Brethren and sisters, I am called upon and requested to make a few
remarks to you this afternoon, in which privilege I feel thankful to
my heavenly Father, and also for the privilege of meeting with the
Saints in general Conference.
The representatives of every part of the Territory are here, and to be
privileged to speak, though perhaps but a few minutes, still it is a
gratification; and to look upon you and your countenances is a
privilege that I prize. If we were prepared to enter into heaven, to
do according to our ideas of heaven, or as we have been used to
believe, and should get up there in the presence of God, or in the
presence of the spirits that are greater than we are, and undertake to
teach and instruct them it would not seem exactly in place, and yet
perhaps it might be in place, for those spirits might wish to know
what was in us. It is in this manner that I do it at this time; it is
not with a wish to instruct those that bear rule in the kingdom of
God, but I suppose that they would like to know from us who have been
at a distance, to know what kind of spirit we possess. Therefore as
liberty is given to speak upon whatever subject is desired by the
person addressing you, it may be supposed that every speaker will
speak upon some favorite theme, that our spirits may be weighed in the
balances and compared with the principles of the Gospel. I feel when I
contemplate the principles of our holy religion very much as I do when
I go into a very nice orchard and get hold of a good ripe peach, I
naturally exclaim, this is excellent! I taste another, and say
that is very good; of another I say it is luscious. Then I meet with
some apples; I get hold of a Rhode Island Greening in the season
thereof, and of course I say this is the finest going; then I get hold
of a golden pippin and I think this is the finest of all. So I think
with the spirits of great and good men in the Gospel; they are all
best, and I do not know which to select of the principles of life and
salvation. President Young gave us a key some time ago, to certain
principles, and I thought I would make a few remarks upon a principle
that seems to present itself to my mind. Suppose that there is in this
town a man of honor, a man who fulfils his contracts, who never was
known to cheat the laborer or cut him down in his price. His character
is known; you enlist in his employment, and you have no doubt but you
will be rewarded, and you know he is abundantly able and qualified to
fulfil his word and promise, and you have no doubt or hesitancy in
regard to receiving pay for your labor. You go on working and
laboring, and you are confident that you will get your pay; not the
least doubt in the world. Well, really, that is no more than we should
do; it is no very high compliment to us, if while trusting in that
individual and believing that we will get our pay and get justly
rewarded unless we turn the tables and ask the question to ourselves,
"Has that individual who has employed us got confidence in us, that we
will execute and perform according to his wishes?" It is good to trust
in the Lord, to repose confidence in what he has said to us, but it is
better to secure and be sure that we have the confidence of the
Almighty. When a man that you have employed in this service has proven
that he is worthy, that he is faithful, wise, discreet, and understands
what belongs to his duties in every branch of his profession, and who
understands well how to keep all things in order, then he can be
trusted and promoted according to his master's pleasure.
Your employer has looked down upon you and seen your wisdom and the
interest that you have taken in his affairs, till by-and-by it comes
to something that is wanted to be done, then the employer goes to his
master and says, "Sir, how shall I execute this piece of work? In what
manner shall I perform this branch of business?" "Why," says the
master, "you understand my policy, and you understand that I have full
confidence in you, therefore go and do it in a manner that will suit
yourself." Now, an employer won't say that to every individual, but he
might say it to one in whom he had the most unlimited confidence. May
we not arrive at a point where we can secure the confidence of the
Almighty, so that he will say, "Whatever you bind on earth shall be
bound in heaven. You know my policy; I have full confidence in you,
indeed the light of Heaven shines in your hearts, and with this go and
do as seemeth good unto you." Arriving at this point may we not get
the entire confidence of our heavenly Father in regard to all the
duties that lie before us.
Now, it would not be a very high compliment for us to trust in that
wealthy man who has plenty of means and who never violated his word,
still it is good to trust in him; it shows that we consider him
abundantly able and willing to fulfil his contracts. It is good to
trust in the Lord, but what fool would not? There are some men who
would not, especially if that trust touched their pockets. The gold,
the silver, and everything that we own belongs to him, and we cannot
trust too much in him. It is no very high compliment for us to say
that we trust in the Lord; still it is good, it shows that we
appreciate his policy and goodness; but when we can take a course of
life to cause the Almighty to trust in us, and whenever he can find us
to be a people in whom he can trust, then all those blessings referred
by the President this morning will be poured out upon us. What will he
put upon us when we show our obedience to his laws? He will take from
the world their sovereignty and leave only desolation and confusion,
and he will take the power which they claim to have and will transfer
it to his chosen and anointed ones, just so soon as he can feel safe
in doing so.
Well, brethren and sisters, I just wanted to impress this idea upon
our minds. I say our, because I take it to myself, and it is my
determination to pursue that course in all my teachings and in all my
operations that will secure to me the confidence of our heavenly
Father, the Lord being my helper. My heart is fully set to secure the
confidence of the Almighty, and also of all the just ones.
May this be the desire and determination of every heart, is my prayer
in the name of Jesus. Amen.