I am called upon this afternoon to make some remarks upon the life and
death of Brother Ezra Taft Benson, who has been suddenly taken out of
our midst—from time into eternity.
I have long since considered it unnecessary to make any excuses for
performing my duty upon any occasion in public; but if there is any
position where a man might have doubts about satisfying his own mind
or the minds of his friends, perhaps it is on an occasion like this.
It is well known, at least to the Latter-day Saints, that the Elders
of Israel rise to speak without any written sermon or preparation of
any kind. Many of us have been engaged the greater portion of our lives
in preaching the Gospel to the world, and on every occasion we depend
for assist ance and preparation upon the Spirit of God. This is my
position this afternoon. I rise before you with no prepared sermon,
and with no particular principles that I have settled in my mind to
address you upon; depending, as on all occasions, upon the Spirit of
God and the faith and prayers of my friends. This dispensation of
Providence causes me many reflections; and I presume it is the case
with every Latter-day Saint present. In the first place I will ask the
question, "What position did Brother Benson occupy while in the flesh,
and how many have ever held the same position on the face of the
earth? The words contained in the 7th verse of the 52nd chapter of the
prophecies of Isaiah are brought to my mind. While contemplating the great work of building up the Zion of God in the last days, he
says—
"How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth
good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of
good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God
reigneth!"
What position can any man occupy on the face of the earth, that is
more noble, Godlike, high and glorious than to be a messenger of
salvation unto the human family? What more responsible position can a
man occupy than to be an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ? I do not
know of any in this or any other generation. The thought also arises
in my mind, how many individuals have ever held this position on the
earth? I find in the history recorded in the Bible, from the days of
Adam down through the different dispensations and generations, that
prophets have existed on the earth. Adam, himself, was a prophet and
he ordained his sons to the Melchizedek Priesthood; the Gospel of
Christ was taught to him after the Fall, and he attended to the
ordinances of the house of God. He was a High Priest, and, as a High
Priest, held the keys of the kingdom of God. There were many sons who
were High Priests, having been ordained to this office by their father
Adam. Three years before his death he called together Seth, Enos,
Jared, Cainan, Mahaleel, Methuselah, and many other of his descendants
in the Valley of Adam-Ondi-Ahman, and there rose up and blessed them
with his great and last patriarchal blessing. This has been given to
us by revelation; and these men were prophets and High Priests.
Tracing down the sacred history through the different ages and
dispensations, we learn that many prophets existed among the children
of men. Moses was a lawgiver in Israel, and held the office of a
Prophet, Seer, and Revelator. When I say that many prophets have
existed, it probably needs some qualification. The number of persons
thus honored of God has not been many when compared with the whole of
the people who have lived; but in every Gospel age and dispensation
God has had His prophets and servants upon the earth to make known His
will to its inhabitants. In the days of Moses Elders were chosen as
his counselors; and seventy Elders were ordained to bear record of the
things of God and to assist Moses in the work to be performed in his
day; but we do not read of Apostles being chosen under Moses's
dispensation. Jesus tabernacled in the flesh to establish the kingdom
of his Father upon the earth, and when he was thirty years of age he
went forth administering in the ordinances of the house of God, and he
chose twelve Apostles to assist him, and he gave to them the keys of
the kingdom of God. And the highest office that any man has ever held
on the face of the earth in this or any other generation is that of an
Apostle.
We read that God set in His Church first Apostles, then prophets,
evangelists, pastors, teachers, gifts, graces and helps; and the
office of an Apostle entitles him to hold the keys of the kingdom of
God; and what he binds on earth is bound in heaven, and what he looses
on earth is loosed in heaven. The history of the Twelve whom Jesus
chose is to be found in the New Testament; within the lids of that
book their travels, the course they pursued and the doctrines they
taught are published to the world. Nearly the whole of them sealed
their testimony with their blood. Some were crucified as their master
was; some were beheaded; and all, except John, suffered martyrdom in
some way for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus
Christ. This was the fate of the first quorum of Apostles we have any
history of.
After the death and resurrection of the Savior, when he ministered to
his disciples the last time on earth, he informed them that he had
other sheep not of this fold whom he was going to visit and minister
unto. The Book of Mormon is a record of the descendants of the House
of Israel who dwelt on this continent anciently. It gives us the
history of the Jaredites who came from the Tower of Babel; of Lehi and
his family, who came from Jerusalem, and also of the Lamanites and
Nephites, the descendants of Nephi and Lemuel, sons of Lehi. In that
record we find that Christ, after his death and resurrection, visited
that branch of the house of Israel which dwelt on this continent. On
the occasion of that visit we are informed that Jesus chose Twelve
Apostles and gave to them the same power, keys, gifts and graces that
he had given to his Apostles on the eastern continent, and they went
forth and magnified their callings. All of this quorum of the Twelve
Apostles had the promise of departing and being with Christ when they
were seventy-two years old, except three of them. To these three Jesus
gave a promise similar to that which he gave to John the
Revelator—namely, that they should tarry in the flesh until he came.
History informs us that the wicked tried to kill John in various ways,
placing him, on one occasion, in a cauldron of boiling oil, but his
life was preserved; and that finally, in the reign of Domitian Caesar,
he was banished to the Isle of Patmos to work in the lead mines. While
there he was blessed with visions, revelations, knowledge, light and
truth, a portion of which we have recorded in what are called the
Revelation of St. John. In the reign of Nerva, John was recalled, and
afterwards wrote his epistles. The first quorum of Apostles were all
put to death, except John, and we are informed that he still remains
on the earth, though his body has doubtless undergone some change.
Three of the Nephites, chosen here by the Lord Jesus as his Apostles,
had the same promise—that they should not taste death until Christ
came, and they still remain on the earth in the flesh.
Thus we have an account in the Bible and Book of Mormon of but two
quorums of Twelve Apostles being chosen previous to this dispensation;
but in these last days the Lord called upon Joseph Smith, gave him
power and authority to organize His Church and kingdom again upon the
earth, and gave him the Holy Priesthood and the keys of the kingdom of
God. Joseph was ordained to the Apostleship under the hands of men
holding the keys of the kingdom of God in the days of Jesus—namely,
Peter, James and John.
I shall not occupy time with entering into the details of these
things. I have referred to them to show the importance of the office
held by Brother Benson. He was a member of one of the three quorums of
Apostles that have ever been chosen on the face of the earth since
Jesus Christ tabernacled in the flesh, that we have any knowledge of.
The first chosen when Jesus commenced his public labors in the flesh;
the second after his resurrection, here on his continent; and the
third, since the revelation of the Gospel in our own day. Here we find
only thirty-six men, chosen at various times and dispensations, in six
thousand years, to hold this order of Priesthood, unless they were
chosen in the days of Enoch and at times in which the Bible does not inform us. This number has been increased, however, by others
who have been chosen to fill vacancies in these quorums, as in the
case of Judas, and others; but it is safe to say that the entire
number who have held this office from the days of Adam until today
has been very limited. As to the number of inhabitants who have dwelt
on the earth during that period, it is a pretty difficult matter to
form any correct idea in relation to it. I do not think that any
statistician could tell this to any degree of correctness. It is a
kind of a given point in these days to say that the population of the
earth is about a thousand millions, and that this number pass away
every generation. It is also estimated that about three generations
pass away in a century; this gives three thousand millions in a
century, thirty thousand millions in a thousand years, and one hundred
and eighty thousand millions in six thousand years—about the period
that is supposed to have elapsed since the creation of man upon the
earth. Whether these statistics are anything like correct it is not of
much importance to discuss; but it is an important reflection that
Brother Benson, who has been associated with us so many years, is one
of the chosen few, of all the immense numbers who have dwelt on the
face of the earth, who have been called to hold the office of Apostle.
Well might the prophet say, "How beautiful upon the mountains are the
feet," &c.
I will say that in my boyhood, while attending Sabbath school in my
native State, Connecticut, there seemed something glorious to me about
the Apostles of Jesus Christ who were called to preach the Gospel of
the Son of God to the inhabitants of the earth; and I have many times
felt that I would willingly walk a thousand miles to see a prophet, an
Apostle, or any man called of God, who could teach me the way to be
saved, a man who held in his hands the power of the Priesthood, who
could command the elements and they would obey him, and who could
declare the words of life in their truth and purity to the inhabitants
of the earth. I always looked upon the lives and missions of these
men, though despised by the world generally, as the most important of
any men who ever dwelt in the flesh. Jesus himself was called master
of the house of Beelzebub, and traveled through a constant scene of
poverty, ridicule, persecution and affliction; yet there was something
great, good, grand and glorious in the life of the Savior of the
world. This was the fate of him and his Apostles; and though they
descended below all things, they held in their hands the destiny and
salvation, not only of that generation, but of all the human race; and
woe be to that house, nation, kindred, tongue or people who rejected
their words and testimony, for they will rise in judgment against
them.
From the days of my childhood until I heard the fulness of the Gospel,
as taught by the Latter-day Saints, I had a great desire to live to
see a prophet or Apostle. I have lived to see this day. I have lived
to see the Church and kingdom of God on the earth, with all its gifts,
graces, power, glory and dominion, revealed and organized by the
ministrations of angels from God in heaven and by the revelations of
the Lord Jesus Christ. I have lived to see Apostles and the full
organization of the Priesthood again officiating in and administering
the ordinances of salvation to the children of men.
Brother Ezra T. Benson, whose death has occurred so unexpectedly, was
one of the few called in this day to bear testimony to the
nations of the earth of the restoration of this Gospel, and he has
traveled many thousand miles to do so. He has been true and faithful
unto death, and he will receive a crown of life. He has gone from our
midst to the spirit world to mingle with the Gods, or at least with
his brethren who have gone before him; whether he will mingle with the
Gods until after the resurrection perhaps it is not for me to say. He
has gone home to receive his reward. What a cloud of reflection it
brings to the mind! It speaks in loud language to every Apostle,
prophet, Elder and Saint of God, and to all the inhabitants of the
earth, "Be ye also ready!" That is what it says to all men. If you
have anything to do, any work to perform that is of consequence to
yourself or friends, living or dead, do it.
Is there any sorrow or mourning in my heart with regard to the
departure of Brother Benson? I would rather follow a thousand Apostles
and prophets to the grave and see their lifeless remains deposited in
the dark and silent tomb, than see one man who has tasted the good
word of God and the powers of the world to come, make shipwreck of his
faith, lose his crown and go to perdition. I have had more sorrow in
seeing men, with whom I have traveled and preached the Gospel, turn
from the truth, commit wickedness, and lose their standing in the
Church, than over all the faithful Latter-day Saints I have seen laid
in the tomb. When I see a man depart who, like Brother Benson, has
been ever willing to go and come and do the bidding of those over him,
I look forward with great joy to his reward. He is the first man in
the Quorum of the Twelve, who, for the last forty years, has had the
privilege of dying a natural death; for most of the Apostles who ever
tabernacled in the flesh have died as martyrs. We have had two in our
quorum who have died thus, besides our Prophet and Patriarch. True,
they will receive a martyr's crown, so will all men who are true and
faithful unto death and lay down their lives for the work of God and
the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Brother Benson has died among his friends; he had not been in pain or
suffering, or endured a lingering sickness. Thank God he died in the
harness and has gone home to receive his reward. During the time he
has been a member of the Church he has been on many missions. I will
here remark, without entering into details, that, at the time the
Saints were driven from Illinois to this land, he was called upon and
sent east, as one of the agents of the Church, to prove the eastern
country—our Puritan fathers and friends in New England, after we had
been driven from our homes, country, and the graves of parents, wives
and children, to see if they would stretch out their hand to assist us
while in the wilderness. He labored faithfully on that mission,
visiting Boston and other leading New England cities, calling for
contributions to help the poor, the widow and the fatherless, who
were, in a measure, in a state of starvation in the wilderness, after
having been driven from their homes in the midst of an inclement
winter. I believe he got fifty dollars. If he had gone into Missouri
and split rails by the day, I guess he would have made considerable
more money in the same time. But never mind! He was faithful on his
mission, and returned faithful, and continued so from the commencement
of his career as a Latter-day Saint until the day of his death. I
rejoice in this, and it is a consolation to his family and to all
Israel to know that he has been true and faithful to his
calling. When I contemplate and realize that the little time spent
here in this mortal life will fix and mold our destiny for all the
endless ages of eternity, I try to realize what manner of men we all
ought to be.
I have traveled a good deal with Brother Benson and have been
acquainted with him, as you have, a good many years past, and I can
bear this testimony of him—he has always been ready and willing to
labor in either temporal or spiritual things. Here on this road he
labored faithfully during the past year in building a hundred miles of
the railroad; he and those associated with him finished their job with
punctuality. All these things show the untiring industry and
perseverance of the man.
This is the way with all of us. We are all called to labor in temporal
and spiritual things in building up the kingdom of God in these last
days. We have to preach the Gospel to the children of men; we have to
warn the nations of the earth. We have been called to do this; this is
the command of God to the Elders of Israel. In obedience to this they
shoulder their knapsacks, and without purse or scrip, travel the world
over to declare to the children of men the words of life and
salvation. In doing this they swim rivers, wade swamps, and endure
much toil and privation. During the last thirty-seven years of my life
I have traveled one hundred thousand miles in obedience to this
command. It will be well with all men who are faithful in the
performance of these duties. Brother Benson never performed a mission
or any other duty but what he will rejoice over forever and so it
will be with us all. The reward of the faithful will amply repay them
for all the labors they ever performed or for the privations they have
endured. No labor we have ever done that has helped to promote the
happiness and well-being of our fellow men will go unrewarded. Brother
Benson today, instead of being with his family in Logan, that is in
the flesh, he may be with them in spirit, is privileged to mingle with
his brethren who have gone before—Joseph, Hyrum, David, Parley, Heber
and the prophets and Apostles of former days. He is mingling with
them. They have finished their work in the flesh. So has he. He has
been suddenly called away from his labors, but his works will follow
him.
I wish to speak to my friends a little with regard to the position
which we occupy as Elders of Israel, and as the Church and kingdom of
God upon the earth. I feel impressed to do so. I do not know that I
wish to say a great deal more with regard to Brother Benson. His
labors are before us and the world, and they are before God and
angels. I am satisfied with them, and I do not know who is not who
was acquainted with him. I wish now to say something with regard to
the organization of this Church and the position occupied by Joseph
Smith, Elder Benson and the Apostles and Priesthood of this Church.
We are living in a very important age, an age in which preparations
are making for the second coming of the Messiah to reign a thousand
years upon the earth with his Saints. The Scriptures of the Old and
New Testament will never be fulfilled until this comes to pass. An
angel of God, the Revelator John informs us, was to fly through the
midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to them that
dwell on the earth—to every nation, kindred, tongue and people, Saying
with a loud voice, "Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of
His judgment is come: and worship Him who made the heaven, the
earth, the seas and the fountains of waters." You may take up Isaiah
and all the prophets, and you will find that they refer to this
latter-day dispensation, when the kingdom of God should be established
on the earth. There never was a prophet, from Adam down, whose records
we have, but had his eye upon this great dispensation of the last
days. When the Lord created the earth He placed men upon it, and
though the power of sin has entered it, it has not been left by the
Lord to go at random. In Adam all fell, or died; but in Christ, the
Apostle says, all are made alive. Our worthy President has often said,
when speaking upon the prevalence of sin in this world, that one of
the greatest honors and blessings ever conferred on the sons of men
was to come and dwell in the flesh in a sinful world like this, amid
the power of evil, temptation and darkness, that they might have the
privilege of overcoming them and of inheriting eternal life, which is
the greatest gift of God. All the prophets have foreseen the
establishment of the kingdom of God in the last days; they have seen
Zion pass through all her travail and persecution to her final
triumph, when she possessed great glory, power and dominion upon the
land of Joseph. Daniel saw the kingdom of God, which he likens to a
little stone cut out of the mountains without hands, which grew and
increased in size until it filled the whole earth. Daniel said this
kingdom was to be an everlasting kingdom.
Well, brethren and sisters, you and I have lived to see the dawn of
the great day thus referred to by the prophets, in which the God of
heaven has set His hand for the last time to establish His kingdom
upon the earth; a kingdom not to be overthrown, but to remain until
sin, Satan and the power of the devil are banished from the face
thereof, and until, as the prophets have said, the kingdoms of this
world shall become the kingdoms of our God and His Christ.
This day we have lived to see. This tabernacle, this congregation, and
the multitudes through the valleys of the mountains are the fruits of
this work. How did it commence? It commenced by an angel of God flying
through the midst of heaven and visiting a young man named Joseph
Smith, in the year 1827. That was the time of a great awakening among
the sectarians of the day—a day of revivals and protracted meetings,
when the people were called upon to join themselves to the sectarian
churches. This young man looked around amid the confusion among the
different sects, each proclaiming the plan of salvation differently,
and each claiming it was right and that all others were wrong; in the
midst of this contention he did not know which to join. While in this
state of uncertainty he turned to the Bible, and there saw that
passage in the epistle of James which directs him that lacks wisdom to
ask of God. He went into his secret chamber and asked the Lord what he
must do to be saved. The Lord heard his prayer and sent His angel to
him, who informed him that all the sects were wrong, and that the God
of heaven was about to establish His work upon the earth. This angel
quoted many of the prophecies of Isaiah and Jeremiah, and told this
young man that they were about to be fulfilled among the nations of
the earth; and he also told him that if he would listen and render
obedience to the commands of God, he should be an instrument in the
hands of the Lord in establishing His kingdom upon the earth.
These visits were repeated from time to time, during which Joseph received revelation and much instruction in the things of God.
He taught some of these things to his father and some of his brothers
and a few others, but he had no authority to preach or administer in
the ordinances of the house of God. Why? Because, as the prophet has
said, "No man taketh this honor unto himself, except he be called of
God, as was Aaron." No man, in any generation, has ever had authority
to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ unless he was called by
revelation. You may read the history of all the prophets and Apostles
from the creation down, and they have all received the Holy Priesthood
under the hands of God or angels, or under the hands of men who have
held this authority. It was so with Joseph Smith. He could not find
anybody who possessed this authority, and he called upon the Lord to
know what to do, and the Lord sent John the Baptist, who was beheaded
for his religion. John held the Aaronic Priesthood, and he came and
ordained Joseph Smith to the same Priesthood. This gave him power to
administer in some of the ordinances of the Gospel of Christ. He could
baptize for the remission of sins, but could not lay on hands for the
gift of the Holy Ghost. The Lord afterwards sent Peter, James and
John, who held the keys of the kingdom in their day and generation
upon the earth, and they ordained him an Apostle, and sealed upon his
head every key, power and blessing, and all the authority which they
exercised in their day.
This is the origin of the authority of the Latter-day Saints; and from
that day until the present the little stone cut out of the mountain
has been growing. The Church was organized on the 6th of April, 1830,
with six members, and the Elders immediately went forth, one here and
another there, bearing testimony and preaching the doctrines the angel
made known to Joseph, and some few, out of many, have received and
obeyed the same. This Gospel is the same as that taught by the ancient
Apostles, namely, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, repentance of sin,
baptism for the remission of sin, then the laying on of hands for the
reception of the Holy Ghost. These were the doctrines taught by the
ancient Apostles, and the signs that followed believers anciently
follow them in our day. Said Jesus, when sending his Apostles forth to
preach:
"Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature.
"He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved; but he that
believeth not shall be damned.
"And these signs shall follow them that believe: In my name they shall
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."
All these gifts and graces were promised by Joseph and the early
Elders of the Church, just the same as by the ancient Apostles; and
this is the testimony that every Elder has borne from that day until
the present. Has the Lord backed up this testimony? He has. All of the
Twelve who have labored abroad, and we have been doing so, more or
less, thirty or forty years, traveling hundreds of thousands of
miles—have made this declaration. I have preached to millions of my
fellow men in my own and other countries; and I and the other
Apostles, as well as hundreds of Elders of this Church and Kingdom,
have all made the same proclamation, to kings, princes, presidents and
rulers, and to the inhabitants of the earth wherever we have gone, as far as we have had an opportunity and have had the privilege
of opening our mouths. We have borne the same testimony to all—namely,
that all who would receive our testimony and obey the Gospel should
receive the Holy Ghost. Would we have dared to go forth and bear this
testimony if we had not known this was the work of God? No, there is
not a man on the face of the earth who dare do it under any other
circumstances, for his hypocrisy and deception would soon have been
apparent; the very first man that received his testimony would have
proved it. Could we have gathered our hundreds of thousands from the
nations of the earth if we had been deceivers and had preached false
doctrines? As the Apostle says, "But though we or an angel from heaven
preach any other Gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto
you, let him be accursed." No, we should have had no success; we might
have preached false doctrines until we were grey, or as old as
Methuselah, but if we had we should never have seen Utah, this
tabernacle or these valleys of the mountains. But the Lord backed up
our testimony, and tens of thousands throughout this Territory and in
the world, who received it, can bear record that they have received
the Holy Ghost, and the revelations of Jesus Christ, and that the
gifts and graces of the Gospel have followed them.
This Church is organized exactly as it was anciently—with Apostles,
prophets, pastors, teachers, gifts, helps and governments. Are all
Apostles, or are all prophets? Do all have the gifts of healing, or do
all speak with new tongues? No, but all these gifts and offices are in
the Church, and, as the Apostle says, they are placed there for the
work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, and for
the perfecting of the Saints—until we are come to the unity of the
faith, to the knowledge of the Son of God, and to the fulness of the
stature of a man in Christ Jesus. That is what they are given for, and
they are needed just as much as they ever were in any generation. But
the world has been without these blessings and wandering in darkness
for nearly eighteen centuries. Now the Lord has raised up a people to
establish His kingdom on the same foundation as anciently. This is the
work of the Latter-day Saints. We have been called to warn this
generation; we understand the signs of the times and know that the
judgments of God are at hand. If we had not been faithful to our
calling and mission the Lord would have raised up another people,
because the set time is at hand for Him to establish His kingdom.
There are one or two ideas more I wish to refer to with regard to the
mission of Christ. That mission did not end when he was crucified.
When that event took place we are told that his body lay in the tomb
for three days, and that his spirit went to preach to the spirits in
prison, which sometime were disobedient when the long-suffering of God
waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was preparing. Jesus went
and preached to them in the spirit that they might be judged according
to men in the flesh. Here is a principle of which the Christian world
know nothing, and which has been revealed to us in our own day—namely,
preaching the Gospel of life and salvation to the spirits of those who
pass away without rendering obedience thereunto. Nearly eighteen
hundred years have passed away since God had a Church upon the earth.
In that time about fifty-four thousand millions of human beings have
passed away without the Gospel. Are they to perish because
they lived in generations when God had no Church on the earth? No,
they will be preached to by men who go into the spirit world, who hold
the keys of the kingdom of God, and the ordinances of the house of God
will be administered to them by their descendants and friends here on
the earth. The Apostle Paul evidently had his mind on this subject
when He says, "Why then are they baptized for the dead, if the dead
rise not?"
I do not know how fully Brother Benson has attended to the work for
his dead, but I know that he has worked hard for the living; and when
he goes into the spirit world and meets with those for whom he has
been baptized and been the means of liberating them from prison in the
spirit world, what joy he will have! And it will be so with others.
And this work of administering the ordinances of the house of God to
the dead, I may say, will require the whole of the Millennium, with
Jesus at the head of the resurrected dead to attend to it. The
ordinances of salvation will have to be attended to for the dead who
have not heard the Gospel, from the days of Adam down, before Christ
can present this world to the Father, and say, "It is finished."
Brethren and sisters, let us be admonished by the death of Brother
Benson, and if we have anything to do let us do it. Let us go to and
attend to our ordinances, then when we go to the spirit world and meet
with father, mother, brother or sister they cannot rise up and accuse
us of negligence. I have attended to the ordinances for a great many
of my friends, and I want you to do the same, so that when we get to
the other side of the veil we may look back and be satisfied. This
power has been placed in the hands of the Latter-day Saints, then let
us go forth and use it for the salvation of the living and the dead.
With regard to the unbelief of the world, it will not make the truth
of God without effect. These ordinances have been revealed to us; we
understand them, and unless we attend to them we shall fall under
condemnation.
I rejoice in the work of God and I rejoice to live in this day and age
of the world. I want to live as long as I can do good; but, not an
hour longer than I can live in fellowship with the Holy Spirit, with
my Father in heaven, my Savior, and with the faithful Latter-day
Saints. To live any longer than this, would be torment and misery to
me. When my work is done I am ready to go; but I want to do what is
required of me. The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation to all
who believe, both Jew and Greek. Let us be faithful, keep our
covenants, do our duty, and attend to all the ordinances of the Gospel
as far as we can, both for ourselves and our dead. When we have done
this we shall be satisfied. I pray that God may bless you; that he may
bless the Apostles who dwell on the earth; that His power may rest on
the presiding Twelve, the Seventies, the High Priests, the Bishops,
Elders, Teachers and Deacons, and all who have entered into covenant
to keep His commandments. Let us be faithful and we shall obtain our
reward; we shall overcome and obtain eternal life and a crown of glory
if we magnify our calling by living the religion which we have
received, which may God grant for Christ's sake. Amen.