Marvelous Record of Attendance at Conferences

I hold in my hand a letter from Brother Walter Cox of Provo. He has attended 121 annual and semi-annual Conferences. He is 82 years of age, is a full tithepayer, and pays a full Fast donation. He has not spent five dollars on doctor bills, and has traveled 25,000 miles to attend these conferences. That is a very remarkable record. I am perhaps safe in saying that he holds the record, never having missed a Conference in sixty years. ¶

I am very happy to be here; very happy to see this marvelous audience. I have thoroughly enjoyed — although statistics are a little tedious — the remarkable and wonderful report of the accomplishments of the Latter-day Saints during the past year. I am convinced that no other people in all the world can compare with the Latter-day Saints in giving actual, practical demonstration of faith in the Gospel, of their willingness to labor for it, and of their willingness to contribute of their time and their means for the advancement and spread of the Gospel at home and abroad. It is almost unbelievable that we could do as much as has been reported here today, running up into the millions of dollars. We had a very severe and bad year because of the low price of our products, and yet, lo and behold, the actual tithes and Fast-day donations paid are the greatest we have had, better than last year. ¶

Individual Testimonies of Latter-day Saints

My heart goes out in gratitude to all those who are working at home and abroad for the spread of the Gospel. ¶

I am very thankful indeed that we have the truth. I am very grateful that the Latter-day Saints all over the world have a personal, individual and abiding testimony of the divinity of the work in which we are engaged. But for that testimony men would not think, or women either, of making the marvelous sacrifices that they do make at home and abroad, for the advancement of the work of the Lord. ¶

I have mentioned it time and time again, but I never tire of referring to it, that we have been preaching the Gospel now for over a hundred years, and I have yet to know of any individual who has gone out to proclaim the Gospel who has been converted to some other faith. What a marvelous thing that is ! Unless we had the truth this could not have been accomplished. We have had men of great intelligence, of great knowledge, men who have been connected with other churches, who, when they heard the Gospel have received it, and in answer to their prayers and supplications they have obtained individual testimonies of the divinity of the work in which we as Latter-day Saints are engaged. ¶

A Tribute to Orson Pratt and Other Leaders

Orson Pratt was one of the great astronomers of the world, one of the great mathematicians, one of the greatest students of languages, a man with a better knowledge of the Bible, I believe, than almost any other man in his day and generation, and when we think of this Gospel capturing men of that kind, it is a source of gratitude to us. I am grateful when I think of the men who have stood at the head of this Church and the leading officials of the same, giving their time and their talents, making sacrifices (that is, sacrifices so far as the things of this world are concerned), and having a perfect and abiding knowledge that God lives, that he hears and answers our prayers ; having a knowledge, beyond a shadow of doubt that God did appear to Joseph Smith and did introduce his Son to him ; having a perfect knowledge that the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthoods were restored to the earth by the men who held the keys in the Meridian of Time. I am grateful that the Savior appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in the Kirtland Temple, and for the wonderful manifestations as recorded in the 76th section of the Doctrine and Covenants: ¶

Testimony of Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery

And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him : That he lives ! ¶

For we saw him, even on the right hand of God ; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father— ¶

That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God. ¶

And this is the Gospel, the glad tidings, which the voice out of the heavens bore record unto us — ■ ¶

That he came into the world, even Jesus, to be crucified for the world, and to bear the sins of the world, and to sanctify the world, and to cleanse it from all unrighteousness. ¶

That through him all might be saved whom the Father hath put into his power and made by him; ¶

Who glorifies the Father, and saves all the work of his hands, except those sons of perdition who deny the Son after the Father has revealed him. ¶

Growth of the Church

Nothing short of this perfect and absolute knowledge that we possess as a people would enable us to accomplish anywhere near the things that we are accomplishing. To think that in these days of depression and trouble we are able to spend milliqns of dollars of money to build meeting houses. Nearly every Sunday, for weeks at a stretch, I have had to dedicate meeting houses and every time the buildings have been full to overflowing with those who have attended these meetings. People have labored in some cases for ten long years in raising their share of the money to build their meeting house. ¶

We are growing splendidly. There is a feeling of absolute confidence ; there is no fear on our part of the final triumph of the work of God. This is very gratifying indeed. I can think of nothing more remarkable than that when the Prophet Joseph and his brother Hyrum and others were sentenced to be shot by a court martial, a man was raised up of the Lord to defy the commanding officer and who said it was coldblooded murder. Then the Prophet was imprisoned, with others, where he received what to my mind is one of the most remarkable and wonderful revelations, one of the greatest of all the revelations ever received by man. ¶

A Revelation Given in Liberty Jail

I am going to read to you from that revelation received by the Prophet Joseph Smith, while he was imprisoned in jail. I am reading from the 121st section of the Doctrine and Covenants, starting with the thirty-third verse : ¶

How long can rolling waters 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 upstream, 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. ¶

May God help you and me and every soul in this Church to be chosen, and to stay chosen, in that straight and narrow path that leads to life eternal ! ¶

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 fajth, 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 distil 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. ¶

I repeat this is one of the most marvelous revelations that we have, a blessing from God given to the Prophet Joseph while in a jail ! I think there is nothing finer in the Doctrine and Covenants. There can be nothing of greater importance than to exercise the Priesthood exactly as it is explained here. ¶

Welfare Work Receives Praise

I am very thankful indeed for the remarkable success of our Welfare work thus far ; I am thankful for the devotion so many are giving to that work. I am grateful to realize and know that our Heavenly Father is directing us ; that he is inspiring us ; that he is leading us by his Spirit; that we as a people are growing in those things that are pleasing and acceptable to our Heavenly Father. To be able in these hard times to make such a report as we have listened to here today, is certainly an inspiration to every Latter-day Saint. ¶

We are the architects — -not only the architects but we are also the builders of our own lives. If a man knows the mind and will of the Lord and fails to do it, he is drifting away from that straight and narrow path that leads to life eternal. ¶

Colonel Hawes' Compliment

I think there is nothing finer that I have ever received in my life from ¶

anyone than a statement that I received from my nearest and dearest friend, not a member of the Church, when he wrote a letter to me all the way from London, asking about Brother Anthony W. Ivins — what had become of him? This man came to my mother's home when I was a little boy. He afterwards came and boarded with us, and later came with his wife. His first child was born in our home. He was the best friend without any exception that I ever had outside of the Church, and he was a loyal true friend to our people. ¶

He said : "I have often said to my wife 'the day will come when these two boys, Anthony W. Ivins and Heber J. Grant, will be at the head of the Mormon Church; it is in them.' You are an Apostle and the president of several companies, but I have never heard of your cousin, and really I expected him to outshine you." ¶

I wrote back and said: "Colonel, your judgment is good. When I was made an Apostle I told my wife and mother that I could not understand why my cousin was not chosen, that he had forgotten more than I knew. ¶

Nomination as Governor Refused

"When we secured Statehood I received a telegram from the Democratic State convention, asking, 'Where can we find Anthony Ivins? We will give him his choice to be nominated for the first congressman, now that we have Statehood, or the first governor.' I answered : 'He is on the Kaibab Mountain selling the cattle, horses and property of his company, he has accepted a call of the Church to go to Mexico.' And if there is any one place more than another that he does not want to go to, that place is Mexico. He has burned his bridges, has sold his ranch and his home, and nothing in the world would tempt him to stay here until he is called back again. Afterwards, to show that your judgment is good, Colonel, they offered the governorship to me. I told the gentleman, Heber M. Wells, who was nominated by the Republican party : 'Here is a telegram that may interest you,' and showed the telegram to him. He said : 'All right, Heber, if you want that job I shall resign and campaign for you. What little I have in the world you helped me to obtain. I feel under obligations to you.' I said: 'I will let you know later'." ¶

I showed the telegram to President Woodruff. Those of you who knew Brother Woodruff know that he did not speak very slowly. He said to me : "Why do you bother me with your telegram ? Haven't you enough sense as an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ to answer your own telegram, without bothering the President of the Church?" ¶

I said : "Thanks. Thanks. If you wanted me to run for this position you would have said so. Good day." ¶

I sent a telegram saying : "It will be a personal favor to me if my name is not brought before the convention." And it never was. ¶

I wanted that position awfully bad, but I have never seen the day since I became the president of the Tooele Stake of Zion, at the time I was not yet twenty-four years of age, when I did not want to know what the President of the Church wanted, and what the leading officials of the Church wanted me to do, and that I did not want to do whatever they would have me do, no matter what my personal likes or dislikes might be. I have sacrificed my own financial prospects to a great extent, among the prospects being the one this dear friend of mine offered me, a little job of $40,000 a year when the Church was making me an allowance in tithing office orders of $3,600.00. ¶

Everything in a Belief Involving Future Existence

My friend answered back and said : "My dear Heber : Your nice long letter of the 10th came duly to hand. Of course you know, aside from the long and intimate personal friendship we have had together, how much I have always been impressed with the fineness and the sincerity of the men and women who hold your faith. Many times and oft I have said in conversation that the only religious people I know who live up to their professions are the Mormons of Utah. This is true. This it is that inspires respect even where there is a total absence of belief in the doctrines of the Church. Your people carry their beliefs into daily life and act as if they think there is something in them. I cannot see how, as a sensible person, if I had the faith to start with, I could do otherwise. For if there is anything in a belief which involves an eternity of future existence, there is everything." And he drew a big black line under the words "anything" and "everything." ¶

"If there is anything in a belief which involves an eternity of future existence there is everything." ¶

If you remember nothing that I have said here today excepting that one sentence you will not have come here in vain this morning. That statement is an absolute fact. ¶

I wrote the Colonel : "It is a fact, it is not a mere belief. The promise of the Savior was, that if any man would do the will of the Father he should know of the doctrine, whether it be of God or of man, and we Latter-day Saints know of the doctrine." ¶

Knowledge Must Be Put Into Practice

But faith and knowledge without practice are of no value. All the knowledge in the world would not amount to anything unless we put that knowledge into actual practice. We are the architects and builders of our lives, and if we fail to put our knowledge into actual practice and do the duties that devolve upon us we are making a failure of life. ¶

It has fallen to my lot to be in bed for two days under the orders of the doctor. I am instructed to stay with you this morning, but to go to bed this afternoon, and I think this short speech that I have made (and I have tried to make it a little faster than usual so as to get in a little more than I otherwise would do) is about all I need to say, because I do not want to be criticized when I meet the doctor later. I want you to know ¶

that I am not sick and if it were not contrary to the doctor's instructions I would stay right here, but he has told me not to come back this afternoon, and what is the use of having a doctor if you do not obey him ? ¶

Invokes Blessing

May the Lord bless you one and all, is my prayer for you. I thank God that I know we have the truth. I thank God that I know that he lives, that he hears and answers my prayers, that he guides me by his Spirit, that he gives me the inspiration of his Spirit to know what to do and how to do it for the benefit of his people here on the earth. I thank God for the remark made to me by President Joseph F. Smith — the last remark that he made before he passed on — "The Lord knows who he wants to stand at the head of his Church, and the Lord never makes any mistakes. The Lord bless you ; the Lord bless you." ¶

God bless you one and all. May we never lose the knowledge that he lives, that he hears and answers our prayers. May we grow in knowledge of Jesus Christ our Redeemer and Savior. May we grow in a knowledge that Joseph Smith was in very deed a prophet ; that the revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants, given even before the Church was organized, have been fulfilled time and time again; that his name should be known for good and evil all over the world, and that he should suffer persecutions. Finally he was martyred for the cause. May we be loyal and true to that prophet and to the Gospel of Jesus Christ is my humble prayer, and I ask it in the name of our Redeemer. Amen. ¶