Conscientious Observance of Laws Required

I am very pleased indeed to express my deep appreciation of our Conference, from start to finish. ¶

I am grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I am thankful for the devotion of the Latter-day Saints as a whole. ¶

CONSCIENTIOUS OBSERVANCE OF LAWS REQUIRED ¶

I announced here at the Priesthood meeting last night and I decided to announce it again that we expect all the General Officers of the Church, each and every one of them, from this very day, to be absolute, full tithepayers, to really and truly observe the Word of Wisdom ; and we ask all of the officers of the Church and all members of the General Boards, and all Stake and Ward officers, if they are not living the Gospel and honestly and conscientiously paying their tithing, to kindly step aside, unless from this day they live up to these provisions. ¶

We have undertaken a most stupendous work and there will be no difficulty whatever in carrying out that great work. We will have an abundance to take care of every living Latter-day Saint who is in distress. Mind you, when I say Latter-day Saint I mean Latter-day Saint. I am not talking about idlers. I am not talking about people that want to lie down and let somebody else take care of them — I am talking of Latter-day Saints. If the people will pay their tithing and if they will keep the Word of Wisdom, and will actually, really, and for a fact, fast two meals once a month and give the equivalent, we will be able to carry forward our Security Plan without any trouble whatever. ¶

It is simply marvelous that people can live on eleven cents, some of them — two meals a day once each month for twelve months in the ¶

year — twenty-four meals on a half a cent a meal. (Or at least, so their fast offerings would indicate.) ¶

We feel that in all the stakes of Zion, every stake president, every counselor to a stake president, every stake clerk, and every high councilor, standing at the head of the people in the stake — we ask them to kindly step aside unless they are living up to these laws. They are given the responsibility of presiding, and every officer who is a presiding officer should say from today: "I am going to serve the Lord, so that my example will be worthy of imitation." ¶

No man can teach the Word of Wisdom by the Spirit of God who does not live it. No man can proclaim this Gospel by the Spirit of the Living God unless that man is living his religion ; and with this great undertaking that we have before us now we must renew our loyalty to God, and I believe beyond a shadow of doubt that God inspires and blesses, and multiplies our substance when we are honest with him. We do not want in this day a repetition of what the scriptures tell us was the condition in years gone by, wherein the Lord declares that he had been robbed, because of the failure of the people to live the financial law that God has revealed. ¶

Now, I pray from the bottom of my heart that God will give each and every man and woman who holds an office in any stake or ward the spirit and the feeling and the determination from this day, to renew his covenants with God, to live his religion; and if we are too weak to do these things, we should step aside and let somebody else take our place. ¶

THE MIND AND THE WILL OF THE LORD ¶

The Word of Wisdom, we are told, is such that it can be kept by "the weak and the weakest of all Saints." I have heard that some of the members of Boards, after the law was passed legalizing beer, said : "Well, I do declare, now I am entitled to have a glass of beer." No Latter-day Saint is entitled to anything that is contrary to the mind and the will of the Lord, and the Word of Wisdom is the mind and the will of the Lord. ¶

I want you to know that this will make no difference to me personally, but as the shepherd of the flock, the day has come, in my judgment and in the judgment of my associates, that we must live up to and be loyal to this work and serve God with all our heart, might, mind, and strength, if we are to accomplish what the Lord wants us to do. ¶

BLESSINGS INVOKED ¶

I thank you all for your presence here. I thank the Lord for the splendid Conference we have had. In so far as God has given me the power to do so I pray God to bless you one and all. I pray God to bless all the Latter-day Saints. I pray God to bless every soul that has good intentions, and to strengthen him and her in their determination to keep the commandments of the Lord. I love the Lord ; I love the Latter-day ¶

Saints ; I love the honest the world over ; I have no animosity against any living soul. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is one of forgiveness of wrongdoing. It is a part of the Gospel to forgive those who have done wrong, when they repent, but "By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins — behold, he will confess them and forsake them." He will do them no more. ¶

The time has expired. ¶

May God's blessings be with each and all of you, and with all the Saints, and with all the honest the world over, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, Amen. ¶