Conference Address

My dear brethren and sisters, this has been a glorious conference. I am tempted to say it is the best we have ever had, unless it be that the last is always the best. ¶

I have enjoyed the remarks made by the brethren. I think every gospel principle of consequence, and they are all of consequence, has been discussed before us the last three days. I feel built up in my faith as a result of this conference, and feel indeed that the Spirit of God has been with us to help us and inspire us during these meetings. ¶

My own contribution this afternoon must of necessity be a humble one since, like Brother Joseph Fielding Smith, I have had the experience of hearing my eloquent colleagues taking, one after the other, some of my sermons and delivering them splendidly to the congregation. ¶

Appreciation for Centennial Program

Before saying, however, what is on my mind, I would like to call attention to a remark made by President David O. McKay in this morning's service. He took occasion to thank the people of the Church and the people of the state for the assistance they have given him and the governor and members of his commission in carrying out the centennial celebration. We are all grateful for that courteous remark, but I felt that we should reverse the matter; that we, as members of the Church, as citizens of Utah, should extend to these men with President McKay at their head, our thanks for the splendid program that was arranged and supervised by them. Throughout this state, and in the wards and stakes of Zion far beyond the boundaries of Utah, this program has been carried out to the great joy and refreshment of the people who belong to the Church, and of many others, not of our faith. ¶

I would like to say the same thing about President George Albert Smith and his commission. They also had a difficult task, to get in readiness, after long planning, the great pioneer monument which now adorns the hill to the east, and to have it ready on time. On the 24th of July last, they were ready, and the dedicatory exercises were held and the responsibility accomplished. ¶

To these two men and their commissions — I think I can speak freely and correctly in your behalf — when I extend to them your thanks and appreciation for work well done. ¶

The monument on the hill is in honor of the Mormon Pioneers — that is its principal objective — but through the sculptor's skill it embodies a practically complete, pre-pioneer history of this region. If one will walk about the monument, study the figures, learn to understand their meanings, he will have a good conception of all that happened in these valleys from 1776, when Father Escalante entered what is now Utah, up to the coming of the Pioneers in 1847. ¶

The Glory of the Pioneers

On July 24, 1947, just before the great parade began, I stood near the group of surviving pioneers seated in front of the Church Administration Building. I looked at them, talked with them, looked into their faces and at their hands, and read a good part of their life's history as I moved among them. Their faces told a wonderful story, not only of toil, but of great aspirations, of great faith; their hands likewise. I don't know whether you all look at the hands of people, but hands are eloquent testators of life's journey, from the chubby little fist of the baby to the veined hands of age. ¶

These men and women had endured much, they who were seated by the Administration Building on that occasion. They came here as children, mere children, but they shared in the pioneer building. Many of us here, like myself, have known personally scores and scores of those who as mature men and women came here in early pioneer days and made this state and this region what it is today. I I was touched in my heart as I became acquainted with these old, may I say, men and women, and saw in them the glory of the story that we have been celebrating this last year. ¶

When the next general conference of the Church comes, this year of memories which I know has been refreshing to all of us — it has to me — will be itself a memory, but a great and a glorious memory! And as I stood by these pioneers, the last survivors of those who came before the railroad, I observed that the great majority, on my side at least, were made up of women, women rich in years, not old — because of course no woman ever gets old — and I could read in their faces the story of their lives, how they had toiled, how they had labored, how they had built Zion, with their husbands and children. ¶

Woman's Contribution

Woman's share in the building of the West is understood by all of us, but sometimes we forget to give her the praise which is her due. As the man went out to clear the sagebrush, she stayed home and finished the little pioneer building, inside at least. She cooked the simple food for her husband and her family; and usually somewhere in a corner outside she planted flower seeds to add a touch of beauty to life. ¶

We cannot live without beauty. That has been said over and over here today, and yesterday, and the day before. Life is more than three meals a day. One must move into the spiritual realm which lies all about us to win full enjoyment in life. ¶

I hope that we all, on this occasion, and in days to come, as I am sure has been done in days past, give proper tribute to pioneer women, our mothers, grandmothers, great-grandmothers, who did quite as much in their way as did the men. It was their opportunity to help build this great western empire, and they accepted the challenge, without fear. ¶

Faith of Pioneer Women

This pioneer woman did something which glorifies her memory. There were times when the man became discouraged. They had both come perhaps from easier climates. Perhaps she came with soft hands, rosy English cheeks. She had to meet the hardships of the West. Sometimes the man, unused to the toil, the clearing of sagebrush, the plowing of the land, and all these new things, became discouraged. Sometimes despair overtook him. Then it was that the woman came to the rescue. When he looked down, she looked up. When he half-doubted, she increased in faith. ¶

The finest picture of that quality in woman's nature, within my knowledge, is on the south plaque of the Sea Gull Monument. If you have not seen it, take a look at it. The crickets had come; destruction to the crops seemed inevitable; the man has given up, but the woman stands with head raised looking towards heaven. She may not have known Browning's lines but she knew that: ¶

God's in his heaven — All's right with the world. ¶

I think this Mahonri Young's finest piece of work, among the many fine ones executed in his long series of years — he is now getting to be an old man like the rest of us. ¶

Appreciation for Work of Women

In speaking of the pioneer woman, I come necessarily to women of every time. Not only the pioneer woman, but the woman of today and tomorrow, of the east and of the west, and of the north and of the south, wherever we go. We men have good reason to thank God for the women of our households. They are strong in faith, full of courage, able to do the work that the day brings. ¶

I have brought with me quotations from two of the great Presidents of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Here is one from Heber J. Grant, whom we all knew and loved. He said: ¶

Without the wonderful work of the women I realize that the Church would have been a failure. ¶

A strong statement. I am not saying that, I am quoting from President Grant. ¶

The mother in the family, far more than the father, is the one who instils in the hearts of the children a testimony and love for the gospel of Jesus Christ. Our fathers and mothers came here in the early days for the one and only thing — to serve the Lord, and to labor for the salvation of humanity, and wherever you find a woman who is devoted to this work, almost without exception you will find that her children are devoted to it. ¶

Another President of the Church whom we loved greatly who really belongs to our day — most of us here knew him, a prince, a king among men — Joseph F. Smith, said on one occasion: ¶

There are people who are fond of saying that women are the weaker sex. I don't believe it. Physically they may be, but spiritually, morally, religiously, and in faith what man can match a woman who is really convinced! They are always more willing to make sacrifices, and are the peer of men in stability, godliness, morality, and faith. ¶

In the 1870's the distinguished grandfather of the distinguished grandson who is here today, Colonel Thomas L. Kane — we call him affectionately, Colonel Kane, for by that title we knew him best — came to Utah on his last trip. He and President Young traveled from Salt Lake to St. George together. Colonel Kane had his wife and two children with him, one of them possibly Mr. Kent Kane's father. I am not sure about that. We have here in the congregation, one of the two surviving daughters of Brigham Young, Mrs. Mabel Y. Sanborn who was on that trip, and played with those children, sang songs with them. Mrs. Kane took occasion to write to her family a series of letters, which the family published privately in a little book. I read it the other day in Washington, D. C, in the Library of Congress. I did not know then that we had a copy in the historian's library. I found the great and fervent testimony that that woman bore to the pioneer mothers of Utah, of the Mormon Church. ¶

But, if all this be true, a great responsibility rests upon womankind, one that we cannot discuss here because time does not permit, a tremendous responsibility. If she has strength and has faith and has opportunity in this Church, what can she not do to build this kingdom as the Lord would have it be! ¶

Sometimes we hear it said that this is a man's Church, not a woman's Church. That is a great mistake. It is not a man's Church; it is not a woman's Church; it is a Church of families, made up of fathers, mothers, and children. The blessings that descend upon the family are shared by all the members of the family, each one according to his or her calling, organized calling within the family. ¶

The Evil of Divorce

One more question remains in my mind, if President Smith will allow me to take two or three minutes more. In those early days we had practically no divorces, no marital upsets, no family troubles such as we have today. Today the divorce evil in America is becoming a national scandal, nothing short of it. The question is often asked, How did it happen that we had family integrity, peace, and harmony in those early days? The Church has never said that divorce should ¶

be forbidden, not be given nor taken. There may be conditions, under our frail mortal conditions, that justify divorce; but the Church has always looked askance upon it and always with sorrow. ¶

The day journal of Brigham Young records that one day a sister came to him and said: "My husband is not good to me. I want a divorce." The journal goes on further to say that President Young talked with her about an hour, from ten to eleven in the morning. The journal gives the exact time. Then, when they had finished, he turned to the woman, and he said: "Sister, I have heard your story. I am not going to give you a divorce." As you know, Brigham Young was a friend to the cause of women. He felt that they had the first right of choice. "I will not give you a divorce," he said. "Go home and be good to you husband, and don't expect heaven on earth." ¶

There is a tremendous lesson in that last phrase: "Don't expect heaven on earth." ¶

A man marries a girl and expects her to be a perfect woman; she expects him to be a perfect man; both are imperfect. Their business in life is to help each other to move more nearly towards a state of perfection. ¶

Need for Common Interest in Kingdom of God

But I think the real reason why we had so little marital unhappiness in those earlier days was something that we have forgotten in our day. Man and woman husband and wife, had a common interest, a high, worthy interest which they shared in common. There is danger in the household when a husband has one interest and the wife another. They are laying the foundation for all manner of discord, ultimate dissatisfaction with their problems, family problems. To be happy in life in a married condition, husband and wife must have a high, worthy, common interest, a common objective. That objective they had in those early days — we should have it now; I hope we do have it. They did not come out here in these valleys alone for food and clothing and shelter, to get a living. That was not the purpose of the trek across the plains, but they came to find a place of safety and to help build the kingdom of God as God would have it done. All that they did their plowing, their washing of dishes, their mending of clothes, their raising of homes, fences, and barns, was done primarily that they might better be able to further the interest of the kingdom of God upon earth. ¶

If every family in Zion will set out with that objective in all their doings, in all their undertakings, if everything is considered with reference to the building and growth of the kingdom of God, there will not be much for the divorce attorney to do. We will then live in happiness together as families, and raise our children to be noble and useful citizens of the state and of the Church. ¶

That lesson comes down to us from those early days, and connected with the place of woman in the society which we call the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. ¶

I know and have known of the strength of women. I grew up a widow's son, from my earliest childhood. My father is but a dim shadow in my memory. She taught me, and she trained me, quite as well, I think, as a father could have done. The Lord helped her. The Lord does not limit his blessings according to sex, but according to our faith and devotion to him. ¶

This has been a great conference. God bless us and be with us and make us mighty examples for good to the world, I humbly pray, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶