Responsibility Towards Others

I have enjoyed the spirit and instruction of this Conference so far. I feel very happy, my brethren and sisters, in my religion — the religion of the Latter-day Saints, which has sustained me through a life of nearly seventy-seven years, meeting every religious requirement, supplying every religious need. I know that this work in which we are engaged is the work of the Lord. ¶

TESTIMONY ¶

I am very happy in the knowledge revealed to Joseph Smith in the beginning of this dispensation, when the Father and the Son appeared unto him. I know that that revelation is true. I know that God, the Eternal Father, lives and, contrary to the views of the great majority of mankind, he is a personage having a body of flesh and bones and spirit as tangible as is the body of man, glorified and exalted, the Creator of heaven and earth and all things therein by his Son, Jesus Christ ; a God of love, of mercy, of justice, and of truth, who answers the prayers of his faithful children. I know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Savior and the Redeemer of this world, chosen and ordained from the foundations of this earth, and that through his work all mankind are redeemed from the effects of the fall of our first parents. As the scriptures teach: ¶

Since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead, ¶

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. (I Cor. 15:21, 22) ¶

This resurrection is necessary in order that we may have bodies, reunited spirit and element of body, never more to be separated. In that condition we will be prepared to enter the kingdom of God, provided we meet the provisions made in the Gospel, that we yield obedience unto the laws and ordinances thereof, for the atonement of our Lord and Savior is to redeem us of our individual sins on condition of our obedience unto the laws and ordinances of the Gospel. ¶

I know to my perfect satisfaction that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, having been thoroughly convinced by investigation and by the Spirit and power of God, and his works prove him to be a prophet in very deed, inspired of the Lord as he was in life. I know that those who have succeeded him in the Presidency of this Church have been God's mouthpiece unto the people, inspired from on high, and have directed the work of the Lord, as it has progressed and prospered continuously, and that he who stands at the head of the Church today, as its President, is a man of God, the mouthpiece and prophet of the Lord to his people and to the world, inspired from on high for the great responsibilities that rest upon him ¶

GOSPEL THE POWER OF GOD UNTO SALVATION ¶

This work in which we are engaged as Latter-day Saints is none other than the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which was instituted in the councils of the heavens before the world was; that which was taught by the Savior and his disciples ; that of which the Apostle Paul spoke in writing to the Galatians when he said : ¶

But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other Gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. (Gal. 1 :8) ¶

It is the power of God unto salvation, temporally and spiritually, as has been already explained in this Conference. It is the law by which, all mankind are to be judged, and by it condemned or justified according to merit. Justice, therefore, demands that this Gospel shall be preached and taught to all men, or, as the scriptures say : ¶

Until the law, sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed where there is no law. ¶

In the mercy and justice of God, our Eternal Father, this Gospel will be taught unto all men. Those who have not had the privilege of hearing it in the earth, have the privilege of hearing it hereafter, and inasmuch as there are ordinances to be received necessary to man's salvation, provision has been made in the Gospel, that all who are living shall, by genealogical research, find out and know their ancestors who are dead, and go into the temples of the Lord and there redeem them, by receiving for them those saving ordinances vicariously. ¶

This Gospel which we have received is the plan by which our Lord and Savior lived while he was here in the flesh. It made him what he was in life and what he is, enthroned in glory, at the right hand of the Father. It is intended to make us like him, to save us with him, joint heirs with Jesus Christ of all that the Father possesses. ¶

RESPONSIBILITY TOWARD OTHERS ¶

We have the responsibility, as Latter-day Saints, to preach this Gospel of the kingdom to all the world, as a witness, before the end shall come. For more than a century, the Latter-day Saints have been engaged in this important work, and many honest souls, from many nations and from the islands of the sea have, through the preaching of the Gospel embraced it and lived their religion. Many of them have gone faithfully to their reward. ¶

There are all about us today men and women who know not God, who know not religion — the true religion of the Master — nor salvation, of what it consists and how it may be attained. They are in deep spiritual darkness and are among the unfortunate of our Father's children. We as Latter-day Saints have received the light, and we know the way. The responsibility rests upon us to reach out for those who are groveling in ¶

darkness. I think of the parable of the Savior, the rich man and the poor, and the consequences of neglect of the living to feed the hungry and to clothe the naked, and minister unto the human needs of mankind. That neglect is suffered for in hell and torment, so the scriptures tell us. and I remember, too, that we read, in the scriptures what the Lord had to say to Ezekiel. The responsibility was laid upon him, as a watchman upon the towers of Zion, to warn mankind, and he was told that if he did not do it their blood would be upon his hands. ¶

I do hope and pray that we as Latter-day Saints as a Church, and as individuals, may be able to wash our hands clean of the blood and sins of this generation, by looking to the saving of the souls of our Father's children, as well as our own. In looking to the interests and the salvation of others we are making for our own salvation and glory. We have our dead to be redeemed, a tremendous responsibility resting upon us. We are expected, I think, to do more than anyone of us is able to do, by going into the temple and receiving these ordinances. God has blessed us with the abundance of this earth, and I think he expects us to use liberally of the wealth that he has placed in our laps in the redeeming of our dead. This can be done by employing men and women whose financial conditions are such that otherwise they are obliged to labor for a mere pittance. A great deal of the labor that is being done in the temple is being done gratuitously. It is only one element of that work that we have to pay for — a proxy to do the work for us. And in employing this class of people, I feel that we are supporting and sustaining this great Church movement. We are feeding the hungry, we are clothing the naked. We are ministering unto those who are in need, and by so doing we place ourselves in that class referred to as being on the right hand of the Savior when he shall come, and to whom he shall say: ¶

Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world : ¶

For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat : I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink : I was a stranger, and ye took me in. ¶

There is an abundance in this world and to spare. The Lord has so said by revelation. Those of us who are fortunate should look to the unfortunate, for that is religion pure and undefiled. We ought to be willing to divide what we have, whether it be much or little, in order to prevent suffering among the children of men. This Gospel is one of love, of sacrifice, and of service, from beginning to end. Both the Father and the Son have set us a wonderful example with respect to these principles. As we read in the scriptures, ¶

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16) ¶

The Son gave himself because of the love he had for the children of men. He said, ¶

... I lay down my life, that I might take it again. ¶

No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. (John 10:17-18) ¶

Here is love supreme — perfect love, the love of a God manifest in a gift, the greatest that was ever given ; his sacrifice, the greatest that was ever made; in service, the noblest, the most important that ever was rendered. ¶

We, our Father's children, are expected to follow their example. Nothing short of this will meet the requirements of the Gospel and make for our eternal satisfaction. ¶

May the Lord.help us to see our duty to ourselves, our duty to our God and to our fellow men, living and dead, to discharge ourselves faithfully while in line of these duties and responsibilities and make every preparation necessary for the life which is to come, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen ¶