I feel thankful for the opportunity of meeting in Conference, for I
feel that thereby I may be posted and instructed in those principles
that are necessary to qualify us in the building up of the kingdom. I
need not say that we are a blessed people, for we all know it, and to
some extent we realize it. At least I can say for one, or, in other
words, I can speak for myself. So far as I am concerned, I can
realize, and I fully believe more than ever since I joined the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, that God our Heavenly Father is
with this people, and that his hand is over us to preserve us all the
day long, and as Saints of the Most High we ought to be grateful to
the Giver of all good for the many tokens of his beneficent care.
If we inquire after the welfare of the Latter-day Saints, we are told
that all is peace and quietness. How did we come by these glorious
principles of life and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost? Where did they
emanate from? They came from God our Heavenly Father, by embracing the
Gospel of Jesus Christ in faith and in sincerity. And our testimony to
this effect has been felt from the rivers to the ends of the earth.
And by carrying out these principles the Gospel has brought thousands
into these valleys.
There is no necessity for the Work of the Lord to stop in its present
condition and circumstances. Why so? Simply because the kingdom of
God, as an organized body, is just like the introduction of the
doctrine of plu rality of wives, it has got a first-rate good
start, and I know that the Devil and all the emissaries from the
infernal regions cannot stop it. The Devil don't like it, but he
cannot help himself, for the Work of God will roll on as long as there
is an opposing power upon the earth, and then it will continue to
spread after every species of opposition is banished from the earth.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been organized
thirty-three years today, and according to the success and spread of
the Gospel of the Son of God at the time when it was first presented
to the human family, if we may judge comparatively, it will not take
thirty-three years more to redeem Zion and to usher in that reign of
righteousness and peace which we all anticipate and for which we all
pray most devoutly.
In the days of Jesus there was just as much opposition as there is
today; then the Work had but just commenced—it was in its infancy, and
did not God our Heavenly Father bear off his kingdom then? He
certainly maintained it till he saw that the Priesthood could no
longer remain upon the earth. He did then and he bears it off today
and will so continue until his kingdom triumphs and those who get
under the wheel will be crushed to powder.
My testimony is, that this is the Work of God, that it emanated from
the Father of light, and I know that it will roll forth and prosper
until the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our God and of
his Christ. I know that God is able to make the wrath of man praise
him just the same now as he was in the days of the Prophets of old.
Who can frustrate the Work of God? It is written, "The wisdom of the
wise shall perish, and the under standing of the prudent shall be hid."
It is verily so in this age and generation, for we see the Elders of
Israel going forth without purse and without scrip, preaching by the
power of God the peaceable things of the kingdom to those who sit in
darkness and in the shadow of death, and they confound the gainsayer
and put to silence the faultfinder. Then, when I see the wisdom that
is displayed through the ministers of this Church, I ask myself the
question, Are we doing our duty as Saints? Because if we are not, it
is time we were waking up to a sense of our obligations to the
Almighty and to his cause.
I am fully satisfied that we are the happiest people upon the face of
the earth, and it has been brought about by our union and by our faith
in God; but have we been doing the best we could to live our religion
according to the best light and knowledge we have possessed? If we
have, we have within us the satisfaction of having done our duty.
Now, the order is to call a number of Missionaries to go to the
European nations, and we are selecting our young men, the sons of the
Apostles and Elders of Israel, so as to give them an experience in
preaching the words of life, and that they may feel their dependence
upon God our Heavenly Father. These young men going to gather the
people home to Zion that they may enjoy the society of their brethren
and friends here in the valleys of Ephraim, and participate in the
blessings of that counsel that is so liberally imparted unto us by our
leaders.
We have come here to build temples and tabernacles for the purpose of
worshiping our God therein, and if we do not do these things
we shall fall short of accomplishing that great Work that is laid upon
us to perform. Then, I say, let us build temples, let us gather up our
teams and send for the poor and thereby accomplish the Work that God
has set on foot in this our day. Notwithstanding we are weak
creatures, yet we can do something in the rolling forth of the kingdom
of God. I wish a great many times that I could do a great deal better
than I do, but, at any rate, I can say that I am trying with all my
soul to combat the powers of darkness, and I intend to outgeneral the
common adversary of our souls. Supposing we are united as the heart of
one man, then what have we to do with the world? A great many think
that we want to fight the world, but I tell you it is all nonsense,
excepting so far as that spiritual warfare is concerned, in which we
are all engaged more or less. Our enemies imagine that we want to wage
war with them, but they are greatly mistaken, for we are only at war
with their corruption, meanness, and degraded conduct. We are upward,
and we have taken steps forward in the kingdom of God, advancing from
one degree of light to another, and the world are mad about it, but we
cannot help that, our business is to serve God and keep his
commandments, and therefore we should endeavor to walk uprightly,
remembering that the promise is, "I will not withhold any good thing
from them that walk uprightly."
Do we expect to realize a fulness of these blessings today. No, but
we expect to realize some of them—a little today and a little more
tomorrow, and thus go on from step to step and from grace to grace
until we find ourselves safely landed back in the presence of our
Father in heaven. As regards preaching to this people and gathering up
the poor from other lands, I can truly say that I have never seen a
time in my experience when there was such a willing spirit in Israel
as there is at the present time. I can truly say that we have raised
the fifty-three teams this year just as easy as we did the thirty last
year, and there is quite a difference between thirty and fifty-three.
And I feel that this people will be more blessed in their fields, in
their teams, in all their stock and in their labor of every kind than
they were last year. Did we miss our teams last year? We might miss
them from our sight, but the Lord so abundantly blessed us that we
scarcely ever heard them mentioned: everything moved on harmoniously
during the entire season. The Lord blessed the seed that we put into
the ground; he watered the earth from the heavens, and the Saints of
God felt amply rewarded for their labors to help to build up the
kingdom of God.
Though many may have felt a little fainthearted because of the
war-cloud that has hung over us, but which has now burst without doing
anybody any harm, yet I feel to say that if we go to war it will be in
self-defense, but at present there is no danger of any serious
trouble. We delight not in the shedding of blood, and my testimony
before High Heaven, before this people and before the nations of the
earth is, that we are for peace, and we intend to have it, if we have
to fight for it. You know it may be possible that a man may have to
fight for his religion. This may seem strange, but if a man has got
wives, children, flocks, herds, and Priesthood and gifts from God, and
would not fight for them, I would not give much for him. I say we will fight like the angels of heaven, and we will call upon our
Father in the heavens, upon Jesus Christ, upon the Prophets and upon
the Spirits of just men that have perfected themselves in the Gospel
of the Son of God, and then by their help we will win every time, and
the Devil knows it. Is this boasting? No, not one particle; but if we
do boast we boast in our God, and in those liberal principles which
our Father has revealed unto us.
Brethren, let us attend to our duties, and let it ever be uppermost in
our hearts to build up the kingdom of God. The promises have and are
still being fulfilled. I have seen the wonder-working hand of the
Almighty ever since I have been in this Church, and I have realized,
to some extent, when preaching the Gospel, that the power of God has
accompanied my words. The Lord has sustained his Work wherever the
Elders have gone forth preaching the Gospel, and he will continue to
do so; he will feed them and clothe them, and his Work will roll forth
under the administration of these young men; the blessings of God will
go with them. This is my testimony to you young men who are called
upon to go on missions.
Jesus said to his disciples, "If I go away I will send you another
Comforter, and when he is come he will reprove the world of sin, and of
righteousness, and of judgment." This Spirit will go with these, our
young brethren, and it will back up their words when they stand up and
bear testimony to the truth. Then let us all try to keep this Spirit
within us; let us also labor to build temples, tabernacles, and all
necessary public buildings; let us labor to gather the poor and then
the Lord will bless us in all things; prosperity and peace will attend
our every effort to build up God's kingdom on the earth.
May God bless you, brethren and sisters, is my prayer, in the name of
Jesus Christ: Amen.
- Ezra T. Benson