I have been much interested in the remarks of the Elders this morning,
as all through the Conference, and I hope the instructions we have
received will be treasured up in the hearts of all, and carried home
to our households and wards, and that the Elders who have attended
Conference will stir up the people to diligence, teach them to
remember the Sabbath day and to keep it holy, and instead of fooling
away their time in labor or pleasure, to devote that day to the
worship of God and to rest, according to the original design
of heaven. We should remember our prayers at all times in our
families, we should also remember to observe the word of wisdom, and
be careful to continually pursue such a course as will entitle us to
the blessings of the Lord, and that his Spirit may unceasingly abide
in our hearts. As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints we should let our light shine before men, by observing the
principles which we profess to have obeyed. We need not be troubled
because false reports are sent abroad into the world concerning us;
this has been the universal lot of Saints in all ages of the world.
The Savior said—"Blessed are ye when men shall persecute you and say
all manner of evil against you falsely for my name's sake." If we are
only conscious within ourselves that these charges are false we need
not fear, and we should never hesitate to lift up our voices among the
children of men in bearing testimony of the truth revealed in these
latter days, through the Prophet Joseph Smith.
We are anxious to publish the standard works of the Church to a
greater extent than hitherto. Some of them have been republished, and
others are in progress, and we wish to have the cooperation of the
Saints, generally, throughout the Territory, in helping on this work.
Our publications should be in every family of the Saints, and we wish
to exercise that kind of influence in the midst of our people that
will lead them to make themselves acquainted with the contents of the
Bible, Book of Mormon, Book of Doctrine and Covenants, and such other
works as are or have been published illustrative of the principles of
life and salvation made known in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that they
may be more gene rally understood by those professing to be Latter-day
Saints.
We expect, before the Conference closes, to call a considerable number
of Elders to go and preach the Gospel in the United States. There have
been but few missionaries sent to the States, and the present
generation there have, to a great extent, formed their notions of us
and our faith from the false reports sent through the press; and as we
all know that notions so formed cannot be other than erroneous, we
shall call a considerable number of Elders to go and travel through
the States, representing the Gospel in its true light, and bearing
testimony to the truth, that the generation that have grown up since
we were driven into the wilderness, may learn and know for themselves
the facts concerning us.
We are laboring, as has been referred to by some of the brethren who
have addressed the Conference, to build a Temple in St. George, and
one in this city. The work is moving on in both places. I feel quite
gratified at the success of the workmen the present season on the
Temple here. Taking the granite from the boulders in the mountains,
bringing it here, cutting the blocks, placing the pillars in position,
and getting everything in the mechanical style that it is, in the last
two years, is perfectly wonderful to me. The erection of a Temple like
this is a great work, it requires a vast amount of means, energy and
skill. We have not had as much means to sustain the brethren who have
been laboring upon it as we anticipated, in consequence of the change
of the times, and the failure of some to come forward and pay their
Tithing and thereby supply the demand. Yet we have moved the work
forward gloriously. Brother Pinnock has the gates open, and I
invite the Bishops and all the brethren and sisters from distant
places to go and see the beautiful work we have done on that Temple;
and while you are inspecting what has been done try and realize the
amount of labor and means that have been required to accomplish it.
Think of the millions of dollars that King Solomon expended in
building the foundation of his Temple, and of the heavy tax it was
upon the people; and then, if you want to compare his work with ours,
think of the manner in which we are carrying this forth. I wish the
Saints, also, when visiting the Temple, to raise their hearts in
prayer to the Most High, that he will bless the efforts that are being
made to rear a house to his holy name. We invite all the brethren and
sisters to contribute their monthly offerings in money, that these
workmen may have a portion of their wages in money, and such
necessaries as cannot be obtained without it. For a considerable
portion of the present season the Temple workmen have had to do almost
entirely with home products. Some of them have stuck to it faithfully,
others have been compelled to quit. In fact, for want of means, we
were under the necessity at one time of dismissing fifty hands. But we
have kept the work moving, and if the brethren will go and see what we
have done they can but be surprised and delighted. It is a glorious
work, and one that is to be dedicated to the Most High God. Then let
our hearts be lifted to him in prayer that this work may continue,
that we may be protected from the wrath of our enemies and from the
vengeance of the wicked one, and be able to complete this Temple and
dedicate it, that the glory of the Lord may rest upon it, the various
quorums of the Priesthood be organ ized within it, and that we and our
children may be permitted to enter its sacred precincts, and receive
the ordinances of the Priesthood and the blessings of the Gospel of
peace which can be received only in a Temple of the Lord.
I wish to bear my testimony to the principles of the Gospel which have
been revealed. I never wish to stand before the Saints without doing
that, for when I was called as one of the first Seventies to bear
testimony to the people, I lifted my hand to heaven and said—"If I
ever forget to bear testimony to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the
true mission of Joseph Smith, let my right hand forget its cunning and
my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth." From that day to this I
always remember to bear my testimony when I address the people, for I
know that this Gospel and plan of salvation, revealed by Joseph Smith
and taught by the Apostles of this Church, is true. Men may say that
Brigham Young and the Elders of this Church are impostors; but I know
that they were called by revelation and ordained and set apart to do
this work through Joseph Smith, and they are the servants of the Most
High God. They were called to proclaim the Gospel and to administer
its ordinances, and with all their hearts they have labored to
accomplish the work assigned them.
It is written that "Elias was a man subject to like passions as we
are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain; and it rained not
on the earth by the space of three years and six months." This shows
that a man of like passions to ourselves may obtain faith to perform
great and good works, to give wise instructions, to proclaim the
principles of the everlasting Gospel, to bear testimony to the truth, to ad minister in the work of the Lord and bear off his kingdom.
And it is our duty, as we have already been warned, to exercise faith
for those in authority, that, while they contend with like passions
with ourselves, they may have the Spirit of the Almighty to preserve
and guide them, and to sustain their hands, and in all cases be
careful never to be found speaking evil of the Lord's anointed. A
tattling tongue is a curse, and, as the Apostle James expresses it,
"is set on fire of hell;" and when we are found speaking evil against
the servants of God and accusing the brethren we are only following in
the wake of the wicked one. Let us then avoid these things, and learn
to speak those things that are good, upright and true, and bear a
faithful testimony of the Gospel.
As I said before, I wish the Saints generally to remember the brethren
who are laboring on the Temple at St. George. They have been working
all the season, with very little to supply them, and some of them are
destitute of clothing, and other necessaries. Some of the workmen
there have labored on the Temple from the very beginning, and the
walls are now thirty feet high, and the work is going ahead
prosperously. We have invited the people in every settlement to
contribute of their means to continue the work and we have also
invited brethren to go down to St. George, and labor upon the Temple
this winter, that the building may be prepared for the roof as soon as
possible. It will be a magnificent Temple, and will contain all the
conveniences of the Temples of Kirtland and Nauvoo. It will be one
hundred and forty-three feet long and ninety-seven wide, and the walls
will be eighty-eight feet high. It is desirable that the brethren
contribute their means to supply the wants of those who are laboring
on that Temple, that they may be encouraged to continue. We are
anxious to push this Temple forward to completion as early as
possible. It is not so large nor so elaborate in its design as the one
in course of erection in this city. St. George is a place in which
parties living in the northern settlements, who may desire to do so,
can go and spend the winter, and attend to the ordinances of the
Priesthood. When that Temple is finished we can go down there and be
baptized for our dead, receive our anointings and ordinances and all
the blessings pertaining to the Priesthood, and get our records made
to perform that great work which is placed upon us for the salvation
of all the generations from the time that the Priesthood was lost, the
covenant broken, the laws trampled under foot and the ordinances
forsaken, unto the present time, for the salvation of all who have
died since then rests upon us as a generation. But if any of us suffer
ourselves to be led into darkness by the cunning and craftiness of the
wicked one or evil spirits, we lose great and glorious blessings, and
a great and glorious responsibility which is laid upon us pertaining
to the salvation of ourselves and our ancestors. We call upon all the
brethren to consider these things, and we do not wish any to go and
labor on that Temple this winter unless they desire to do so, and have
got the spirit to go in order that they may assist in forwarding the
work.
It is very probable that some who live in the northern settlements,
who are able to do so, will make practice of spending the winter in
St. George, because of the mild pleasant weather which prevails there
during the winter season. Last winter the masons worked on the walls of the Temple all the winter, except seven and a half days, when
they were prevented by rain. But to all who may have any intention of
going there to spend the winter, I would say, never go with light
shoes and thin clothing, but take good warm clothing and thick-soled
shoes. Do not be deceived with the idea that you will find summer
weather there in the winter season, it is more like pleasant spring
weather, and when evening comes, good thick warm clothing is needed.
In speaking of the press I wish to name especially the paper published
by our sisters—The Woman's Exponent. I feel as though I hardly need
suggest to the brethren that natural gallantry would require them,
all through the Territory, to subscribe to this little sheet, and I
believe that if the brethren would do so the paper would be much more
widely circulated and would do much more good than at present. The
brethren should remember that our sisters hold the ballot in this
country, that they have equal influence at the polls with the men, and
I certainly think that we should patronize them in their press, for I
am satisfied that the prospects of any man being elected to the
Legislature of Utah Territory would be very poor if the women were
opposed to him, for I presume that the women compose a majority of the
legal voters of the Territory, hence, under these circumstances, our
natural gallantry and the national characteristic to desire office
should prompt us to sustain their publication.
I hope also that the brethren, in reflecting upon the instructions
which have been given during Conference, will not forget what has been
said in relation to sustaining ourselves with our own material. We
have mechanics here who can make good coffins, yet a great many
coffins are imported from the States into this Territory, for which the
money has to be paid. I say that we ought to be ashamed of this, and I
here publicly request my friends, whoever may live to place me in the
ground, to place me there in a coffin made of our mountain wood by our
own mechanics, and I prohibit anybody who may outlive me paying a
dollar for a coffin for me that is imported from the States. That is
my sentiment, and I wish it was of every man and woman in the
Territory. It may be said to be a small matter, but it takes thousands
of dollars of our money away just to gratify pride. Says one—"I am
just as good as such a one, and why not I have a coffin from Chicago
or St. Louis as well as he have one?" This is a sentiment resulting
purely from pride and love of display, which is unworthy of a
Latter-day Saint. Carry this principle out and it leads us to reject
homemade shoes and other articles which are far superior to the
foreign-made imported articles.
We have been talking about the United Order, and getting up tanneries,
shoe shops, &c., and initiatory steps have been taken in some of the
settlements with these objects in view; but it takes time to carry out
and successfully accomplish such projects. But we can produce these
things within ourselves, and it is our duty to do it, and instead of
manifesting a disposition to oppose anything of this kind, we should
exert all the influence and energy we possess to bring it about, and
to make ourselves self-sustaining. It is true that the principles of
the United Order are such that a great portion of our people at the
present time are not in a condition to take hold of it with all they
have, for many of them have been foolish enough during the success of business for the last four years, instead of paying their
debts, to launch into business of various kinds and get deeper into
debt. That class of men have to get their hands untied before they can
take hold to promote the great project of uniting the whole of the
Latter-day Saints in all their business affairs. But this must be done
as fast as possible, and the work of making Zion self-sustaining must
be regarded as part of the work of the Lord; for it is an obligation
devolving upon us to pro vide within ourselves labor and the
necessaries of life. We must take hold of this matter, brethren and
sisters, with all our hearts, and never let ourselves rest until Zion
is independent of her enemies and all the world.
May peace and the light of truth abide with you, that you may
understand these things and act upon them with all the spirit and
power of the gospel of peace, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus,
Amen.
- George A. Smith