Conference Address

My beloved brethren and sisters, I feel very dependent upon the Spirit of the Lord and your faith while I stand here before you. We have heard a great deal about the preaching of the gospel and the burden which is upon us to carry this message to the world. I would like to add a few words in regard to this responsibility and something in regard to the condition of the world into which we are sent. ¶

Gospel Taught by Adam ¶

Adam was commanded by our Father in heaven to teach his children the everlasting truth. We read in the scriptures the following: ¶

And Adam and Eve blessed the name of God, and they made all things known unto their sons and their daughters. And Satan came among them saying: I am also a son of God; and he commanded them, saying: Be.t lieve it not; and they believed it not, and they loved Satan more than God. And men began from that time forth to be carnal, sensual, and devilish. (Pearl of Great Price, Moses 5:12-13.) ¶

Prophets Rejected by Men ¶

So they turned away from the truth unto the worship of all manner of false doctrines and gods, refusing to hearken to the prophets that were sent among them, and it became necessary for the Lord to bring in the flood upon them and cleanse the earth of its iniquity. Once again the world started out with just one family, and as men began to spread upon the face of the earth, they were taught by the prophets and were given revelation from the Almighty; but they, too, in course of time rebelled and set up their own churces and worshiped their own gods and graven images. Under these conditions the Lord called a man out of the land of the Chaldees and sent him into the land of Canaan, promising him great blessings and his posterity after him, through obedience to the Lord's commandments. Today we call that people Israel. But in course of time Israel also rebelled. They would not listen to their prophets, so they were scattered over all the face of the earth for their rebellion. This has been the history all through the ages, because men became carnal, sensual, and devilish. ¶

One of the ancient prophets on this continent, speaking of our day, said: ¶

But behold, in the last days, or in the days of the Gentiles — yea, behold all the nations of the Gentiles and also the Jews, both those who shall come upon this land and those who shall be upon other lands, yea, even upon all the lands of the earth, behold, they will be drunken with iniquity and all manner of abominations — ¶

And when that day shall come they shall be visited of the Lord of Hosts, with thunder and with earthquake, and with a great noise, and with storm, and with tempest, and with the flame of devouring fire. (II Nephi 27:1-2.) ¶

Gospel Restored Through Joseph Smith ¶

The Lord saw fit to restore, after a great apostasy, the truth of the gospel through the Prophet Joseph Smith. He sent angels from his presence. In fact, this great prophet was visited by both the Father and the Son and was given authority to commence this great dispensation of the fulness of times and to teach the truth of the everlasting gospel, because again men had turned away from the truth to the worship of their idols and the practice of false doctrines. They have set up churches of their own where the Spirit of the Lord is not found. The Lord sent out his missionaries in the beginning of this dispensation to preach the restored gospel, and he said to them that he was sending them with this message of truth among the "congregations of the wicked"; and this he repeated many times. In a revelation given in October 1830. when the Church had been restored but six months, the Lord said this : ¶

For verily, verily, I say unto you that ye are called to lift up your voices as with the sound of a trump, to declare my gospel unto a crooked and perverse generation. ¶

For behold, the field is white already to harvest; and it is the eleventh hour, and the last time that I shall call laborers into my vineyard. (D. & C. 33:2-3.) ¶

Warning of Calamities to Come ¶

By the "last time" the Lord meant the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times. ¶

The Prophet Joseph Smith instructed his brethren and informed them of the calamities that were to come. He warned the world of its wickedness, and he told these good men of the Council of the Twelve, who were associated with him, that because of the wickness of the world and its corruption, destruction would come upon it. Some of these brethren say that as he told them of these things he wept as our Savior wept when he looked upon Jerusalem. President Wilford Woodruff, speaking of this testimony and this warning to the world which the Prophet had seen in vision of things which were coming upon the earth, said: "I heard the Prophet Joseph Smith bear his testimony to these events that would transpire in the earth," and after predicting that they were now at our doors, he said also; "We cannot draw a veil over the events that await this generation. No man that is inspired by the Spirit and power of God can close his ears, his eyes, or his lips, to these things." I think we have no right to close our ears, and we have no right to be silent and shut our eyes against the warnings that the Lord has given and placed before us which we are commanded to declare to the nations of the earth. Again the Lord says: ¶

For all flesh is corrupted before me; and the powers of darkness prevail upon the earth, among the children of men, in the presence of all the hosts of heaven — ¶

Which causeth silence to reign, and all eternity is pained, and the angels are waiting the great command to reap down the earth, to gather the tares that they may be burned; and, behold, the enemy is combined. (D. & C. 38:11-12.) ¶

Prophecies of Wilford Woodruff and Nephi ¶

I heard President Wilford Woodruff, in this stand, this same place where I stand, bear witness as he had done in other places, in 1893, and up to the time of his death, that the angels who had been waiting to go forth to reap down the earth had now been sent upon that mission and they were in the earth. Therefore, he said we may look for calamities, for destruction, for plague and bloodshed. Now let me read a little to you by way of warning, something given by prophecy to Nephi concerning our own day. Speaking to the people who are living now, he said: ¶

O the wise, and the learned, and the rich, that are puffed up in the pride of their hearts, and all those who preach false doctrines, and all those who commit whoredoms, and pervert the right way of the Lord, wo, wo, wo be unto them, saith the Lord God Almighty, for they shall be thrust down to hell! ¶

Wo unto them that turn aside the just for a thing of naught and revile against that which is good, and say that it is of no worth! For the day shall come that the Lord God will speedily visit the inhabitants of the earth; and in that day that they are fully ripe in iniquity they shall perish. ¶

But behold, if the inhabitants of the earth shall repent of their wickedness and abominations they shall not be destroyed, saith the Lord of Hosts. ¶

But behold, that great and abominable church, the whore of all the earth, must tumble to the earth, and great must be the fall thereof. ¶

For the kingdom of the devil must shake, and they which belong to it must needs be stirred up unto repentance, or the devil will grasp them with his everlasting chains, and they be stirred up to anger, and perish; ¶

For behold, at that day shall he rage in the hearts of the children of men, and stir them up to anger against that which is good. ¶

And others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well — and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell. ¶

(This has reference, if you please, largely to those who are in Zion. ) ¶

And behold, others he flattereth away, and telleth them there is no hell; and he saith unto them: I am no devil, for there is none — and thus he whispereth in their ears, until he grasps them with his awful chains, from whence there is no deliverance. ¶

Yea, they are grasped with death, and hell; and death, and hell, and the devil, and all that have been seized therewith must stand before the throne of God, and be judged according to their works, from whence they must go into the place prepared for them, even a lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless torment. (II Nephi 28:15-23.) ¶

Wickedness Increasing in the World ¶

There is much more that I would like to present if time would permit. Let me call your attention to the fact that this world is not growing better. If I may be pardoned for the expression: We need not "kid" ourselves into thinking that this world is growing better. If so, then the prophecies have failed. This world today is full of wickedness. That wickedness is increasing. True, there are many righteous people scattered throughout the earth, and it is our duty to search them out and give unto them the gospel of Jesus Christ and bring them out of Babylon. The Lord has said to them: "Go ye out of Babylon," which is the world. ¶

Now the Lord has said this is the last time the gospel should be given to men and his servants should cry nothing but repentance, and he has further said: ¶

For behold, the field is white already to harvest; and it is the eleventh hour, and the last time that I shall call laborers into my vineyard. ¶

And my vineyard has become corrupted every whit; and there is none which doeth good save it be a few; and they err in many instances because of priestcrafts, all having corrupt minds. ¶

And verily, verily, I say unto you, that this church have I established and called forth out of the wilderness. (D. & C. 33:3-5.) ¶

Gospel Preached as a Witness ¶

And for what purpose is the gospel preached? To bring the people to a knowledge of the truth and as a witness before the end of the world shall come or the end of wickedness. Even before the organization of the Church, back in 1829, the Lord drew attention by revelation to the preaching of his servants, and he said: ¶

And their testimony shall also go forth unto the condemnation of this generation if they harden their hearts against them. (D. & C. 5:18.) ¶

This was said more particularly in reference to the testimonies of these men who are witnesses of the Book of Mormon, and their testimony has gone forth through all the world. But this is also true of the testimonies of all others who have gone forth to preach the gospel. Then the Lord adds: ¶

For a desolating scourge shall go forth among the inhabitants of the earth, and shall continue to be poured out from time to time, if they repent not, until the earth is empty, and the inhabitants thereof are consumed away and utterly destroyed by the brightness of my coming. ¶

Behold, I tell you these things, even as I also told the people of the destruction of Jerusalem; and my word shall be verified at this time as it hath hither-to been verified. (D. & C. 5:19, 20.) ¶

Missionaries to Warn the People ¶

The Lord has placed upon us the responsibility to preach the gospel, but there is another great responsibility. I think some of our missionaries have had an idea that all we had to do was to make friends, and if they wanted to come in the Church, well and good, and the missionaries have not realized that they were under the obligation to leave a warning, and it is just as necessary that we warn the world as it is to declare the way of eternal life. The Lord said to the missionaries who went out in the early days: ¶

That ye may be prepared in all things when I shall send you again to magnify the calling whereunto I have called you, and the mission with which I have commissioned you. Behold, I send you out to testify and warn the people, and it becometh every man who hath been warned to warn his neighbor. Therefore, they are left without excuse, and their sins are upon their own heads. (D. & C. 88:80-82.) ¶

Every missionary who goes out should see to it that he leaves his testimony, so that he will be free as the Lord has declared he should be in section four of the Doctrine and Covenants; and so that every man with whom he comes in contact should be warned and left without excuse, and thus the blood of every man may be upon his own head. ¶

Opposed to Military Conscription ¶

If you think the world is getting better, just observe and witness the vulgarity and the near-approach to indecency that we find published in some pictorial magazines, and so frequently on the screen. Think of the corruption and the debasing conditions due to the indulgence in liquor and tobacco and other narcotics and drugs. Think of the immorality which is so prevalent throughout the country. We are made aware of the evils which existed in our army camps by the reports in the paper, the magazines, and from the lips of our own boys who have returned. Now pressure is brought upon us to bring to pass the compulsion of our youth at the tender years when they are most impressionable, and force them into military camps where they will have no protection, or very little, from the vices which are so prevalent in army camps. I want to say to you, my brethren and sisters, for one, I am opposed to it! ¶

Now let us go forth and preach this gospel with the understanding that we have the dual responsibility of bearing witness and leading the righteous, the honest, to a knowledge of the truth, and then leaving all others without excuse by the witness which we bear to them. ¶

I ask it in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶