Dear Brethren And Sisters I Have Been...

• Dear brethren and sisters: I have been asked to speak this morning, and I have chosen for my subject "The Purpose of Mortal Man's Existence." ¶

I hope and pray that the Lord will bless me that I may give you good people the things that are essential in the world today. ¶

The object of our being here is to do the will of the Father as it is done in heaven, to work righteousness in the earth, to subdue wickedness and put it under our feet, to conquer sin and the adversary of our souls, to rise above the imperfections and weaknesses of poor fallen humanity, by the inspiration of the Lord and his power made manifest, and thus become the saints and servants of the Lord in the earth. ¶

Responsibility to the Lord

We are dealing with our faith and conscience; you are dealing not with me, not with the Presidency of the Church, but with the Lord. I am not dealing with men respecting my tithing— my dealings are with the Lord; that is, with reference to my own conduct in the Church and with reference to my observance of the other laws and rules of the Church. If I fail to observe the laws of the Church, I am responsible to the Lord and will have to answer to him, by and by, for my neglect of duty, and I may have to answer to the Church for my fellowship. If I do my duty, according to my understanding of the requirements that the Lord has made of me, then I ought to have a conscience void of offense. ¶

I ought to have satisfaction in my soul that I have simply done my duty as I understand it, and I will accept the consequences. With me, it is a matter between me and the Lord; so it is with every one of us. ¶

A Mission to Accomplish

He who sent his Only Begotten Son into the world, to accomplish the mission that he did, also sent every soul within the sound of my voice, and indeed every man and woman in the world, to accomplish a mission, and that mission cannot be accomplished by neglect, nor by indifference, nor can it be accomplished by ignorance. ¶

We should learn the obligation that we are under to the Lord and to each other; these things are essential, and we cannot prosper in spiritual things, we cannot grow in knowledge of the Lord or in wisdom, without devoting our thoughts and our efforts toward our own betterment, toward the increase of our own wisdom and knowledge in the things of the Lord. ¶

It is therefore proper, and indeed it becomes the duty of those who are placed upon the towers as watchmen in Zion, to exhort the people to diligence, to prayerfulness, to humility, to a love of the truth that has been revealed to them, and to earnest devotion to the work of the Lord, which is intended for their individual salvation; not that I can save any man, nor that any man can save any other man or fit him for exaltation in the kingdom of God. This is not given to me to do for others, nor is it given to any man to be a savior in this sense or in this way to his fellowmen. But men can set an example. Men can proclaim the truth to others and can point out the way to them in which to walk. ¶

Men can only be saved and exalted in the kingdom of God in righteousness; therefore, we must repent of our sins and walk in the light as Christ is in the light, that his blood may cleanse us from all sins and that we may have fellowship with the Lord and receive of his glory and exaltation. ¶

Obedience to Law of the Lord

Though the Lord should try me by withholding his blessings from me, that should make no difference to me. The point is, what is the law of the Lord? ¶

And if I know that law, it is my duty to obey it, though I suffer death in consequence. Many a man has gone to the stake in obedience, as he believed, to the commandments of the Lord. Not one of the ancient disciples who were chosen by Jesus Christ escaped martyrdom, except Judas and John. Judas betrayed the Lord and sacrificed his own life, and John received the promise of the Lord that he should live until He came again to the earth. All the others were put to death — some crucified, some dragged in the streets of Rome, some thrown from pinnacles, and some stoned to death. ¶

For what? For obeying the law of the Lord and bearing testimony to that which they knew to be true. ¶

The Lord will honor those who honor him, and will remember those who remember him. He will uphold and sustain all those who sustain truth and are faithful to it. The Lord help us, therefore, to be faithful to the truth, now and forever. ¶

Spirit of Forgiveness

We hope and pray that you will go from this conference to your homes feeling in your hearts and from the depths of your souls to forgive one another, and never from this time forth to bear malice toward another fellow creature. We ought to say in our hearts, let the Lord judge between me and thee, but as for me, I will forgive. ¶

Go home and dismiss envy and hatred from your hearts; dismiss the feeling of unforgiveness; and cultivate in your souls that spirit of Christ that cried out upon the cross, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." ¶

(Luke 23:34.) This is the spirit that the Latter-day Saints ought to possess all the day long. It is a good thing to be at peace with the Lord. ¶

Be True to the Faith

I will say now to all of the Latter-day Saints, let us live our religion. Let us do all in our power to plant in the hearts of the people the glorious truth that Jesus is the Christ, the Redeemer of the world, and that Joseph Smith is a prophet of the living God, whom the Lord raised up in these last days to restore the everlasting gospel and power of the Holy Priesthood. We should set an example; we should be true to the faith; we should be true to our covenants, true to the Lord, and true to one another. I can tell you that the man who is not true to the interests of the people will be the man who will be found, by and by, left out and in a pitiable spiritual condition. The man who stays with the kingdom of God, who is true to this people, who keeps himself pure and unspotted from the world is the man that the Lord will accept, uphold, and sustain. ¶

I believe it is good to seek knowledge out of the best books, to be able to comprehend the purpose of the Lord with reference to the nations of the earth; and I believe that one of the most important things, and perhaps more important to us than studying the history of the world, is studying the principles of the gospel, that they may be established in our hearts and souls above all other things, to qualify us to go out into the world to preach and teach the people the first principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ. ¶

Improvement of Musical Talents

I would like to say right here that it delights my heart to see our people everywhere improving their talents as good singers. Everywhere we go among our people we find sweet voices and talent for music. I believe that this is a manifestation to us of the purpose of the Lord in this direction toward our people, that they will excel in these things, as they should excel in every other good thing. I can remember, when I was a young boy, hearing my father sing. I do not know how much of a singer he was, for at that time I was not capable of judging as to the quality of his singing, but the hymns he sang became familiar to me in the days of my childhood. ¶

When we listen to this choir, we listen to music, and music is truth. ¶

Good music is gracious praise of the Lord. It is delightsome to the ear, and it is one of our most acceptable methods of worshiping. And those who sing in the choir and in all the choirs of the Saints should sing with the Spirit and with understanding. They should not sing merely because it is a profession, or because they have a good voice; but they should sing also because they have the spirit of it, and can enter into the spirit of prayer and praise the Lord who gave them their sweet voices. My soul is always lifted up, and my spirit cheered and comforted, when I hear good music. I rejoice in it very much indeed. ¶

Seek After Salvation

Then let the Saints unite; let them hearken to the voices of the servants of the Lord that are sounded in their ears; let them seek their own salvation, for, so far as I am concerned, I am so selfish that I am seeking after my salvation, and I know that I can find it only in obedience to the laws of the Lord in keeping the commandments, in performing works of righteousness, following in the footsteps of our file leader, Jesus, the exemplar and the head of all. He is the way of life; he is the light of the world; he is the door by which we must enter in order that we may have a place with him in the celestial kingdom. ¶

Acknowledge Hand of the Lord

How much happier we are in the presence of a grateful and loving soul, and how careful we should be to cultivate, through the medium of a prayerful life, a thankful attitude. I believe that one of the greatest sins of which the inhabitants of the earth are guilty today is the sin of ingratitude, the want of acknowledgment, on their part, of the Lord and his right to govern and control. ¶

We see a man with extraordinary gifts, or with great intelligence, and he is instrumental in developing some great principle. He and the world ascribe his great genius and wisdom to himself. He attributes his success to his own energies, labor, and mental capacity. He does not acknowledge the hand of the Lord in anything connected with his success, but ignores him altogether and takes the honor to himself. This will apply to almost all the world. In all the great modern discoveries in science, in the arts, in mechanics, and in all the material advancement of the age, the world says, "We have done it." The individual says, "I have done it," and he gives no honor or credit to the Lord. ¶

Now, I read in the revelations through Joseph Smith, the Prophet, that because of this, the Lord is not pleased with the inhabitants of the earth; he is angry with them because they will not acknowledge his hand in all things. ¶

Brethren and sisters, let us not forget to be grateful to our Father in heaven and thank him for all his kindness to us and the watch-care he has over us; and may he bless us with every righteous desire of our hearts, I humbly pray, in the name of our Redeemer. ¶

Amen. ¶