Faithful Latter-day Saints

Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles ¶

I feel very happy, my brethren and sisters, in my religion and the association I have with you this morning in worshiping the Lord in General Conference of His Church. Personally I appreciate your attendance at this Conference. I enjoyed very greatly, with others of my brethren and their wives, greeting about seven thousand five hundred people, leaders of the Church, at a reception held in the Hotel Utah Thursday evening; and I suppose you are all here, or most of you, today. To me it is an evidence of your faithfulness, brethren and sisters, and appreciation of the Gospel, realizing that many of you have come from afar, great distances, and at more or less expense, and I believe that you have come in discharge of a sacred religious duty, and with a desire to mingle with the Saints of God, and to worship Him in His appointed way. ¶

Faithful Latter-day Saints Commended

I feel full of blessing for you and all the faithful Saints. I know the integrity of the Latter-day Saints, the sacrifices that many of them are making for the Gospel's sake. May God bless you and reward you abundantly therefor, and keep you in the faith. Those who are indifferent and careless in regard to their religion, I hope that the Spirit of the Lord will strive with them, that men in high places of responsibility will strive with them, and that they may be brought into real activity and appreciation of the Gospel, and take advantage of their opportunities in making their calling and election sure, while they are here and have the opportunity, and I desire to be one with them. ¶

I suppose that we are all candidates for the highest degree of glory in the Celestial kingdom. In order to attain to those heights we must serve the Lord and work the works of righteousness, as outlined by the Gospel which the Lord has given us for our guide. ¶

One of the articles of our f aith reads: ¶

We believe that through the atonement of Christ all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel. ¶

Internal and External Evidences of the Gospel

There are, I may say, two principal incentives for men to yield obedience Unto the Gospel in order to obtain salvation. We may say the one is the external and the other the internal evidences of the Gospel. If we ever attain to a fulness of glory it must be by the keeping of the commandments of the Lord, by living by every word that proceedeth forth from His mouth. We must have faith in order to do so. Faith is the first principle of revealed religion, the foundation of all righteousness, and the moving cause of all action. Faith comes by the word of God. Hence we preach and teach, that men and women may have faith, that they may repent of their sins, yield obedience unto the laws and ordinances of the Gospel, and through the atonement of Jesus Christ obtain eternal life and exaltation. ¶

The internal evidences of the Gospel are experienced by those who have received the Gospel, and they have the benefits of the external evidences as well; while those who are non-members of this Church have practically but the external evidences. ¶

When I speak of internal evidences, I regard the Holy Ghost as the soul of Mormonism, and Mormonism is the Church and Kingdom of God established on the earth, with the everlasting Gospel restored in these last days. ¶

We look at a man of fine physique and personality and admire him, but we do not know his real worth until we become acquainted with him and learn that he is a man of character, a man of integrity to truth and the principles of righteousness, and then we love him more dearly. ¶

The Companionship of the Holy Ghost

People on the outside look at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints and admire its organization, its institutions, its accomplishments; but they have not felt as the Latter-day Saints have felt, who have embraced the Gospel and helped to make Mormonism what it is ¶

today. When a person has had faith to repent of his sins, and yielded obedience in the waters of baptism, and had hands laid upon him by those having authority, for confirmation to membership in the Church, and received the Holy Ghost, it is his right, through continued faithfulness, to have the companionship of the Holy Ghost with him all the time, to be, as it were, a lamp to his feet and a light to his path through life, to know the course that he should pursue, and have strength and power to pursue that course. ¶

That is the will of the Lord, and I understand what the Lord meant, when He said: "He that doeth the will of the Father shall know of His doctrine"- -- it meant that very thing. Those who have taken that course in sincerity do know, by the revelations of the Lord, through the Holy Ghost, that His course is right, in accepting of the Gospel; that this work in which we are engaged is indeed the Gospel of Jesus Christ. ¶

The scriptures tell us: "No man can say that Jesus is the Lord, except by the Holy Ghost." I bear you my testimony, brethren and sisters, that I do know, by the power of the Holy Ghost, and added evidences of the Gospel, that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior and Redeemer of the world. I feel that I know it just as well and by the same means that Peter knew, when the Savior asked His disciples: ¶

Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? ¶

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And Simon Petter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. ¶

And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, SimonBarjona; for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. ¶

Men Known by Their Fruits

The Savior gave a test that people who are not members of the Church might apply in their investigation of the Gospel, particularly in regard to prophets, that they might know a true prophet from a false one. It is contained in the seventh chapter of Matthew, where He said: ¶

Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. ¶

Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? ¶

Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. ¶

A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. ¶

Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. ¶

Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. ¶

By the fruits of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, its membership, we may be known as God's people, and this work as His work. ¶

The Prophet Isaiah Quoted

I desire to read to you, brethren and sisters, a few words from the prophecy of Isaiah, who spoke under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost and for the Lord, so that this that I am going to read to you is the word of the Lord, and was intended for us. I read from the twenty-ninth chapter: ¶

Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry; they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink. ¶

For the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes; the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered. ¶

And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot, for it is sealed: ¶

And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned. ¶

Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precepts of men: ¶

Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder; for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid. ¶

The Prophecy Fulfilled

Those of us, brethren and sisters, who are familiar with the circumstances surrounding the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, and the establishment of this work in the earth, can readily see in it a fulfilment of the word of the Lord as He spoke it through His servant, the prophet Isaiah. It was to be a marvelous work and a wonder that the Lord should bring forth at this particular time, when the Book of Mormon should come forth. The Book of Mormon itself contains a fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as taught by Him to the ancient inhabitants of this American continent, and it is before the world today. ¶

In the beginning of this work, in the days of the Prophet Joseph Smith, a wonderful work was accomplished. He laid the foundations for an ever growing and increasing organization and activities in the Church intended for the honor and glory of our Father in heaven. He was taken away in early manhood. He gave unto us the revelations of the Lord, for our guidance. At the time of his death there was but one auxiliary organization in the Church, that of the Relief Society. That organization has become a marvelous organization. Yes, I may say it has become a marvel in the eyes of men and women within and without the Church. ¶

Organizations Perfected

It was in the days of President Brigham Young that the Sunday School organization was established. It has grown and increased until it is a mighty organization in the earth, a marvelous work and a wonder, the like of which cannot be found anywhere else. ¶

It was in President Brigham Young's day that the Young Men's and Young Ladies' Mutual Improvement Associations were organized. Each of them has become a marvelous work and a wonder. ¶

It remained for the administration of President John Taylor to give to the Church the Primary organization, which is another marvelous work and a wonder in the earth today. ¶

Development of Church Under Present Administration

It remained for President Heber J. Grant and his administration to carry on this great work in its development, increasing the Stakes and Wards of Zion. In the days of the Prophet Joseph Smith they had but one or two Stakes, and now we have a hundred thirty-two. They had a few Wards, and now we have more than a thousand Wards. We have Missions established, and for more than a century we have been carrying on at tremendous expense. Today we have something like two thousand missionaries constantly in the field. The expense to the Church and to the individual missionaries and their friends, valuing a missionary's time at $900.00 a year, reaches nearly $4,000,000.00 per annum. This gives evidence of the faith and the knowledge of the Latter-day Saints that they are engaged in God's work, and are willing to make sacrifices for its advancement in the earth. ¶

In the days of President Heber J. Grant and his administration there has been organized in the Stakes of Zion a missionary system, known as the Stake missionary work of the Church; and be it known, brethren and sisters and friends, according to the statistics of the Church, in the past two years, with fewer missionaries employed, there have been more converts made within the Stakes of Zion than in the mission field. If we compare the cost of maintaining the missionary work abroad, this work carried on at home is without practically any cost to the Church and its membership. The missionaries maintain themselves. They carry on their vocational work. They can sleep in their own beds at night, eat at their own tables, and the work goes forward, -- a marvelous work and a wonder, to the credit of the present administration of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. ¶

Another outstanding accomplishment in the administration of the present President of the Church is that of the Welfare work of the Church. Those of you who heard President Clark's talk yesterday morning upon this subject of the welfare work of the Church must have been convinced that it is indeed a marvelous work and a wonder, evidence that the present President of this Church has been divinely called as God's mouthpiece and prophet unto this people. Do we need these evidences? If so, we should make use of them and let them have their influence upon our minds, at least to lead us to a careful and thorough investigation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as it is preached today. ¶

This could not be accomplished, of course, by the leadership of the Church alone. It involves the faithfulness and integrity of the membership of the Church; and may the Lord bless you, brethren and sisters, for such integrity and faithfulness. ¶

Duty of Membership of the Church

So this is the work of God, and it will go on, until God's purposes have been fully accomplished in the earth. It is for us as members of the Church to do our duty and to stand in holy places and watch the judgments of God go by. This we will do if we have the right spirit and are living our religion without any fear or trembling on our part, for we know that God will take care of His own. ¶

I bear my testimony to you, brethren and sisters, that I do know that this is God's work; that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God; that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and is and ever will be, as also his successors, one by one, down to the present time, and not the least among them President Heber J. Grant. Thank God for him. May he be preserved unto us and unto his work many years to come, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. ¶