I feel a deep interest in the subjects which have been brought before
us this morning by the Elders who have spoken, as well as in every
discourse that has been uttered since the commencement of the
Conference, and I hope that the impressions which have been made will
be lasting. In relation to intemperance, we, all of us, as Latter-day Saints,
should observe the Word of
Wisdom; and if we do not observe it, we lay a foundation to weaken
ourselves. You will see young persons come to the table in the
morning, and they want some tea, or coffee, or a cup of good, strong,
warm drink. A habit of this kind has, perhaps, already been acquired
by them, and it is likely to continue until they become slaves to it.
In a little while it affects the complexion, it weakens the mind and
the body throughout, and lays the foundation for a weaker generation
to follow. Of course it is no use to talk to men about tobacco. It
takes a man of energy to quit chewing tobacco, a man who has a mind
and independence; boys who undertake it seldom accomplish it, though
they are very foolish ever to indulge in the habit.
I feel like exhorting my brethren and sisters to abstain from
everything prohibited in the Word of Wisdom, and to live in accordance
with its principles as near as our climate and the productions of our
country will permit. So far as intoxicating drinks are concerned, it
is worse than madness and folly for men to indulge in them. There is
something comparatively innocent in tea, coffee or tobacco when
compared with intoxicating drinks. Of course a man who uses tobacco
freely for years gets an appetite for liquor; he lays a foundation for
an appetite for liquor, and after a while he craves it and must have it.
He should let tobacco alone in the start; but yet
tobacco does not make a man insane in a minute. Some of our most
promising business men, who have come to Salt Lake City at different
periods, have carried themselves to untimely graves by indulging in
intoxicating drink. Men whose voices have been heard in the
Tabernacle, men who have rendered service in the offices, and who have
been honored, have died like a dog in a ditch, or in a most degraded
manner, in consequence of indulging in intoxicating drinks. A man says
to another—"Come, take a drink." "No, I don't wish any." "Oh, don't be
so pious, come and take a drink with us, don't be a coward;" and so,
for fear of being a coward, he takes the drink. Shame on such a
man! Why not quietly say—"No, I do not need it;" and if the invitation
is repeated, say—"No more of that, gentlemen," and be man enough to
let it alone, rather than yield and let a habit creep upon him that
will destroy him. I have heard men say—"I can drink, or let it alone;"
then let it alone; but some of those who can "drink or let it alone"
will get drunk every day. They have sold themselves to the cursed
alcohol. Let the Elders of Israel cease this habit and learn wisdom.
When you come to meet the presence of your Father in heaven, when you
wish for the rewards of your Priesthood, you who have not obeyed the
Word of Wisdom will wail at the loss you have sustained in consequence
of your folly. Think of these things, continue to think of them, pray
over them, and set an example before your children that is worthy of
imitation. If an old lady of seventy comes to my house at Conference,
and I get her a cup of tea, if there is a girl there of fifteen, she
will want to drink with grandma, and she will think she must have it
because grandma does. This has been my experience in times past. I do
not have it now; I do not get tea for people, unless they pretend to
be sick, then I tell my folks to make them a tin cup full of good,
strong catnip tea. That is a rule I have prescribed. I do not know how
my folks keep it. I certainly do not intend to place any restrictions
on them any further than their own wisdom dictates. But if they use
these things they do it in violation of my advice and run their own
risks, and so do all others.
I say, brethren and sisters, let us observe the Word of Wisdom. We are
doing a great business in the tea, coffee and tobacco in the
Cooperative Store. When we first esta blished it we thought we would
not sell tobacco at all; but pretty soon the Superintendent asked the
Directors if he might not bring in some poor kind of tobacco to kill
the ticks on the sheep. It was very soon discovered that unless they
sold tobacco, so many Latter-day Saints used it, that a successful
opposition could be run against them on the tobacco trade alone, and
they had to commence it, I believe, under the plea that it was brought
on to kill the ticks on sheep. Shame on such Latter-day Saints, so far
as tobacco is concerned.
I will say a word in relation to the colleges which brother Jesse N.
Smith spoke about. As he said, we have struggled against many
difficulties as far as education is concerned, and our university and
our colleges, so far, have simply been schools for the education of
teachers in the primary branches. We have sometimes employed
professors and taught many different branches. But a great effort has
been made to educate teachers for primary schools, and some of them
have taken great pains to inform themselves. They have held
associations and got up a normal and training class, have given
lectures, and this summer they spent six weeks voluntarily to instruct
each other.
It has been the uniform custom of the General Government to give the
different States public lands and money to a liberal extent for
educational purposes. None of this has ever been made available for
Utah; we have had to carry everything by our own individual effort.
Now that there are many young men and women among us who wish to study
more advanced branches than we have, as yet, been able to organize,
they would like to go to famous seats of learning in distant parts of the country for that purpose. A cooperative effort is now
required on the part of the people, as a matter of domestic economy,
to establish schools of a higher order, and to provide the professors
and apparatus necessary to impart instruction in the higher branches
of learning, that our young people may be able to obtain the education
they desire at home; for while they would go away and spend five or
six hundred dollars a year each, the same amount expended here would
establish schools for the higher branches, and cut off a large
proportion of the expense in all time to come. We would like to have
all the Wards and settlements consider these questions, and make it a
matter of real interest to bring about an organization and to supply
the means necessary for this object.
In the foundation of a country it is necessary, of course, to look
well to its primary schools; we have tried to do this, we are still
doing it, and, I believe considering their circumstances, the people
of Utah have done more for education than the people of any other
Territory.
May the blessing of Israel's God be upon us in all our efforts to
guide our children, in all our efforts to maintain the principles of
temperance, to observe the Word of Wisdom and keep the commandments of
God, and to establish such schools and colleges as shall enable us to
advance in all branches that are useful, for our religion includes
every good and true principle. There is no principle on the face of
the earth or in heaven that is true, but what belongs to "Mormonism."
May God enable us to do these things as we should, in the name of
Jesus. Amen.
- George A. Smith