That he may know that thy faithfulness is stronger than the cords of death. ¶

Let thy bowels, also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God, and the doctrine of the Priesthood shall distill upon thy soul as the dews from heaven. ¶

The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever. ¶

VIRTUE SHOULD GARNISH THOUGHTS ¶

What a marvelous revelation ! What a wonderful word from God to us through His prophet ! How I wish that the Priesthood were always exercised with love. How I wish that virtue garnished our thoughts unceasingly. How I wish that no man holding the Priesthood of the living God was ever guilty of allowing any words to fall from his lips that he could not repeat in the presence of his mother. Then he would be, to a very great extent, in that straight and narrow path that leads to life eternal. ¶

There are very few things in all the world that are more demoralizing than what are known as "shady" stories. There is nothing in all the world of the same value as a love of God and a desire to /do those things that we know would please God. ¶

USE OF LIQUOR1 VIOLATION OF GOSPEL ¶

Let me say to you Latter-day Saints that any man or any woman professing to be a Latter-day Saint who keeps liquor in his or her home is not living the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We know that there are girls — good, fine, true, virtuous girls — who have lost their virtue because of liquor in the homes of Latter-day Saints. They lose their senses, become drunk, stupid, and then they lose their virtue ; and I know what I am talking about. ¶

DRUNKENNESS SINCE PROHIBITION REPEAL ¶

With the help of the Lord, to the very best of my ability, I warned this people not to vote for the repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment. I warned them against lies that were being circulated to the effect that there was more drunkenness and more use of liquor than there had been when we did not have Prohibition. Millions of dollars of money, I am sure, was expended to have the Eighteenth Amendment repealed. I have seen scores and scores of drunkards since it was repealed, and I have seen women go into restaurants and sit down and drink those things that we as Latter-day Saints know they should not drink. I never saw a drunken man in Idaho during all the times that I went there to attend conferences when we had Prohibition, but on the second trip I made there after Prohibition was repealed I got on a bus at Pocatello and there were two drunken men on the bus going from Pocatello to Idaho Falls. I waited fifteen minutes as I remember it, at Idaho Falls, in the early morning, about six o'clock, and I saw three more drunks, before the car arrived to take me to Rexburg. We see them now on all hands. The money that is being expended in Utah for liquor would take care of those that need help if used for that purpose. ¶

CRITICISM SHOWS FAILURE TO OBSERVE LAW ¶

The Lord God Almighty gave to us a revelation, and there is seldom a conference when someone does not take it upon himself to tell us: "Please do not speak on the Word of Wisdom. We hear it so much, we are sick and tired of it." Let me tell you something : No mortal man who is a Latter-day Saint and is keeping the Word of Wisdom is ever sick and tired of hearing it. When a man leaves a meeting and says (I have heard it in the dark) : "Can't they find something else to talk about besides the Word of Wisdom ; I am sick and tired of it"- — of course he is, because he is full of stuff that the Word of Wisdom tells him to leave alone. In the slang of the town, he could not "give himself away" any plainer than when he says he is sick and tired of the Word of Wisdom. I thank God nearly every day of my life for the Word of Wisdom. ¶

I never thought of speaking regarding the Word of Wisdom in my remarks today, until now, but here it is : ¶

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— ¶

We are here in Zion. ¶

To be sent greeting; not by commandment or constraint — ¶

Some people say, "It is not given by commandment or constraint, and therefore I can take just a little sip." But what does it say? ¶

"WILL OF GOD" TO BE EMPHASIZED ¶

Not by commandment or constraint, but by revelation, and the word of wisdom, showing forth the order and will of God — ¶

The will of God! Write it down, underscore it three times, and then, if there is anyone here who is not keeping it, get down on your knees and pray to God with all your heart to help you keep it in the future, that your example may perhaps save some pure, innocent, sweet woman from losing her virtue. ¶

Showing forth the order and will of God in the temporal salvation of all Saints in the last days — ¶

The money that is expended for tea, coffee, tobacco and liquor would take care of all the poor people in the world, it would save the world, financially. ¶

Given for a principle with promise. ¶

For whom is it adapted? ¶

Adapted to the capacity of the weak and weakest of all Saints, who are or can he called Saints. ¶

Behold, verily, thus saith the Lord unto you : In consequence of 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 you this Word of Wisdom by revelation. ¶

HIGH SALARY PAID EXECUTIVE ¶

"Evils and designs." I have read that one million dollars a year in salary is paid to the president of a tobacco company. As I remember it, 140odd billion cigarets were consumed last year, and the tobacco interests are now planning to make it 200 billion in the next two years. What is a billion, speaking in dollars ? The great New York Life Insurance Company had its actuaries make a calculation during the World War, and they announced that one billion dollars was the equivalent of a dollar a minute for every minute' from the time of the birth of the Saviour until the World War ; and we put over our share of the six billion dollar Liberty Loan drive in Utah, and I was the chairman of the Liberty Loan committee. 140-odd billion cigarets were smoked in the United States of America in one year — the equivalent of 140 a minute for every minute from the time of the birth of the Saviour until the World War and now they want to make it 200 billion. ¶

AVOID HAVING WINE IN HOMES ¶

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. ¶

Speaking of wine, we happen to know that in a Latter-day Saint home wine made from our own grapes made some people drunk. Wine is just about the finest thing in the world to make people drunk. Home-made wine is just as bad today as the other kind if you keep it long enough. Don't have it in your house, and then your children can not drink it. Once more I say: no true Latter-day Saint will have anything of this kind in his home for young people to drink. We happen to know of cases — I wish I could tell them all to you — that would make your hearts ache. Perhaps these things might come home to somebody's own child ¶

if we do not learn to study the word and will of God and then try to keep it. ¶

LIQUOR, TOBACCO FOR OTHER PURPOSES ¶

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. ¶

We arrest people if they set houses on fire, but we do not arrest them if they burn up millions upon millions of dollars in tobacco and in so doing destroy their vitality. ¶

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. ¶

WORD OF WISDOM, PRAYERS AND HEALTH ¶

I think that another reason why I have very splendid strength for an old man is that during the years we have had a cafeteria in the Utah Hotel, I have not, with the exception of not more than a dozen times, ordered meat of any kind. On these special occasions I have mentioned I have perhaps had a small, tender lamb chop. I have endeavored to live the Word of Wisdom, and that, in my opinion, is one reason for my good health, and another, for which I thank the Lord, is the prayers of the Saints that have been offered and answered in my behalf. ¶

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, and 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. ¶

BENEFITS ACCRUE FROM KEEPING COMMANDMENTS ¶

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 above all, they shall be successful financially. One of the main ¶

things — no, it is not the main thing — the main thing is that they will grow in a love of God ; they will grow in a testimony of the divine mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith ; they will grow in ability and strength to set examples before their children, that they will have those children eternally, instead of perhaps setting examples that will cause their children to depart from the faith. I call to mind the sons and daughters of some of my nearest and dearest and finest friends, that started with a little cigaret; then that was not strong enough and they used a strong cigar or a pipe ; in time they started drinking whiskey ; and finally they were excommunicated from the Church because of losing their virtue while under the influence of liquor. ¶

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. 50,000 COPIES OF PAMPHLET DISTRIBUTED ¶

We published and distributed 50,000 copies of a pamphlet containing the remarks of Creed Haymond, Paul Kimball and Joseph J. Cannon, proving by demonstration in rowing and in running foot races the fulfilment of this promise. ¶

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. ¶

CHURCH LEADERS BLESSED ¶

Do you want to live a long time ? I do. I would like to stay here at least another twenty years, and I would like to work every day during that twenty years ; and I expect that maybe I may do it, if I live as I ought to live. The Lord has been very good to men who have stood at the head of this Church. ¶

Did you ever stop to reflect upon the fact that Brigham Young was a man of great strength, physically, when he was called away. I am sure he had appendicitis, and we knew nothing about appendicitis at that time. Did you ever stop to reflect upon the fact that John Taylor was 70-odd years of age when he came to the presidency of this Church? Did you ever stop to reflect upon the fact that Wilford Woodruff was over 80 years old when he came to the presidency of this Church, and he gave us ten long years of splendid work? Lorenzo Snow came to the head of this Church when he was 85 years of age, and in three years he accomplished some of the most remarkable and wonderful things for the Church that have ever been accomplished. President Joseph F. Smith was past the time of retirement, according to some people, and should have been drawing a pension for two years, at the time he came to the presidency of the Church. He was 62 years old, and he lived to be 80, giving to this Church 18 years of vigorous, strong, forceful leadership. I came to the presidency of this church when I was 62 years old, and, lo and behold, everybody tells me I look younger and stronger and better than I did 18 years ago. Let us remember a poem that I have repeated, ¶

first in San Francisco, and later in New York, Detroit and in many other places : ¶

Age is a quality of mind; ¶

If your dreams you've left behind, ¶

If hope is cold; If you no longer look ahead, If your ambitions' fires are dead — ¶

Then you are old. ¶

But if from life you take the best, And if in life you keep the zest, ¶

If love you hold; No matter how the years go by, No matter how the birthdays fly — ¶

You are not old. ¶

EXPERIENCES IN EUROPE ¶

I can prove that. I went up to Scotland, when I was presiding over the European Mission, and an old lady asked me my age, and I told her that if I lived so many weeks I would be 50. She said : "Oh, nae, nae ; nae, nae, President Grant; never see 65 again." ¶

Brother Charles W. Penrose arrived in Liverpool to take my place as the President of the European Mission, and he brought with him a lot of Elders, 25 or 30, and we had about the same number of missionaries going back to their homes that very day. In those days we used to send 100 to 150 emigrants to America in a company. They could come here and go up into Idaho and other places, preempt a piece of ground at $1.25 an acre and have a fine farm that afterwards became worth $100.00 an acre or more. But that is all stopped now. We had a company going to America that very day, and we were very busy. ¶

At night the shipping firm with whom we had done business for many years sent us four tickets to the Shakespeare Theater. When Sir Henry Irving, and Ellen Terry, or some other great actor was there they would send us tickets. They did this two or three times a year and even oftener. I turned to my wife and said: "I wouldn't go to the finest theater on the face of the earth. I am tired. I am going to bed to rest and sleep. You take a missionary to bring you home from the theater, and a couple of the daughters, and use these tickets." ¶

Brother Penrose spoke up and said, "Sister Grant let the old man go to bed ; I will take you to the theater." (Laughter). ¶

I had just purchased, with the approval of President Joseph F. Smith, a very fine home, much better than anything we had had while I was there. He came over to England. I told him what I wanted to do, and took him into the place. The minute he went into it he said, "Buy it quick, Heber, before they change their minds." I had written him pleading with him to let me come home, that I had something to tell him, and I felt I could not do it by mail. I was afraid that I would not be able to get what I wanted. And, lo and behold, he was on the ocean at the time I wrote that letter. He said that I should not only buy the place but I should get all the furniture I could at the same time. ¶

We were so busy that day, with 100 or more emigrants and 25 or more new missionaries, and 25 or more elders going home, that I did not even have an opportunity to show Brother Penrose his new home, although all we had to do was to walk up a few steps and over a wall, and we were in the backyard of the new home. Immediately after breakfast the following day I took him to the new home, and somebody asked the man who was moving his furniture out to guess our ages. He looked us over carefully, and he said, "I should say that Mr. Grant is 65, and that Mr. Penrose is 60." ¶

I said, "I have heard that a man is no older than he feels, and a woman no older than she looks. I felt so old that I went to bed last night because I was tired, and this old man here, 25 years older than I am — so, you have only made a mistake of 30 years — took my wife and daughters to the theater." ¶

The next Sunday I thought that I would get that corrected. I did not appreciate those three compliments. While at Birmingham I asked the president of the branch who he thought was older, Brother Penrose or myself — expecting to have a correct answer — and he said, "The idea of asking such a ridiculous question; anybody can see you are very much older than Brother Penrose." (Laughter) ¶

I hit the table, and said "That settles it, no old man will ever take my wife to the theater again," and he never has. (Laughter). ¶

HEEDS ADMONITION TO LIMIT LENGTH OF REMARKS ¶

I should very much like to occupy the other twenty minutes, but I firmly believe that if you hire a man to do a certain work, and he knows how to do it and you do not, it is a wise thing to let him do it. Now, I have a very dear friend who is my doctor, George W. Middleton, and he tells me that 40 or 45 minute speeches should be about my limit, and I have only two more minutes. ¶

BLESSINGS AND ADMONITIONS ¶

The Lord bless you and help you to keep his commandments, and to set an example of honesty, integrity and devotion; and to be willing to take care of yourselves, and not to ask anybody else to do it — if you have strength to do it yourself. And above all, may he help you so to live that there will not be a thing in your home that you can not go down on your knees and thank God that it is there, and that you will not do or say a thing that will be displeasing to the Lord. I do not expect any of you to ask God to bless you for keeping wine or making wine in the home and letting it get old and strong enough to make your children drunk; but if you cannot ask God to help you in what you do, repent and so live that you can. With the help of the Lord I will never do a thing that I can not get on my knees and plead with God to help me to do it, and I ask no more of any man than I am willing to do myself. ¶

God bless you all is my humble prayer, and I ask it in the name of our Redeemer, Amen. ¶

The Choir and congregation joined in singing the hymn "For the Strength of the Hills." ¶