Vitality in Church of Christ

This Church has had an interesting past. It will have a more interesting future. It has ever had outstanding objectives, that have focused the attention of the Church as we have gone forward, step by step, in unfolding the plan and purpose of the Lord in the establishment of this, his glorious work, to be triumphant in the last days. We glory in those achievements of the past. We have reason to be grateful to the Lord for the faithfulness and devotion of our fathers and mothers. We have been through days of trial and of struggle, of migration and immigration; crossing the plains; and colonization work. We have passed through days of misunderstanding when the voice of villainy and slander has had its day. We have seen bonds and imprisonment and even martyrdom. But a new day has dawned for the Church, a day of understanding and a day of demonstration. This day comes at a time when the world needs the very things that the Church is undertaking to accomplish as an example to them. It comes at a time when Christianity is having its most serious struggle, at least in these modern days, by reason of the difficulty churches are having to hold their membership, wherein, we have learned at this Conference, entire nations have turned away from Christianity. Some have said that the world has waited nineteen hundred ¶

years for Christianity to reach the zenith of its power, and then it is found helpless to save the world from its greatest catastrophe, and there is a disposition to look for something else. ¶

Spain's sad condition ¶

I confess to you that it is a sad picture to see what is happening in Spain today. Spain was, for nearly a thousand years, the mightiest strength of the Roman Catholic Church, in maintaining itself, and it was by the might and power of Spanish soldiers that this church was able to establish itself in nearly all of Latin America; and to see this great nation turning against that church, crucifying priests upon the crosses within their own sacred structures, driving priests and nuns from the country, and raiding the treasury. These men who are the descendants of many generations of that kind of Christianity are engaging in one of the crudest wars that ever has been waged among any people in the destruction of each other. If these are the fruits of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, no wonder the world is losing faith. ¶

VITALITY IN CHURCH OF CHRIST ¶

There are many today who are agreeing with what the Lord said to the Prophet Joseph Smith more than a hundred years ago, concerning the brand of Christianity that was in the world then. "They had the form of godliness but they lacked the power thereof." Our Church, I say, comes to the attention of the world, when the world is willing to listen, and is far more concerned in the actual demonstration than in any of our proclamations of theories. For, after all, you can never judge the merit of any plan until you see it in actual operation in the lives of those who believe it. ¶

This Church has survived all this opposition and stands today making its greatest progress, outranking other churches so far as its percentage of growth and increase is concerned, showing a vitality no other church has equalled so far as I know. No other church in this land has been engaged in building churches as this Church has been during the past few years. It is attracting the attention of the people of the world. But there is something here that is vital, something that holds men in times of trial, supports them in the face of mobs, sustains them in pilgrimages across the plains, keeps them loyal under all these circumstances and now, in the day of prosperity, can still hold its membership. ¶

My soul rejoices, therefore, in the great undertaking which the Church has set for itself, to demonstrate that the plan of our Father in Heaven is capable of meeting and solving economic problems of the poor and the unfortunate by the vigorous application of those principles which the Lord revealed to the Church in the very beginning. ¶

When I think of the difficulties in the world to amalgamate people into a brotherhood, I realize we have reached a time when we are about as far away from brotherhood as the world has been in a long time, because each nation is thinking only of itself and within each nation are groups ¶

that are affiliated for selfish interests. How difficult it was in the days of Christ to amalgamate the Jew and the Gentile, and yet it was the prayer, one of the last prayers of the Master when he said, as he prayed, that they all, his disciples, "may be one as thou, Father, art in me and I in thee, that they may also be one in us, that the world may believe that thou hast sent me." ¶

BROTHERHOOD IN THE CHURCH ¶

It was the plan and purpose of the Christ and his Church to make men brothers, no matter what their nationality, to bring them into a brotherhood and a fraternity. I rejoice when I see what has happened in this Church in the gathering of the people from all nations, even as the old Prophets saw them come — one of a city and two of a family, and from every nation — to the "mountain of the Lord's house," to here be amalgamated into a brotherhood the like of which has never been witnessed in the history of this world before, among the peoples of Europe and America, save it was in the days of the Nephites, when they too had a brotherhood for a long period of time. But here we are assembled in this house, English, Irish, Danish, Scotch, all nationalities, into a brotherhood. I am sure that it is the purpose of the Church tjf Christ to create such a brotherhood. ¶

I read in the Doctrine and Covenants these words from one of the revelations, section 38, verses 24 to 27 : ¶

Let every man esteem his brother as himself, and practice virtue and holiness before me. ¶

And again I say unto you, let every man esteem his brother as himself. ¶

For what man among you having twelve sons, and is no respecter of them, and they serve him obediently, and he saith unto the one: Be thou clothed in robes and sit thou here ; and to the other : Be thou clothed in rags and sit thou there — and looketh upon his sons and saith I am just? ¶

Behold, this I have given unto you as a parable, and it is even as I am. I say unto you, be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine. ¶

Thank the Lord that we are moving toward that glorious picture wherein brotherhood is accentuated. The revelation of the Lord does not indicate that he has taken up either the side of the rich or the poor, and certainly he is opposed to selfishness and to class distinctions and to groups interested only in themselves. Let me read, from the fifty-sixth section, what the Lord has to say concerning both groups : ¶

Wo 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! ¶

But on the other hand: ¶

Wo 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, and who will not labor with your own hands ! ¶

But blessed are the poor who are pure in heart, ¶

I am sure that in perfect harmony with this revelation I could add "and blessed are the rich, too, who are pure in heart, whose hearts are broken, whose spirits are contrite, for they shall see the kingdom of God coming in power and great glory unto their great deliverance." ¶

OBLIGATION UPON RICH AND POOR ¶

This indicates an obligation upon both groups toward each other, the rich and the poor. While the Lord provided an abundance for the needs of his sons and daughters when he created the earth, nevertheless he knew that some would be more frugal and saving and wiser in their accumulation of the things of this world, and others would be careless and indifferent and would soon come to want. There seems to be something essential in the Lord's plan to preserve human life, and that even though some may be careless and not frugal and saving, they too shall have food and shelter and clothing. ¶

You will find the following recorded in the Book of Mormon, Mosiah fourth chapter and seventeenth to nineteenth verses. ¶

Perhaps thou shalt say: The man has brought upon himself his misery; therefore I will stay my hand, and will not give unto him food, nor impart unto him of my substance that he may not suffer, for his punishments are just. ¶

But I say unto you, O man, whosoever doeth this the same hath great cause to repent; and except he repenteth of that which he hath done he perisheth forever, and hath no interest in the kingdom of God. ¶

■ For, behold, are we not all beggars ? Do we not all depend upon this same Being, even God, for all the substance which we have, for both food and raiment, and for gold, and for silver, and for all the riches which we have of every kind? ¶

That is in harmony with another scripture that says it is far better to feed nine unworthy ones than to allow one to go hungry and in want. ¶

The Lord has therefore set up a plan by which those who have may give to the assistance of those who have not. In the 104th section of the Doctrine and Covenants, which we have quoted often during the last year, as we have visited you in the stakes of Zion, we read: ¶

Therefore, if any man shall take of the abundance which I have made, and impart not his portion, according to the law of my gospel, unto the poor and the needy, he_ shall, with the wicked, lift up his eyes in hell, being in torment. ¶

The Lord's provision is not to take from a fellowman that which he possesses, against his will, but with his whole heart and in the spirit of love for his brother he gives his tithes and his offerings that there may be sufficient to care for the unfortunate, for the needy and for those in distress. ¶

LOYALTY WILL BRING SUCCESS ¶

The way the Church has responded to the appeals that have been made has filled my heart with joy. It is wonderful what has been accomplished. Yet not all of us have participated, and we can go farther ¶

than we have gone. I am sure that if we shall go forth with a resolve that we can reach a minimum of one dollar per capita with Fast Offerings, it is possible for every stake and every ward to achieve this. Do not, however, regard it as a maximum amount. That is the standard for the poorest families in the Church, a dollar per capita. It should rise from that according to the standard of the living of the membership of the Church. Oh, that every man in this Church would pay his honest tithing ; what we could do ! Thank the Lord we have loyal men that are doing this. God touch the hearts of those who haven't the vision yet to see how important it is for them to make their contribution, thus establishing right and claim for an eternal inheritance for themselves in the kingdom of God, paying their rent to the Lord, their honest debt to him, and providing the means sufficient to care for the unfortunate and the needy, and supporting great movements of the Church. ¶

We must keep our eye upon these grand objectives. As the brethren have said, the Church has never set its hand to undertake anything more important than the attempt to solve this great problem. Now we have selfish interests to combat. I am sure in the world there is a spirit that would array group against group, class against class, but it must not find its place in this Church. ¶

ADVICE TO THE POOR ¶

You poor brethren, what shall you do ? You must make your contribution. You must not become greedy, nor filled with complaint, nor as the Lord said, having your eyes full of greediness and refusing to labor, you stand as condemned before the Lord as the rich who will not give to your help if you exhibit that spirit of selfishness, and covetousness, and of idleness. You must make your contribution so that you too may get that spirit of brotherhood and not have in your hearts hatred toward those who are well to do. The spirit that is rampant in our country must not find its way into the hearts of Latter-day Saints and get themselves filled with such a venom toward wealth and toward large interests that they engage in the unlawful practices that are so common elsewhere. Latter-day Saints should be distinguished as men that obey and honor and respect the law. I am sure that so far as the masses of the people are concerned, the world never had such blessings and advantages. Let me call your attention to the fact that, so far as the masses are concerned, we are all of us in a more fortunate condition than the world has ever known. It is true that in this age of science and invention wealth can be accumulated faster today than ever before in the history of this world. Originally it was secured by the enslaving of human labor, and the profit went to the master and lord who supervised his people in the state of semi-slavery. We have no longer in the industrial world the slavery of men, but machinery that takes the place of men and makes it possible for wealth to be accumulated, I say, faster than at any period in the history of the world, but let us not f e,el because we have not all become millionaires that we are a group discredited and that we are not getting our fair deal. ¶

BLESSINGS COMMONLY ENJOYED ¶

I remember as a boy there were three men in Logan who possessed a surrey, a team and a man to drive the outfit, and when they turned out we looked with almost envious eyes upon it and longed that we might have such a display of joy and satisfaction to travel about as these our fortunate brethren. When I go to Cache Valley today I find ninety percent of all the farmers and brethren in Cache Valley owning an automobile that cost more than that team and surrey. That is the blessing that has come to the common people that once only the rich knew. ¶

In 1900 not one family in one hundred owned a horse and a buggy. Today three out of four have cars. One family in thirteen had a telephone. Now one family in two have telephones, and that is only thirtyseven years ago. Modern plumbing and central heating were luxuries. Less than five hundred thousand homes had electricity in 1900. Radio and electrical refrigeration were unknown. Today twenty-one million homes are wired for electricity. Seven million families own electric refrigerators ; twenty-two million have radios ; blessings that kings did not know anything about. So we are all of us participants in the greater blessings that have come, and if we have not become wealthy and independent and ready to go onto easy street, we are enjoying blessings beyond any generation that has ever lived. ¶

Now then, brethren and sisters, let the spirit that was in our fathers, that prompted them to make sacrifice, also inspire us to help our brother and our sister. ¶

EPISODE FROM FATHER'S JOURNAL ¶

I was reading my father's journal recently and an early episode mentioned was his response to a call from President Young. My father was a bishop in Cache Valley when a call came for volunteers to go down to the Missouri River. There were five hundred eighty souls stranded and unable to come to the valleys of the mountains and somebody had to go and help them. My father writes, "I did not have the heart to call for the six men allotted to my ward, unless I responded first." So he became the first volunteer ; left his farm in the care of his brethren, took his two ox teams, drove down to the Missouri river, assisted in bringing the five hundred eighty, and paid his own way; never received a dollar for it, though it required six months to accomplish it. The joy that he had in having done something for some of his unfortunate brethren and sisters was pay enough. From those five hundred eighty, countless thousands have come to own their own homes, to live in these valleys and enjoy the benefits of this wonderful land and privileges within the Church. Let that spirit, therefore, be in the hearts of all of our brethren and sisters today, the spirit of brotherhood. ¶

TROUBLE IN NATIONS OF WORLD ¶

My brethren and sisters, I am also exceedingly anxious that the Latter-day Saints shall not only distinguish themselves in this spirit of ¶

brotherhood, that we love our brethren, but that we love them sufficiently to save them from humiliation and from sorrow and distress that will come unless we assist them in the solution of their economic problems. I am also anxious that we shall distinguish ourselves in a time when the whole world seems to be running wild with a spirit of change. When the war' had ended, many of us rejoiced to see nation after nation abandon monarchial forms of government and establish democracies, and, we thought, this is truly the beginning of the golden age for the world. Then we discovered with sorrow that there was much lacking to prepare the nations, that had been for ages under kings and monarchies, to be ready for a democracy. They could not stand the trial of poverty and distress, and capitalizing upon the people's distresses there arose leaders that overthrew these democracies and they established dictatorships that will not bring this world to its peace, nor will they liberate these people but will enslave them, and they will never go forward under the plan of either communism or fascism that robs men of their liberties, of their property and political rights. ¶

America's destiny ¶

My brethren and sisters, as we see them, therefore abandoning these democracies the whole attention of the world is focused upon the great democracy of the world, America. Shall it stand ; shall it survive ? Yes, because the Lord God of Heaven has established it. I am not afraid of outside enemies. All the perils that threaten this country shall be from within. There shall never come any disaster nor distress that shall destroy America from the outside, if the peoples of this land shall rally to the standards established by our fathers, and maintain the stability of the Constitution and the law, and the order established in this land wherein our fathers long ago agreed that the will of the majority expressed in laws shall be obeyed by the minority. ¶

God help us as Latter-day Saints to be found still standing by these standards and loyally supporting the law and order and the great democracy established here, that it may live for the blessing of all flesh, as the Lord has decreed it ; for after days of sorrow and trial and dictatorships, the world will be prepared, by and by, for the fruits and the blessings of the democracy that shall survive in America. ¶

THE KINGDOM OF GOD TO BE ESTABLISHED ¶

Yes, I agree that there are troublesome times, days of sorrow and distress ahead of the world, and that the devil is in the world grasping to maintain his power, yet the Lord God of Heaven has established his kingdom, and he is in the world with it, and it shall be triumphant and victorious. The Lord help us to adhere to these glorious principles, and we shall fulfil the prophecies of old wherein they declare that the ends of the world, the east and the west and the north and the south shall say, "Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob ; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths." ¶

Zion arise and shine. Thy day hath come. ¶

God help us to prove to a world that is doubtful and skeptical about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that in the real Gospel, restored with its power and its authority, there is a virility and strength sufficient to meet and to solve human problems, and let us go gloriously toward our destiny, as the Lord hath pointed it out, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶