I have been very much interested, as no doubt all of you have who have
attended this Conference, in the principles that have been taught
here. It is true a very great many have not been present to hear the
things that have been spoken of by the Elders of Israel, and the
Apostles of the Lord, during this Conference. There has been a number
of reflections, no doubt, in relation to principles advanced by the
various speakers; a great many plain truths have been enumerated; but
we need, as has been stated, continual awakening up to a sense of our
duty, and to a realization of those great responsibilities which
devolve upon us.
We are living in a very important age of the world, when great events
are about to transpire, and the Lord has called upon us to perform a
very great work in our day and generation. He has sent forth a
revelation of his will; He has restored the ancient, the everlasting
Gospel; He has restored the Holy Priesthood; He has manifested himself
by the opening of the heavens and communicating his will, by the
ministration of angels, by the organization of his Church and kingdom,
by the continuous manifestation of his Holy Spirit, daily imparting
faith to the human family who are humbly and diligently seeking to
observe his laws and to keep his commandments.
The Lord has a work to perform upon the earth; and the ancient
Priesthood who have lived upon the earth, and who now live in heaven,
have also a work to perform. And this Gospel and this kingdom has been
introduced that there might be a Priesthood upon the earth to operate
with God and with the Priesthood in the heavens, for the
accomplishment of his purposes, for the redemption of the living, even
all who desire to love the truth and work righteousness, and for the
salvation and redemption of the dead; that the purposes of God from
before the foundation of the world may be carried out, and that the
laws, principles, rules and government as they exist in heaven, may be
taught to man upon the earth; and that through the operation and
cooperation of the heavenly Priesthood and the earthly Priesthood,
and God the Father, and Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant,
an organization may take place, a union be formed, truth developed,
and a kingdom established that the will of God may be done upon the
earth as it is done in heaven. And this is what Jesus taught his
disciples to pray for. "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth,
as it is in heaven." But we cannot do the will of God as it is done in
heaven, until he reveals it; we cannot know the will of God in heaven,
until he reveals it to man on the earth. And then, as it requires the
powers and the spirit and wisdom of God to manage and direct and
control the affairs in the heavenly worlds, and to regulate his
kingdom there, so it requires the same power, the same wisdom, the
same light and intelligence to carry on his purposes here, and to
establish his kingdom on the earth. And hence, for this very purpose,
he has commenced to reveal himself to the human family, and also for
the purpose of organizing the everlasting Priesthood. Do we know what
that means? A Priesthood that administers in time and through all
eternity; a Priesthood that is under the guidance, direction and
control of the Almighty; a Priesthood to whom he will communicate his
will, make known his designs, through whom he will accomplish his
purposes, build up his Zion and establish the kingdom of God on the
earth. And it is for this purpose that the kingdom of God is
established; it is for this purpose that the various organizations of
the Priesthood are put in order; it is for this purpose that men are
ordained and set apart to fulfill the various duties and
responsibilities devolving upon them, at home or abroad as the case
may be. It is not to seek after our own gain, or interest, or
emolument, or to satisfy the devices and desires of our hearts; we are
here as Jesus was here, not to do our own will, but the will of him
who sent us—not to speak our own words, but the words of life, under
the inspiration of the Most High, so that Zion may be instructed in
the principles of righteousness, and that she may comprehend the laws
of life, and be able to fulfill her destiny on the earth.
Ye Latter-day Saints, this is why this Church was organized; this is
why the Priesthood was organized; this is why messengers have been
sent, and are now being sent, and will continue to be sent more
abundantly to the nations of the earth. And it is proper and right, in
our Conferences, to reflect upon these things, and upon the duties and
responsibilities devolving upon us, and to ask ourselves, Are we
fulfilling the requirements of the great Eloheim? It has been asked
here by brother Brigham, who has just spoken, whether this kingdom
will fail. I tell you in the name of Israel's God it will not fail. I
tell you in the name of Israel's God it will roll forth, and that the
things spoken of by the holy Prophets in relation to it will receive
their fulfillment. But in connection with this I will tell you another
thing: A great many of the Latter-day Saints will fail, a great many
of them are not now and never have been living up to their privileges,
and magnifying their callings and their Priesthood, and God will have
a reckoning with such people, unless they speedily repent. There is a
carelessness, a deadness, an apathy, a listlessness that exists to a
great extent among the Latter-day Saints, and there never was a
stronger proof of this than that which was exhibited here yesterday. I
asked myself, as I looked over the empty benches, Where are all the Bishops? Have they not time to attend the Quarterly Conference?
Oh, shame on such men! Are they worthy to hold a place in the
Bishopric, and associate with the Holy Priesthood of God? They are
desecrating the holy principles by which they ought to be governed.
Where are their Counselors, I asked myself, and where are the Priests
and Teachers and Deacons? Is there no interest manifested in the
Church and kingdom of God, or in the Zion he is about to establish?
Not much with many of them. Where were these thousands of Seventies
and High Priests and Elders? The great majority of them were not here;
but today they are, and I thought I would talk to them while here,
and not when absent. Are the things of God of so small importance—are
the issues of life, the destinies of the world, and the salvation of
the living and the dead of so small importance, that we cannot afford
time to spend a day once a quarter in attending to the duties of our
office, in representing our different districts, and in fulfilling the
duties of our priesthood and the obligations God has placed upon us? I
tell you, ye Elders of Israel, who neglect these things and who shirk
your duties, God will remove your candlestick out of its place, and
that speedily, unless you repent. And I say so to the Bishops, and I
say so to all Israel who hold the Priesthood. We are not here to do
our own will, but the will of our Heavenly Father who sent us. God has
placed an important mission upon us; he expects us to fulfill it. If
we treat it lightly and neglect our duties, he will remove us and
others will take our crown. But he is not going to allow His kingdom
to be overthrown, for it will roll forth and spread and increase until
the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our God and
His Christ and he will rule forever and ever.
I was reminded, yesterday, of a parable made use of by the Savior in
his day.
"Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which
took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
"And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
"They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:
"But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
"While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept."
I thought that part of it was pretty nearly fulfilled; for very nearly
all of the people belonging to this stake were caught napping. By and
by, or to quote the words of the text:
"And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh;
go ye out to meet him.
Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps
are gone out.
But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us
and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were
ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut;" and
the others did not, and—that's all. And there is another Scripture to
which I will refer. Jesus says: "Many are called, but few are chosen."
And there are many other peculiar Scriptures in relation to this
matter. I will refer to another one. "Many will say to me in that day,
Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name
have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
"And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me,
ye that work iniquity." Or in other words, Depart from me, I never
approved of you. Who, my brethren and sisters, do you think these
Scriptures refer to? Some will say to the Gentiles; but I have quite
another opinion about it. There are men before me today who have
prophesied in the name of God, who have cast out devils in the name of
God, who have healed the sick in the name of God, and done many
wonderful works in the name of God; but they are not keeping his
commandments, nor magnifying their priesthood; they are tampering with
sacred things, and God will hold them to an account for it; and if
they expect they can serve mammon, the world and the devil, at the
same time, they are making a grand mistake. God will say to them, "I
never knew you." Now I shall be there, and you will be there; and I
warn you, in the name of Jesus, to repent of your sins, and humble
yourselves, and from henceforth magnify your priesthood and honor your
God.
How is it with our various quorums and authorities, and how is it with
many of the Bishops? They do not care much about things whichever way
they go. They have time to attend to their merchandising and trading
and business operations and pleasures, but they have not time to
attend to the cause of God nor the interests of the flock, over whom
he has placed them. But if they cannot find time, God will find a
people that will find time to attend to his affairs. We have been
engaged for years, but more especially of late years, in organizing
the church more perfectly. And we have been ordain ing men in the
various quorums for the last 40 years; and what for? Merely to give
them a place and position and the priesthood? No, I tell you nay; but
that holding the holy priesthood you may magnify it and become the
saviors of men. But is it not the case with a great many of our Elders
and Seventies, that they are trying how little they can do to
save themselves and preserve a standing in the church; instead of how
much they can do? Why, all the heavens are waiting for our operations;
the Gods in the eternal worlds and the fathers of the departed
spirits—the holy priesthood behind the veil, are all waiting for our
operations, to see what we will do. And we are found slumbering and
careless and indifferent, willing that anybody should perform the work
of the Lord, if we will be left out. I tell you, in the name of God,
that he will give you your wish; he will leave you out, unless you
speedily repent. "Be not deceived; God is not mocked; for whatsoever a
man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh
shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit
shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting." But what are the duties of
these Seventies, so many of whom are before me today? As I read it,
it is to be under the direction of the Twelve, and to be on hand to go
to the nations of the earth, as messengers, and to prepare themselves
for that purpose. We sometimes talk about the work we have done. A
very few men, comparatively, have done this work, and the great
majority have done next to nothing. How many nations are yet unwarned,
and know nothing about the principles of salvation? Our fathers are
anxious about them, looking to us to carry the word to them. O shame
upon the Elders of Israel, especially upon the Seventies who
are called specially to this work. I received a letter from one of our
Elders a short time ago, who is out laboring in the ministry,
faithfully and diligently, in which he writes something like this: "If
you can send me two or three Elders here, I shall be very much
obliged; if the Seventies or Elders would not consider it too much
trouble to come here." What? Too much trouble for the Elders of Israel
to proclaim the words of life and salvation to their fellow men, and to
magnify their calling and priesthood? O shame on such Elders and such
Seventies and such High Priests; shame on them. God, I tell you in the
name of God, will hold you responsible for these things. And yet that
man's statement was pretty nearly true. If a man goes on a mission, he
thinks he is accomplishing a wonderful thing. We used, in former
years, to think it our duty, regarding it as one of the things which
God required at our hands. We held ourselves in readiness all the
time. And some of us who have never been abroad will begin to talk of
the great work we have performed. How we apples swim, don't we? To
tell what we have done, when perhaps hundreds and thousands of
brethren who have never been abroad on a mission in their lifetime
would consider it a great calamity to be called to go on a foreign
mission.
I am talking plainly, but it is true before God, and you know it is
true, and I know it is true. And I say to you Seventies and you
Elders, Awaken up! God has placed the priesthood upon you, and he
expects you to magnify it, and not be all the day long, and year
after year, singing,
"Lullaby baby on the tree top,
When the wind blows the cradle will rock."
we want something else; we want some manhood, and some priesthood and
power of God to be manifested in Israel, and the Spirit of God to be
poured out upon Israel and upon the Elders thereof. And I pray God,
the Eternal Father, to waken up these Elders, that the spirit of their
mission may rest upon them, and that they may comprehend their true
position before God.
Now, I would not have said these things before a public congregation,
if I had not said them before you frequently in your priesthood
meetings. But it is time we were waking up to a sense of the position
we occupy before God; for the day is not far distant when we will hear
of wars and rumors of wars; not only rumors of wars, but wars
themselves—nation arrayed against nation and seizing one another by
the throat, and blood will flow, and general carnage will spread
through the lands, and if you do not magnify your callings, God will
hold you responsible for those whom you might have saved had you done
your duty. How many of you can say, My garments are clean from the
blood of this generation? I speak in behalf of the nations and the
people thereof, and the honest in heart who are ignorant of God and
his laws. He has called upon us to enlighten them, and to spread forth
the truth, and send forth the principles of the Gospel, and point out
the way of life. And it is for us to attend to these things, that we
may secure the smiles and approbation of God.
But we are careless and thoughtless; and, as has been already
remarked, we pay very little attention to the Sabbath day. Some would
rather go on these Sunday excursions, and take their families with
them, leading them in the paths that lead to death, then they would
bring them to the house of God. But let me say to all such, that as
sure as you do these things you will have to feel, and that keenly too, the result of your acts, and they will follow you in time
and all eternity. And I call upon you, ye Latter-day Saints, to repent
of your iniquities, and keep the Sabbath day holy, set it aside as a
day of rest, a day to meet together to perform your sacraments and
listen to the words of life, and thus be found keeping the
commandments, and setting a good example before your children. Let us
do that which is right, honor our God and magnify our calling, and the
Spirit and blessing of God will rest upon us. But if we do not these
things, his Spirit will depart from us, and we be left to ourselves.
God will not be mocked by his people, or by any other people; but we
shall reap the reward of our doings.
We talk about being a good people. Well, we are when compared with the
rest of the world; but we ought to be twenty times better than we are
today. And if we, as Latter-day Saints, were to strictly observe the
Sabbath day, and pay our tithes and offerings, and meet our
engagements, and be less worldly minded, be united in temporal and
spiritual things, Zion would arise and shine, and the glory of God
would rest upon her. And it would not be long before all nations would
call us blessed. But we are slothful and careless and indifferent, and
we neglect our duty and the responsibilities that devolve upon us.
I pray that God may enlighten our minds, and lead us in the paths of
life; and that we may honor our calling and our God; that we may be
found worthy to be associated with the just on the earth, and with
them obtain an inheritance in the kingdom of God, in the name of
Jesus. Amen.