My Brothers And Sisters I Wish To...

My brothers and sisters, I wish to express my feelings along with others in this conference regarding the passing of our late President, George Albert Smith. I, for one, have lost a great friend. I don't think anyone has been more able to take the place of my earthly father than President George Albert Smith has done. ¶

I think he emulated in his life all of the principles of the gospel, and no matter what subject is selected during this conference by the General Authorities or any of those who speak here, it will be a subject of which President George Albert Smith was an excellent example. ¶

Key to Happiness

And I pray the Lord will be with me as I express today what thought I have had in mind on the principles of the gospel and the foundation upon which we may have happiness in this life and happiness in the life to come; for no happiness comes without success, or without growth and progress. ¶

Reading from the Doctrine and Covenants, Section twenty-nine, verses 36 to 40, And it came to pass that Adam, being tempted of the devil — for, behold, the devil was before Adam, for he rebelled against me, saying, Give me thine honor, which is my power; and also a third part of the hosts of the heaven turned he away from me because of their agency; And they were thrust down, and thus came the devil and his angels; And, behold, there is a place prepared for them from the beginning, which place is hell. ¶

And it must needs be that the devil should tempt the children of men, or they could not be agents unto themselves; for if they never should have bitter they could not know the sweet — Wherefore, it came to pass that the devil tempted Adam, and he partook of the forbidden fruit and transgressed the commandment, wherein he became subject to the will of the devil, because he yielded unto temptation. ¶

And reading from Moses: ¶

And in that day the Holy Ghost fell upon Adam, which beareth record of the Father and the Son, saying: I am the only begotten of the Father from the beginning, henceforth and forever, that as thou hast fallen thou mayest be redeemed, and all mankind, even as many as will. ¶

And in that day Adam blessed God and was filled, and began to prophesy concerning all the families of the earth, saying: Blessed be the name of God, for because of my transgression my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy, and again in the flesh I shall see God. ¶

And Eve, his wife, heard all these things and was glad, saying: ¶

Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient. (Moses 5:9-11.) In both these references we are given the key to happiness in this life and happiness in the life to come to carry throughout all eternity. ¶

Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy. (II Nephi 2:25.) ¶

Presence of Good and Evil

Joy comes as a result of progress, as a result of accomplishment for good. That is why we all shouted for joy when the opportunity was given to us to come to this earth and partake of the blessings through obedience, made possible to us through exercising free agency. For man to exercise free agency he must have both sides to choose from. In every decision made there must be both a good and an evil influence; for if we had all of the good or all of the evil we would be right in the same path which Satan tried to establish in the first place, that of predestination. And so there must be both sides to choose from in every case. ¶

As the Lord said in the Doctrine and Covenants in the verse from which I previously read: ¶

And it must needs be that the devil should tempt the children of men, or they could not be agents unto themselves; for if they never should have bitter they could not know the sweet. (D. & C. 29:39.) Therefore, in all that we do we must be tempted. Then our growth depends upon our obedience. The first step in our progress for the eternities is accepting the gospel of Jesus Christ. We do not convert others; missionaries do not convert others. We teach them to think for themselves; and when they have a desire within themselves to receive knowledge and express that desire in action, by being obedient to the desires of God, then they have fulfilled that law upon which that blessing is predicated, which brings a knowledge of the gospel to them through the Holy Ghost. ¶

Baptism is the fulfilling of an ordinance which is an act of testifying that we will be obedient in keeping the commandments of God. ¶

The greatest blessing promised in the Word of Wisdom is that of knowledge. The promises given are: ¶

And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, shall receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones; And shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures. (D. & C. 89:18-19.) ¶

Desire to be Obedient

I am reminded of a story of a man who once tried to discontinue the use of tobacco. He became almost a nervous wreck. He worried himself sick about how much he was going without tobacco. It was on his mind constantly until he became so nervous and so shaky that he couldn't hold his hands still. Then later on, the elders — the missionaries — contacted him and told him about the Word of Wisdom and he said, "If that's what the Lord wants, then I'll do it." And with the idea in his mind that he was going to do it because of obedience to the commandments of the Lord, he discontinued the use of tobacco; and he held his hands out in front of the visitors with him and said, "Look how steady I am; I'm as steady as ony of them and I have gone without tobacco for some months." ¶

Our mental attitude has much to do with whether or not we want to be obedient to the commandments of the Lord. ¶

The same is true in respect to paying tithing. If a man pays his tithing because he wants to be obedient to the commandments of God, he will receive more blessings as a result, and it will be much easier to pay. And so it is with all other requirements of the gospel; for example, attendance at sacrament meetings. What is said at Church is not always remembered, but we receive the blessing for being obedient. As a result we carry the Spirit of the Lord with us in our work between meetings and in our various activities until we again gather with the Saints. ¶

Blessings Follow Obedience

Some people sacrifice all the blessings of the temple endowment and sealing, including the blessings of godhood and exaltation just because they do not want to be obedient in wearing the temple garment. The greatest blessing that comes from wearing the garment is the result of obedience. Then the Lord will bless us. The success of our entire earth life depends upon how well we learn to be obedient. ¶

There can be no obedience without free agency which gives us both good and evil to choose from. Thank God for the gospel plan and the power God gives us to resist evil and choose the right. ¶

And may the Lord be with us and give us those blessings that we need, to carry us through these troubled times, for as long as we are obedient to his will and do that which is in our power, the Lord will take care of the rest of it. And we needn't worry about distressed times, for as long as we have the gospel plan and live it with the idea of being obedient to the desires of our Heavenly Father, his way is the best way, and all other things will be taken care of. Seek ye first the kingdom of heaven and all else shall be added unto it. ¶

May the blessings of the Lord be upon this people and those at this conference and those who shall follow me in occupying the time here, I ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶