Somewhat unexpectedly I am called to stand before you, but I do so
with pleasure, as I have a testimony to bear to the work we are
engaged in; and it gives me pleasure when an opportunity is afforded
to give expression to my feelings in relation to that work. That we
have the Gospel and have enjoyed its blessings, and that the
ordinances of the Gospel have been administered to us as Latter-day
Saints, there are thousands of witnesses in this Territory and in many
places in the world. The testimony of the truth of this work is not
confined to one or to a few; but there are thousands who can declare
that they know it is true, because it has been revealed to them.
We as a people are increasing in numbers, and the Lord Almighty is
increasing His blessings upon us, and the people are expanding in
their understandings and in the knowledge of the truth. I feel
grateful to my heavenly Father that I have been permitted to live in
this generation, and have been permitted to become acquainted,
somewhat, with the principles of the Gospel. I am thankful that I have
had the privilege of having a testimony of its truth, and that I am
permitted to stand here and elsewhere to bear my testimony to the
truth that the Gospel has been restored to man.
I have traveled somewhat among the nations preaching the Gospel and
have seen something of the condition of the world, and to a certain
extent have become acquainted with the feelings of men, and with the
religions of the world. I am aware that the Gospel, as revealed in the
Bible, cannot be found in the world; the ordinances of that Gospel
are not administered in any church except the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints. If we make ourselves acquainted with the tenets
of the religious world we shall find that they have not the Gospel nor
its ordinances; they have a form of godliness, and I have no doubt,
are as sincere as we who have obeyed the Gospel as revealed from
heaven in these days. But they are devoid of the knowledge which we
possess, and it is from the fact that they deny the source by which
they might receive this knowledge—namely, revelation from Jesus
Christ. In their minds they have closed up the heavens; they declare
that God has revealed all that is necessary, that the canon of
scripture is full, and that no more will be revealed. Believing thus,
they close up the avenue of light and intelligence from heaven; and
this will continue so long as they continue in their present course of
unbelief. They will not listen, as we have heard this afternoon, to
the testimony of men who tell them that the Lord lives, and that He is
able to reveal His will to man today as ever. They will not heed this
testimony, consequently they close the door of light and revelation.
They cannot advance, nor learn the ways of God nor walk in His paths.
We testify that the barriers which separated man from God have been
overcome, that the Lord again communicates His will to man. "But,"
says one, "How shall we become acquainted with these things? How can
we know that you are not deceived?" To all such we say, repent of your
sins in all sincerity, then go forth and be baptized, and have hands
laid upon you for the gift of the Holy Ghost, and that spirit will
bear record to you of the truth of our testimony, and you will become
witnesses of it as we are, and will be able to stand forth boldly and
testify to the world as we do. This was the path pointed out by Peter
and the Apostles on the day of Pentecost, when the spirit of the Lord
Almighty rested, upon them with great power to the convincing of the
hearts of the people, who cried out, "Men and brethren what shall we
do?" And Peter said unto them, "Repent and be baptized every one of
you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." This was the
counsel given them, and inasmuch as they obeyed it they were entitled
to the testimony of the Holy Spirit which would bring peace and
happiness and reveal to them their duties and enable them to
understand their relationship to God.
If we look at the condition of the world today we must come to the
conclusion that peace is not likely soon to be established on the
earth. There is nothing among the nations that tends to peace. Even
among the religious societies the tendency is not to peace and union.
They do not bring men to a knowledge of God; they do not possess that
"one God, one faith, one baptism, and one hope of their calling" that
are spoken of in the scriptures. Every man has gone according to his
own notions, independent of revelations, and hence confusion and
division exist, their churches are broken up, and they are quarreling
and contending with each other. And as it is in the religious, so it
is in the political world, they are all divided, and the more energy
they put forth to make proselytes, the greater are their contentions,
and the further they go from the mark. This is the condition they have
been in, and the course they have been pursuing for almost eighteen
hundred years, until, today, they have become so divided that I think
it would puzzle anyone to tell how many religious denominations there
are in Christendom. There are thousands too, who, in consequence of
the strife and contention among the religious sects, have become
entirely skeptical respecting religion of every kind, and they have
concluded that there is no God, at any rate that there is no God among
"Christians" —that all religionists are fanatics and are deceived. The
sectarian systems of religion are calculated to lead men of reflection
and intelligence into skepticism, to cause them to deny all
interference of God with men and their affairs, and to deny even His
right to interfere.
The Lord Almighty is the Creator of the earth. He is the Father of all
our spirits. He has the right to dictate what we shall do, and it is
our duty to obey, and to walk according to His requirements. This is
natural, and perfectly easy to be comprehended. The Gospel has been
restored to the earth, and the priesthood again established, and both
are enjoyed by this people; but those unacquainted with the workings
of the Gospel and the priesthood look upon us with wonder, and are
astonished at the union that exists in our midst. We move as a man,
almost; we hearken to the voice of our leader; we are united in our
faith and in our works, whether politically or religiously. The world
cannot understand this, and they behold it with wonder.
Let me tell my brethren and friends that this is one of the effects of
the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We have become united in our faith by one
baptism; we know that Jesus Christ lives, we know that He is our
Savior and Redeemer, we have a testimony of this independent of any
written books and we testify of these things to the world. This unison
in the midst of the people called Latter-day Saints, and their
prosperity are hard for a great many to understand. I have, however,
heard it said, that we have not made such rapid advancement in
material prosperity as we boast of, and that we are not so wealthy as
our neighbors. But when our circumstances, and the condition of the
country when we came here are considered, I think this statement
cannot be sustained. When we came here we were penniless, and we have not
had the advantage of wealth or commerce to help to enrich us,
but all we possess, is the result of our own physical labor and the
blessing of God. We have labored under great disadvantages in
freighting our goods and machinery over these vast plains, and besides
this we have had a barren soil and drouth to contend with, and when
all these things are considered I think we have been prospered more
than any other people. And as it has been in the past so will it be in
the future—we will increase, and extend our borders, for this is the
work of God, we are His people, and He will continue to bless us as He
has done hitherto.
Our business is to learn our duties one towards the other and towards
our leaders. This is a lesson that we seem rather slow to learn. But
it should be with us, as Br. Miller said this morning, when our
leaders speak it is for us to obey; when they direct we should
go; when they call we should follow. Not as beings who are enslaved or
in thralldom; we should not obey blindly, as instruments or tools. No
Latter-day Saint acts in this manner; no man or woman who has embraced
the Gospel has ever acted in this way; but on the contrary they have
felt to listen cheerfully to the counsels of the servants of God as
far as they were able to comprehend them. The difficulty is not in
getting the Latter-day Saints to do right, but in getting them to
comprehend what is right. We have obeyed the counsels of our leaders
because we have known they have been inspired by the Holy Spirit and
because we positively have known that they have been given for our
good. We do know and have always known that our leaders have been
fathers to us, and that they have been inspired with wisdom superior
to that which we possess. For this reason we take hold of everything
they present to us for the good of Zion.
We are engaged in the great latter-day work, of preaching the Gospel
to the nations, gathering the poor and building up Zion upon the
earth. We are working for the triumph of righteousness, for the
subjugation of sin and the errors of the age in which we live. It is a
great and glorious work. We believe it is right to love God with all
our hearts, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. We believe it is
wrong to lie, steal, commit adultery, or any act forbidden by the
Gospel of Christ. We believe in all the teachings of the Savior and in
everything that is good and moral, and calculated to exalt mankind or
to ameliorate their condition, to unite them in doing good. These are
among the principles of the Gospel, and these principles have been
taught to us from the commencement of our career as members of this
Church. These principles are carried out among us to an extent not to
be found among any other people. We do not believe in worshipping God
or being religious on the Sabbath day only; but we believe it is as
necessary to be religious on Monday, Tuesday and every day in the week
as it is on the Sabbath day; we believe that it is as necessary to do
to our neighbors as we would they should do unto us, during the week
as it is on the Sabbath. In short we believe it is necessary to live
our religion every day in the week, every hour in the day, and every
moment. Believing and acting thus we become strengthened in our faith,
the spirit of God increases within us, we advance in knowledge and we
are better able to defend the cause we are engaged in.
To be a true representative of this cause a man must live faithful to
the light that he has; he must be pure, virtuous and upright.
If he comes short of this he is not a fair representative or this
work. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the perfect law of liberty. It is
calculated to lead man to the highest state of glory, and to exalt him
in the presence of our Heavenly Father, "with whom is no variableness
neither shadow of turning." If there is any folly to be seen in the
midst of this people, it is the folly and weakness of man, and is not
because of any failing or lack in the plan of salvation. The Gospel is
perfect in its organization. It is for us to learn the Gospel and to
become acquainted with the principles of truth, to humble ourselves
before God that we may bring ourselves into subjection to His laws,
and be continually willing to listen to the counsels of those whom the
Lord has appointed to guide us.
We know that God has spoken; we testify of this. We stand as witnesses
to the world that this is true. We ask no odds of any man, community
or nation on the face of the earth in relation to these things. We
bear a fearless testimony that they are true. We also bear testimony
that Brigham Young is a prophet of the living God, and that he has the
revelations of Jesus Christ; that he has guided this people by the
power of revelation from the time he became their leader until the
present, and he has never failed in his duty or mission. He has been
faithful before God, and faithful to this people. We bear this
testimony to the world. We fear not, neither do we heed their scorn,
contempt or sneers. We are used to it. As Br. George A. has said, we
have seen it and heard it, and have become inured to it. We know in
whom we have believed. We know He, in whom we trust, is God, for it
has been revealed to us. We are not in the dark, neither have we
obtained our knowledge from any man, synod or collection of men, but
through the revelations of Jesus. If there be any who doubt us let
them repent of their sins. Is there any harm in your forsaking your
follies and evils, and in bowing in humility before God for His
spirit, and, in obedience to the words of the Savior, being baptized
for the remission of sins, and having hands laid upon you for the gift
of the Holy Ghost that you may have a witness for yourselves of the
truth of the words we speak to you? Do this humbly and honestly, and
as sure as the Lord lives I promise to you that you will receive the
testimony of this work for yourselves and will know it as all the
Latter-day Saints know it. This is the promise; it is sure and
steadfast. It is something tangible; it is in the power of every man
to prove for himself whether we speak the truth or whether we lie. We
do not come as deceivers or impostors before the world; we do not come
with the intention to deceive, but we come with the plain simple truth
and leave it to the world to test it and get a knowledge for
themselves. It is the right of every soul that lives—the high, low,
rich, poor, great and small to have this testimony for themselves
inasmuch as they will obey the Gospel.
Jesus in ancient times sent His disciples forth to preach the Gospel
to every creature, saying they that believed and were baptized should
be saved, but they that believed not should be damned. And said he,
"These signs shall follow them that believe: In my name shall they
cast out devils, they shall speak with new tongues, they shall take up
serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them;
they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover." These are
the promises made anciently; and there are thousands in this
Territory and in this congregation who can bear testimony that they
have realized the fulfillment of these promises in this day. The
healing of the sick among us has become so common that it is
apparently but little thought of. We have also seen the lame made to
walk and the blind to receive their sight, the deaf to hear and the
dumb to speak. These things we have seen done by the power of God and
not by the cunning or wisdom of men; we know that these signs do
follow the preaching of the Gospel. Yet these testimonies of its truth
are but poor and weak when compared with the whisperings of the still
small voice of the spirit of God. The latter is a testimony that none
who enjoy it can deny; it cannot be overcome for it brings conviction
to the heart that cannot be reasoned away or disproved, whether it can
be accounted for on philosophical principles or not. This testimony
comes from God and convinces all to whom it is given in spite of
themselves, and is worth more to me than any sign or gift beside,
because it gives peace and happiness, contentment and quiet to my
soul. It assures me that God lives, and that if I am faithful I shall
obtain the blessings of the celestial kingdom.
Is this unscriptural or contrary to reason or to any revealed truth?
No, it is in consonance with and in corroboration of all revealed
truth known to man. The Lord Almighty lives, and He operates by the
power of His spirit over the hearts of the children of men and holds
the nations of the earth in His hands. He created the earth upon which
we dwell, and its treasures are His; and He will do with us according
as we merit. As we are faithful or unfaithful so will the Almighty
deal with us, for we are His children and we are heirs of God and
joint heirs with Jesus Christ.
We have a glorious destiny before us, we are engaged in a glorious
work. It is worth all our attention, it is worth our lives and
everything the Lord has put into our possession, and then ten thousand
times more. Indeed there is no comparison, it is all in all, it is
incomparable. It is all that is and all that ever will be. The Gospel
is salvation, and without it there is nothing worth having. We came
naked into the world and shall go hence the same. If we were to
accumulate half the world, it would avail us nothing so far as
prolonging life here, or securing eternal life hereafter. But the
Gospel teaches men to be humble, faithful, honest and righteous before
the Lord and with each other, and in proportion as its principles are
carried out so will peace and righteousness extend and be established
on the earth, and sin, contention, bloodshed and corruption of all
kinds cease to exist, and the earth become purified and be made a fit
abode for heavenly beings; and for the Lord our God to come and dwell
upon, which He will do during the Millennium.
The principles of the Gospel which the Lord has revealed in these days
will lead us to eternal life. This is what we are after; what we were
created for, what the earth was created for. The reason that we are
here is that we may overcome every folly and prepare ourselves for
eternal life in the future. I do not think that a principle of
salvation is available only as it can be applied in our lives. For
instance, if there is a principle calculated in its nature to save me
from the penalty of any crime; it will avail me nothing unless I act
upon it this moment. If I do this and continue to do so I act upon the
principle of salvation, and I am se cure from the penalty of
that crime and will be forever so long as I abide by that principle or
law. It is just so with the principles of the Gospel—they are a
benefit or not, just as they are or are not applied in our lives.
Then let us be faithful and humble; let us live the religion of
Christ, put away our follies and sins and the weaknesses of the flesh,
and cleave to God and His truth with undivided hearts, and with full
determination to fight the good fight of faith and continue steadfast
to the end, which may God grant us power to do is my prayer in the
name of Jesus: Amen.
- Joseph F. Smith