Conference Address

I sincerely trust that I may be led to say this afternoon that which will be best for me and best for all who are here. The Spirit of the Lord is in this great congregation, gathered together for the purpose of paying tribute to our Eternal Father, and to receive from him information and knowledge that will help us on the journey of life. ¶

Yesterday morning, during the sermon of President Grant, when he called attention to the fact that the Word of Wisdom was given by revelation for the well being of the people, I thought of how, from the beginning, the Lord has had a personal interest in his children and has directed them in both temporal and spiritual affairs. His first commandment to our father Adam, when he sent him out of the Garden of Eden into the world that was to bring forth thorns, thistles and noxious weeds, was concerning his daily labor : ¶

In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground, for out of it wast thou taken; for dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return. ¶

Later he called Upon Adam by his own voice and revealed the foundation principles of the Gospel, particularly the saving ordinance of baptism. ¶

The Lord visited him and said unto him : ¶

I am God. I made the world and men before they were in the flesh. ¶

If thou wilt turn unto me, and hearken unto my voice, and believe, and repent of all thy transgressions, and be baptized, even in water, in the name of mine only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth, which is Jesus Christ, the only name which shall be given under heaven, whereby salvation shall come unto the children of men, ye shall receive the gift of the ¶

Holy Ghost, asking all things in his name, and whatsoever ye shall ask, it shall be given unto you. ¶

Wherefore, [said he] teach it unto your children, that all men, everywhere, must repent, or they can in no wise inherit the kingdom of God, for no unclean thing can dwell there, or dwell in his presence ; for, in the language of Adam, Man of Holiness is his name, and the name of his Only Begotten is the Son of Man, even Jesus Christ, a righteous Judge, who shall come in the meridian of time. ¶

Therefore I give unto you a commandment, to teach these things freely unto your children. ¶

And we find in the revelations of God that Adam faithfully conformed to the trust that was given unto him, and he taught the word of God unto the children of men all the days of his life. And in time the Savior came, in the meridian of time, and he performed his work. ¶

Now we are told by John that there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. ¶

The same came to Jesus by night and said unto him : Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God ; for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. ¶

Jesus answered and said unto him : Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. ¶

And then he said further : ¶

Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh ; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. ¶

And in his revelation in this day he said to his Apostles : ¶

I say unto you again, that every soul who believeth on your words, and is baptized by water for the remission of sins, shall receive the Holy Ghost. * * * ¶

I say unto you, they who believe not on your words, and are not baptized in water in my name, for the remission of their sins, that they may receive the Holy Ghost, shall be damned, and shall not come into my Father's kingdom, where my Father and I am. ¶

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints we find a newness of life, as it was in the days of the Master. Men and women come into a new way of thinking. I have talked to hundreds of people who have been baptized into the Church, who had thought, before they came into the Church, that they were worshiping God, and that they were doing the things that were right. But they had no knowledge of God. They had never been taught that the Lord knew them before they were born, as he stated to Adam — that he made the world, he made men, and he knew them. It had never occurred to them that there was a real birth of the Spirit before the foundation of the earth was laid. They had never comprehended the fact that our Eternal Father is a personal being, and that we ¶

are made in his image, and that we are like him in form. It had never occurred to them that there was such a thing as the preaching of the Gospel to those that are dead, or that there is an eternity of the marriage covenant, in the form and way in which the Lord has decreed. There was no light, so far as the word of God was concerned, that had come into their lives. ¶

But after an investigation of these principles of the Gospel, after they had become acquainted with the plan of God, in part, and had received baptism by water, by immersion, for the remission of their sins, and had received the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost, that witness which the Lord promised unto the children of men, through Peter and his Apostles, in their day, — when they received that inspiration and confirmation they came into a new world of thinking and worshiping. Men and women have testified to me by the hundreds that they could no more go back into their old way of living, or their former belief or understanding, than they could go back to yesterday. They were born again, born of the water and born of the Spirit, into a newness of life, into a great world of activity, into an influence that came direct from God, our Father. And they felt it, no matter where they lived. In all the nations of the earth are men found who bear this testimony. ¶

Yesterday we heard the testimony of the President of the Church, who has just returned from his foreign mission, reporting that men and women are bearing testimony to the divine mission of the Prophet and of the work of God, in foreign lands. They themselves are no more a part of the world. They live among the people, of course, in the different nations where they are — as we do here. They associate with men and women who have not yet been permitted to see the truth. But because of their knowledge of the Gospel of Christ they are separate and apart. It is just another world. This is something to live for. It is something to plan for, a foundation upon which men and women can build for the great future that shall come to every son and daughter of God, no matter where he may be or who he is. ¶

This thing called mortality will come to an end. Men will go on, and those who have received the light of the everlasting Gospel will be better prepared to progress and grow than those who have not. How long it will continue before the children of men shall all have an opportunity I know not. There are millions of people in this earth who will never hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the flesh. But through the great plan of redemption that our Father in heaven has revealed in the day and generation in which we live it will be taught to them hereafter. For men on the earth shall seek for their dead and shall attempt to carry out the plans and purposes of God, and when those who have died are ready, they shall have an opportunity to accept the Gospel. ¶

The Gospel is a great and a glorious message. It is a powerful influence for good. It will shape the destiny of the human family ¶

here and hereafter. It will make men better merchants, better bankers, and better business men, and it will make church men better church men. It is the power of God unto salvation, and there is none who can afford to be without it. It is the word of God. it is not an eternal plan. It is not alone the doctrine of Jesus Christ, or his word alone, for he said : "My doctrine is not mine but his that sent me." He planned for it in the foundation of this earth and before, when he formed the great family that we call the human family, and made it possible for men and women to understand it even there and to have it revealed unto them here. ¶

There will always be contention in the world and among the nations of the earth, until we can come to a unity of the faith. Peace, I think, shall never come to this world until the Son of Man comes again, for nation shall rise against nation, wars shall occur, and famine shall be a part of the history of the world. But to those who keep the commandments of God, their paths will be made easy, compared to the ways of those who do not. They shall not forfeit anything that may be for their good. Trials often are for our good and should be endured by all. Trials make men realize more fully the responsibilities they owe to one another. ¶

This Church, the kingdom of God on the earth, is a growing church. The Lord is at the helm. He places those whom he wishes to preside. He raises them up from the days of their childhood and from their primeval childhood. They are not without his notice, for he knows them. The Prophet Joseph Smith gives us that information, and he received it from his Father. ¶

I bear my testimony unto you that I know that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God, and that those who succeeded him are prophets of the Living God, and the leaders of his Church; that President Grant is the prophet of God at this time and the leader of this Church and the mouthpiece of God unto the children of men. ¶

I bear this testimony in humility and in the love of God. Great are the powers of truth that the Lord has revealed, and they shape the destiny of every man who pays attention to them and who believes them. I say it in the name of Jesus. Amen. ¶

The Choir and congregation sang the hymn, "For the Strength of the Hills." ¶