Through the mercy and loving kindness of our Father in the heavens we
are again permitted to meet in a general conference of the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Forty-two years ago this day this
church was organized with six members, by a prophet of the living God,
raised up in these last days by the administration of angels from God,
and ordained unto all the keys and powers of the Melchizedek
Priesthood and apostleship, and of the kingdom of God on the earth.
According to the best knowledge we have, 1842 years ago today, the
Lord Jesus was crucified on Mount Calvary for the sins of the world.
The 6th day of April is a very important day in many respects. It has
certainly been very interesting to the Latter-day Saints to watch the
history and progress of this Church and kingdom during the last
forty-two years. This is one of the most important generations that
men, or God, or angels have ever seen on the earth: it is a
dispensation and generation when the whole flood of prophecy and
revelation and vision given through inspired men for the last six
thousand years is to have its fulfillment, and especially in relation
to the establishment of the great kingdom and Zion of God on the
earth. Joseph Smith was one of the greatest prophets God ever raised
up on the earth, and the Lord has had his eye upon him from the
foundation of the world. Any man who has ever read the book of Isaiah,
which we frequently have quoted to us, can see that he, with other
prophets, had his eye upon the latter-day Zion of God. He says in one
place, "Sing O heavens, rejoice O earth, break forth into singing, O
ye mountains, for the Lord hath comforted his people, he will
have mercy upon his afflicted. But Zion said: The Lord hath forsaken
me, and my Lord hath forgotten me;" "Ah," says the Lord, "Can a woman
forget her sucking child that she should not have compassion on the
son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will not I forget thee.
Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are
continually before me."
The Lord never created this world at random; he has never done any of
his work at random. The earth was created for certain purposes; and
one of these purposes was its final redemption, and the establishment
of his government and kingdom upon it in the latter days, to prepare
it for the reign of the Lord Jesus Christ, whose right it is to reign.
That set time has come, that dispensation is before us, we are living
in the midst of it. It is before the Latter-day Saints, it is before
the world; whether or not the people have more faith in the promises
of God now than they had in the days of Noah makes no difference, the
unbelief of men will not make the truth of God without effect. The
great and mighty events that the Lord Almighty has decreed from before
the foundation of the world, to be performed in the latter days are
resting upon us, and they will follow each other in quick succession,
whether men believe or not, for no prophecy of Scripture is of any
private interpretation, but holy men of God spake as they were moved
upon by the Holy Ghost, and what they said will come to pass; though
the heaven and the earth pass away not one jot or tittle of the word
of the Lord will go unfulfilled.
Some of us have lived in and been intimately acquainted with this
church for the last forty years, a very few more than that, and some
less; but where is the Latter-day Saint or any other person who has
ever seen this church or kingdom go backward? No matter what position
we were in, whether exterminated by the order of Governor Boggs of
Missouri, or whether we lay, sick and afflicted, on the muddy banks of
the Missouri River; whether it was Zion's Camp going up for her
redemption; whether it was the pioneers coming to these mountains,
making the roads, building the bridges, killing the snakes and opening
the way for the gathering of the people, no matter what our
circumstances may have been, this kingdom has been onward and upward
all the day long until the present hour. Will it ever go backward? No,
it will not. This Zion of the Lord, in all its beauty, power and glory
is engraven upon the hands of Almighty God, and it is before his face
continually; his decrees are set and no man can turn them aside.
There never was a dispensation on the earth when prophets and
apostles, the inspiration, revelation and power of God, the holy
priesthood and the keys of the kingdom were needed more than they are
in this generation. There never has been a dispensation when the
friends of God and righteousness among the children of men needed
more faith in the promises and prophecies than they do today; and
there certainly never has been a generation of people on the earth
that has had a greater work to perform than the inhabitants of the
earth in the latter days. That is one reason why this church and
kingdom has progressed from its commencement until today, in the
midst of all the opposition, oppression and warfare which have been
waged against it by men inspired by the evil one. If this had not been
the dispensation of the fulness of times—the dispen sation in
which God has declared that he will establish his kingdom on the earth
never more to be thrown down, the inhabitants of the earth would have
been enabled to overcome the kingdom and Zion of God in this as well
as in any former dispensation. But the set time has come to favor
Zion, and the Lord Almighty has decreed in the heavens that every
weapon formed against her shall be broken. And if we take the history
of any man, from the days Joseph Smith received the plates from the
hill Cumorah, and translated the Book of Mormon by the Urim and
Thummim, until today, whoever has raised his hand against this work
has felt the chastening hand of Almighty God upon him; and I am at the
defiance of the world to show me a president, governor, judge, ruler,
priest or anybody else on the earth who has taken a stand against this
kingdom who is an exception, and you may search their whole history.
We have outlived several generations of our persecutors. Where are the
men who tarred and feathered Joseph Smith in Portage County, Ohio?
Where are the men who drove this people from Kirtland? Where are the
men who drove the Church and kingdom from Jackson County, Missouri?
Where are the men who undertook to kidnap the prophet while in
Illinois? Where are they who drove the Latter-day Saints from Illinois
into these mountains? Trace their whole history and see for
yourselves. The fact is many of them are in their graves, awaiting
their final judgment. And in the whole history of this people and
their remarkable preservation, the invisible hand of God is as plainly
to be seen as it has been in the history of the Jews from the days of
Christ until now; and it will continue until this scene is wound up.
We are led by men who are filled with inspiration. Joseph Smith was a
man of God, through the loins of the ancient Joseph who, through the
wisdom which God gave him, redeemed his father's house after having
been sold by his brethren into Egypt. All the blessings that old
father Jacob pronounced upon Joseph and upon the sons of Ephraim, his
son and grandsons have rested upon them until this day. Joseph Smith
was through that lineage. In his youth he was inspired of God, and was
administered to by angels. Under their guidance and counsel he laid
the foundation of this work, and lived long enough to receive all the
keys necessary for bearing off this dispensation. He lived long enough
to have these individuals administer unto him—John the Baptist, Peter,
James and John the Apostles, Elisha and Elijah, who held the keys of
turning the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of
the children to the fathers; and Moroni, who held the keys of the
stick of Joseph in the hands of Ephraim to come forth in the latter
day, administered in person to Joseph Smith, and gave him these
records and instructed him in the things of God from time to time
until he was qualified and prepared to lay the foundation of this
work. The Prophet Joseph lived to see the Church organized with
apostles and prophets, patriarchs, pastors, teachers, helps,
governments, and all the gifts and graces of the spirit of God; to
give the Twelve Apostles their endowments and to seal upon their heads
all the authority and power that were necessary to enable them to
fulfil their missions. Why did the Lord take him away? He laid down
his life, and sealed his testimony with his blood that it might be in
force upon the heads of this generation, and that he might be crowned with crowns of glory, immortality and eternal life; that he
might go to the other side of the veil, and there organize the Church
and kingdom in this last dispensation. He and his two brothers were
taken away into the spirit world, and they are at work there, while
Brigham Young and the quorum of the Twelve were preserved on the earth
for a special purpose in the hands of God. These things are true, and
the hand of the Lord has been over Brigham Young, although now he is
under bonds and a prisoner, and has his privileges curtailed for the
word of God and the testimony of Jesus. Yet in the midst of all this
he is calm and composed before the Lord, and has his mind open to the
things of God. He still lives in the midst of this people and will
live as long as the Lord wishes him to remain in the flesh to guide
the affairs of Zion.
I will say to the Latter-day Saints that we have been more blessed in
this land than has any other dispensation or generation of men. The
Lord has been at work for the last three hundred years preparing this
land, with a government and constitution which would guarantee equal
rights and privileges to the inhabitants thereof, in the midst of
which he could establish his kingdom. The kingdom is established, the
work of God is manifest in the earth, the Saints have come up here
into the valleys of the mountains, and they are erecting the house of
God in the tops thereof, for the nations to flow unto. A standard of
truth has been lifted up to the people, and from the commencement of
this work the Latter-day Saints have been fulfilling that flood of
revelation and prophecy which was given formerly concerning this great
work in the last days. I rejoice in this, and also because we have
every reason to expect a continuation of these blessings unto Zion. We
have always had a veil over us, we have had to walk by faith all the
day long until the present time: this is the decree of God. When we
were driven from Jackson County, Clay County, Caldwell County,
Kirtland, and finally from Nauvoo into these mountains, we did not see
and understand what lay before us: there was a veil over our faces, in
a measure. It has been the same with the people of God in all ages. At
that time we could not see this tabernacle, and the five hundred miles
of villages, towns, cities, gardens, orchards, fields, or the desert
blossoming as the rose as we see them today. We came here and found a
barren desert: we were led hither by inspiration, by a lawgiver, by a
man of God; the Lord was with him, he was with the pioneers. If we had
not come here we could not have fulfilled the prophecies which the
prophets have left on record in the stick of Judah as well as in the
stick of Ephraim—the Bible and the Book of Mormon. We have done that,
and we can look back twenty-four years and see the change that has
been effected since our arrival; but who can see the change that will
be effected in the next twenty-four years? No man can see it unless
the vision of his mind is opened by the power of God. The Lord told
Joseph Smith to lay the foundation of this work; he told him that the
day had come when the harvest was ready, and to thrust in the sickle
and reap; and every man who would do so was called of God and had this
privilege.
The Lord has sent forth the Gospel, and it is offered to the children
of men as it was in ancient days; men are required to have faith in
Jesus Christ, repent of their sins, and to be baptized for the
remission of them, and the promise is that they shall receive the Holy
Ghost, which shall teach them the things of God, bring things
past to their remembrance, and show them things to come.
What principle has sustained the Elders of Israel for the last forty
years in their travels? They have gone forth without purse or scrip,
preached without money or price; they have swam rivers, waded swamps,
and traveled hundreds of thousands of miles on foot to bear record of
this work to the nations of the earth. What has sustained them? It has
been this power of God, this Holy Ghost, the spirit of inspiration
from the God of Israel that has been given to his friends on the earth
in these latter days. The blood of Israel has flowed in the veins of
the children of men, mixed among the Gentile nations, and when they
have heard the sound of the Gospel of Christ it has been like vivid
lightning to them; it has opened their understandings, enlarged their
minds, and enabled them to see the things of God. They have been born
of the Spirit, and then they could behold the kingdom of God; they
have been baptized in water and had hands laid upon them for the
reception of the Holy Ghost, and they have received that Holy Ghost
among every Gentile nation under heaven wherever the Gospel has been
permitted to be preached; and here they are today, from all those
nations, gathered in the valleys of the mountains. And this is but the
beginning; it is like a mustard seed, it is very small; but the little
one is to become a thousand, and the small one a strong nation. The
Lord will hasten it in his own time. Zion shall be called a "City
sought out." The Lord is watching over us.
I wish to say to the Latter-day Saints, we must not forget our
position, nor the blessings that we hope for. All that we expect, we
have got to inquire of the Lord for. Some of our brethren, as has been
said here, have suffered a little through the spirit of bigotry and
persecution that is in the world. I wonder many times there is not a
great deal more of it. The Lord Almighty is going to make a short work
in the earth; lest no flesh should be saved he will cut his work short
in righteousness. The Lord is putting his hook into the jaws of the
nations. He holds Great Babylon in his hands as well as Zion. He will
control the children of men; and, as the Lord God lives, if the
Latter-day Saints do their duty—live their religion and keep their
covenants, Zion will arise, put on her beautiful garments, be clothed
with the glory of God, have power in the earth, and the law will go
forth from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. Then let our
prayers ascend into the ears of the Lord God of Sabbaoth, for he will
hear them, that the wisdom of the wise may perish and the
understanding of the prudent be hid. Our weapons are faith, prayer,
and confidence in God, for he is our friend if we have any, and we are
his if he has any on the face of the earth. The Lord will work with
us, and we should work with him; therefore, brethren, let us live by
faith, walk by faith, overcome by faith, so that we may enjoy the Holy
Spirit to guide and direct us. All the institutions pertaining to the
work of God in these latter days are going to progress, Zion is bound
to arise, and to arrive at that position in our great future that the
Prophets have seen by prophecy and revelation.
I want to say a few words to the sisters, who have been referred to
this morning—the Female Relief Societies. Our mothers, sisters, wives
and daughters occupy a very important position in this generation, far more so than they realize or understand. You are raising up
your sons and daughters as plants of renown in the house of Israel in
these latter days. Upon the shoulders of you mothers rests, in a great
measure, the responsibility of correctly developing the mental and
moral powers of the rising generation, whether in infancy, childhood,
or still riper years. Your husbands—the fathers of your children, are
messengers to the nations of the earth, or they are engaged in
business, and cannot be at home to attend to the children. No mother
in Israel should let a day pass over her head without teaching her
children to pray. You should pray yourselves, and teach your children
to do the same, and you should bring them up in this way, that when
you have passed away and they take your places in bearing off the
great work of God, they may have principles instilled into their minds
that will sustain them in time and in eternity. I have often said it
is the mother who forms the mind of the child. Take men anywhere, at
sea, sinking with their ship, dying in battle, lying down in death
almost under any circumstances, and the last thing they think of, the
last word they say, is "mother." Such is the influence of woman. Our
children should not be neglected; they should receive a proper
education in both spiritual and temporal things. That is the best
legacy any parents can leave to their children. We should teach them
to pray, and instil into their minds while young every correct
principle. Ninety-nine out of every hundred children who are taught by
their parents the principles of honesty and integrity, truth and
virtue, will observe them through life. Such principles will exalt any
people or nation who make them the rule of their conduct. Show me a
mother who prays, who has passed through the trials of life by prayer,
who has trusted in the Lord God of Israel in her trials and
difficulties, and her children will follow in the same path. These
things will not forsake them when they come to act in the kingdom of
God.
I want to say to our mothers in Israel, your children are approaching
a very important day and age of the world. In a few more years their
parents will pass away. We will go where our brethren have gone—to the
other side of the veil. Our children will remain and will possess this
kingdom when God's judgments await the nations of the earth, when war,
calamity, sword, fire, famine, pestilence and earthquake will stalk
abroad and distress the people. Our children should be prepared to
build up the kingdom of God. Then qualify them in the days of
childhood for the great duties they will be called upon to perform;
and that God may enable us to do so is my prayer for Christ's sake.
Amen.