I desire an interest in the faith and prayers of my brethren and
sisters who are present, that I may be able to speak under the
influence of the good spirit, such things as will be encouraging to
the faith of the Saints.
I rejoice always in the truth of the Gospel with which I have become
acquainted; and although there may be many things with which I am
unacquainted, yet that portion of the plan of salvation which I do
understand is sufficient to convince me beyond the possibility of a
doubt, that we are engaged in the great latter-day work of God
Almighty, which is for the salvation of the human family, the
establishment of the kingdom upon the earth preparatory to the coming
of the Son of God in power and great glory, to take possession of the
kingdom and of the world; to take the reins of government in His own
hands, to judge and rule with righteousness, and with equity reprove
for the meek of the earth, to the honor and glory of God, to the
salvation and deliverance of His people, the downfall of Babylon, the
destruction of the wicked and the overthrow of all man-made systems
and organizations that are in conflict with the requirements of heaven
and the laws of God. There is, to my mind, nothing lacking in proof or
evidence of these facts, which have plainly been set forth in the
Bible, in the Book of Mormon, and also in the revelations through the
Prophet Joseph Smith; which last named are recorded in the Book of
Doctrine and Covenants. I am perfectly satisfied, as much so as I am
that I breathe the breath of life, that these truths pertaining to the
last dispensation and the great latter-day work have been revealed to
us from God, and that we are in possession of truth, eternal truth
that can never be uprooted or destroyed. It is true that we are but a
handful of people in comparison to the vast multitude that are in the
world, indeed we are few in comparison to the population of our own
nation; for while we, as a community, number a few thousands, the
nation numbers nearly half as many millions; and our nation is only a
small portion of the human family. But yet it is not presumptuous, nor
is it unreasonable or inconsistent, notwithstanding the paucity of
our numbers, our supposed lack of intelligence pertain ing to
scientific matters, and our poverty as compared with the wealth of the
world, for us to claim that we have received revelation from God, that
the Almighty has spoken to the children of men with His own voice and
by the voice of angels and ministering spirits, or personages whom He
has sent to reveal His will to man. For it is in this way that God has
ever revealed Himself to the nations of the earth. He calls a Prophet
now and a Prophet hereafter, and He reveals himself to His servants
the Prophets, and He makes known His will unto them, and it becomes
their duty to proclaim the law and the will of the Almighty to the
inhabitants of the earth, and to call others to the ministry, sending
them forth that they may proclaim the Gospel to their neighbors and
associates; and so the work of God has to work its way, spread and
increase among the children of men, like the leaven, referred to by
the Savior, that is placed in the measure of meal that works until the
whole lump is leavened. So God has done in all ages of the world when
He has undertaken to renew His covenant with the people; He has called
certain men (who doubtless had been foreordained to come forth in
certain ages to do a certain work) through whom He has made known to
the nations and peoples of the earth His mind and will. When Jesus
came to the earth He scarcely found faith among mankind; only John the
Baptist holding a commission from God to minister in the first
ordinances of the Gospel; John having been called and appointed of God
and ordained by a holy angel to that ministry and Priesthood. A few
that had listened to his testimony and teachings, and had been
baptized by his baptism, with him, constituted all who were
acknowledged of God upon the earth at the time of the coming of the
Savior, And Jesus called unto Him twelve disciples, ordained them,
commissioned them and sent them forth to preach the Gospel; but they
sojourned with him for three years during his own ministry to receive
instruction, to be taught of Him, to learn the ways of the Lord from
the Great Head, that they might be qualified to go forth at the
expiration of that time being witnesses of God, witnesses of the
divine mission of their Lord and Master, and prepared to proclaim the
Gospel to the inhabitants of the earth. After Jesus was crucified of
man, he went in the spirit to the spirits that were in prison, who
had been disobedient "when the long-suffering of God waited in the
days of Noah," that by his coming the Gospel might be taught unto
them, their prison doors be opened, and liberty be proclaimed unto
them, even the liberty of the Gospel, that they might live, through
obedience to its requirements, according to God in the Spirit; and
when the ordinances of the Gospel necessary for the redemption of the
dead had been performed for and in their behalf upon the earth, that
they might be judged according to man in the flesh. When Jesus had
done this He again took up the body of flesh and bones which had been
hung upon the cross, and pierced unto death and laid away in the tomb;
that body which had passed through the portal of death and the ordeal
of the grave, he again brought forth from death unto life. Thus he
conquered death and gained the victory over the grave and brought
about the resurrection from the dead through the power of the Gospel
and the holy Priesthood. Shortly after He visited His
disciples, when He breathed upon them, saying unto them; "Receive ye
the Holy Ghost." He also commissioned them to go forth and preach the
Gospel to every creature. Then He departed from them, and they went
forth and testified of Jesus Christ, and proclaimed the Gospel to the
world, with power and with the demonstration of the Spirit of God.
These chosen disciples of Christ suffered ignominious deaths from the
first to the last, with the single exception of the Apostle John, who
we are informed, was preserved from the power of his enemies, from
their attempts to destroy his life, for a wise purpose of God, to
fulfil the promise of the Savior unto him; and yet, notwithstanding
this promise, it is believed by the Christian world that he died a
natural death after wicked men had attempted several times in vain to
destroy his life. Notwithstanding, the disciples of Jesus, excepting
John the Revelator, suffered ignominious deaths, they sowed the seed
of the Gospel among, and conferred the Priesthood upon men, which
remained for several generations upon the earth, but the time came
when Paganism was engrafted into Christianity, and at last
Christianity was converted into Paganism rather than converting the
Pagans. And subsequently the Priesthood was taken from among men, this
authority was recalled into the heavens, and the world was left
without the Priesthood—without the power of God—without the Church and
Kingdom of God. There were tens of thousands that hearkened to the
teachings of the disciples and yielded obedience to the Gospel; and
they suffered persecution such as the people of God in this generation
have never begun to suffer. Some of the Latter-day Saints who were
associated with this Church in its early history, and suffered the
persecutions in Ohio, in Missouri and Illinois, thought that their
persecution was very great, even greater than that of any other
people. But this is not so, for this people have never begun to endure
the persecution that was inflicted upon the former day Saints, those
who received the testimony of the Apostles. People in former days
believed that they were doing God service to burn those Saints to
death, to whip and to spear them to death, to drag them until they
were torn to pieces and otherwise to torture and destroy them, and,
indeed, in some instances they sewed up the believers in cloths and in
sacks, which they covered with pitch or tar and then set on fire to
light the streets of imperial Rome! In ancient days it was considered
lawful to perpetrate these barbarities upon those who professed to
believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. They were driven from place to
place; they were hunted down as wild beasts, and otherwise suffered
persecution such as this people have never begun to suffer, and as I
earnestly hope and pray they never will be subjected to.
But it was under such circumstances the Gospel was proclaimed among
the people. In this way were the believers in Christ treated, being
esteemed as worthless, refuse, unfit to live, and worthy only of the
most cruel and ignominious deaths. The same feelings existed, and do
today exist, in the hearts of some people toward the Latter-day
Saints. But the Lord Almighty has prepared the way for the coming
forth of the kingdom of God in this dispensation by establishing the
republican government of the United States; a government affording the
widest liberty and the greatest free dom to man that has ever
been known to exist among men, outside of those governed by the direct
communication of heaven. It was part of the design of the Almighty
when He influenced our fathers to leave the old world and come to this
continent; He had a hand in the establishment of this government; He
inspired the framers of the Constitution and the fathers of this
nation to contend for their liberties; and He did this upon natural
principles, that the way might be prepared, and that it might be
possible for Him to establish His kingdom upon the earth, no more to
be thrown down. And when the way was prepared and the time fully come
for the restoration of the Gospel, God revealed Himself to Joseph
Smith, giving to him certain promises concerning the coming forth of
the Gospel and the establishment of His kingdom in the last days. And
subsequently God sent messengers to him and ordained him to the
Priesthood, or conferred on him the rights, powers, keys and authority
of the holy Priesthood, to act as His representative in establishing
the Gospel of the kingdom once more among men, and for the last time,
also to restore the Priesthood to earth, that man might again
officiate in the name and authority of God, for the salvation of the
living and the dead. He had to call one man to this office, who
afterwards, as Jesus did, called and set apart twelve others, together
with Seventies, High Priests, Elders, Bishops, Priests, Teachers and
Deacons, for the work of the ministry, and for the edifying of the
body of Christ, that all may come to the unity of the faith and the
knowledge of the Son of God, to the fulness of the measure of the
stature of Christ Jesus; that we might come to a oneness in the
knowledge of the truth, that the world might be leavened with the
leaven of truth, that all mankind might have the privilege of bearing
the Gospel and of being gathered into the fold and family of Christ.
In the space of about fifty years, I suppose, we have gathered from
first to last into the fold of this Church, some three or four
hundred thousand people. It may seem to some that this would indicate
that we had made very slow progress in half a century; having
succeeded in gathering into this Church only between three and four
hundred thousand people; and that today we do not number more than
150,000 to 200,000 members all told, in good standing; that is, taking
all that can be called Saints in America, in Europe, in Australia, and
upon the islands of the sea; wherever this Gospel is preached, or
people acknowledge membership in this Church, all told, perhaps, we do
not number more than 200,000 members in good standing. It may seem
that we are making haste slowly; that we are not progressing very
rapidly. It might seem to some of us that we ought to have
accomplished a great deal more in the fifty years past since the
organization of this Church. I confess that I believe with all my
heart, that as a people we might have made far greater progress in the
accomplishment of the purposes and will of God than we have, if we had
only done as we should. In my humble opinion, and I express it as my
firm conviction and belief, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints might have numbered today many times more than it does, if
those who have embraced the Gospel had remained true and all had been
as faithful as they should have been. The progress of the work
of God does and will depend greatly upon the righteousness of the
people, the faithfulness of the Priesthood in keeping His
commandments, honoring His laws, and laboring for the accomplishment
of the purposes of God upon the earth, instead of self-aggrandizement.
I will venture, as my opinion, that the Latter-day Saints through
their follies, their neglect of proper example, their carelessness
respecting their duties, not to mention greater sins, and the evil
resulting therefrom, have prevented the conversion of as many people
as have been converted unto God. There are today perhaps nearly as
many that have apostatized as are now in good standing in the Church;
many of whom were honest but have been deceived and led away from the
truth, many others, I admit, have turned away because of their own
sins. Others again have left the Church because they were unable to
distinguish between the actions of their foolish brethren and the
principles of eternal truth, and in that way have allowed themselves
to go into darkness and turn away from the Kingdom. In almost every
place you go, where the Gospel is being preached, you may find scores
and scores of people that once belonged to the Church, how are they
today? Are they members of this Church? No; they are apostates, in
darkness, knowing not the truth, for the light they had is gone out
and darkness has taken the place thereof, and they are now under the
power of darkness or Satan and cannot help themselves.
And again, there are many people who have come among us, who, if they
had found that perfection in the conduct and character of Latter-day
Saints which they expected to find among those professing to be
Saints, if they had found more of the fruits of righteousness in the
midst of this people and less of their follies and weaknesses, they
would no doubt have been constrained to yield obedience to the Gospel;
whereas they only became hardened in seeing the weakness and
imperfection of many so-called Latter-day Saints, concluding that
they, judging them by their acts, are not much better than other
professing Christians. And in this way many that might have been
brought to a knowledge of the truth, have been discouraged,
disappointed and deceived, because they failed to discover or feel as
they might and should have done, if all the fruits of the Gospel had
abounded as they should, that power of the Priesthood and efficacy of
the Gospel which should be exhibited in the midst of the people of
God.
Now, am I finding fault with the Latter-day Saints? If I should find
fault with you of course I would be finding fault with myself. I
acknowledge that I have not lived up to the standard as I should have
done. I have not possessed that power, that inspiration, that
knowledge of truth, that close communion with God and with the Holy
Ghost, that I might or ought to have done. Therefore if there is blame
attached to the Church I am willing to acknowledge and share my
proportion of that blame. Nevertheless, what I say in regard to this
matter I believe to be the truth. I will give you, if you wish, and I
think I had better do so, one or two simple and undeniable proofs of
my assertion. Excuse me if I refer to things which may be considered
quite common; I am not here to teach you new doctrine, I am
endeavoring to teach you truths, which we have been taught for the
last fifty years.
I will refer you to the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, to that
simple principle called the Word of Wisdom. How many of this
congregation have kept this law? And how many do keep it today? It
would perhaps not astonish you very much were I to say that there were
members of the Church of forty years standing and upwards, who take
their tea, coffee, tobacco, etc., just as though God had not some
forty-eight years ago, revealed the Word of Wisdom. I can point out
men and women that have been in this Church some twenty-five or thirty
years, that are no nearer keeping the commandments of God, in this
respect, than they were twenty-five or thirty years ago, and some of
them not so near. If I were pressed on this point I could call the
names of some individuals in proof of what I say. We have not lived up
to the privileges nor kept the laws of God as given unto us. What is
the result? Is it not that when we preach these principles we preach
them in word only and not in the demonstration of the power of God?
Certainly not in the demonstration and power of example, but with the
words of our lips which proceed not from the heart. And that is not
all. In the Book of Mormon it is recorded that Christ commanded the
people to call upon God in His name, morning and evening with their
families. Similar instruction is given in the Doctrine and Covenants,
and the same principle is inculcated in the Bible. God has said that
He will be sought after by His people; and Jesus said that we must
knock in order that the door might be opened unto us; and that we
should seek in order to find, and ask in order to receive. And, yet,
how many heads of families in the Church fail to meet with their
families to call upon God in family prayer? How many Saints neglect
this duty? It is a duty, it is the word of the Lord to the Saints,
that they should meet with their families morning and evening, and
call upon God in His name. This principle is part of the Gospel, it
was taught by the Savior on the eastern, and also on the western,
continent: and, simple as it may appear, it is absolutely necessary
that the Latter-day Saints should come together in the family
capacity, and kneeling around the family altar, call upon God for His
blessings morning and evening. And they need not confine themselves to
morning and evening prayer, for it is their privilege to enter into
their closets and call upon Him in secret, that He might reward them
openly.
Again, it is written that God is angry with those who will not
acknowledge His hand in all things. How many of the Latter-day Saints
whom God has blessed with the riches of this world, with houses,
lands, flocks, herds, gold and silver, have forgotten to acknowledge
His hand in the bestowal of the wealth they possess, and have been
blinded by the gifts conferred upon them, and in that blindness have
forgotten the Giver? Having an abundance, the rich are too apt to feel
that they do not have to kneel down and ask God to give them houses
and daily bread, for they have palaces and wealth. They say, we have
these things; we have no need to ask for them, nor to thank God for
them, for they are ours; we have gained them by our own industry and
ability. Thus God is left out of the question. But God has said, "I
love them that love me, and those that seek me early shall find me;"
therefore He will be inquired of by His people, and He requires that
they shall acknowledge Him in all things; yet we often forget
to acknowledge Him in His greatest mercies. When the blow of an enemy
that has been aimed at our destruction is warded off by the wise
counsel perhaps of the holy Priesthood, we say, "We outwitted them;
we
did it, we circumscribed the cunning and craft of our enemy: we did
this, and we did that, and we did the other thing;" it is great
I with
some of us, and God is not acknowledged by such at all. There is too
much of this spirit amongst us, I am sorry to say.
God requires one-tenth of our increase to be put into his storehouse;
and this is given as a standing law to all of the Stakes of Zion. And
has said that unless all observe this law to keep it holy and by this
law sanctify the land of Zion unto Him, etc., that this land shall not
be a land of Zion unto us. And yet, how many of us have neglected to
observe this law? We profess to believe it, but how many have
neglected to obey it in full? If the Savior were to come today, who
will judge us not after the sight of the eyes, neither reprove after
the hearing of the ears, but with righteousness, and with equity and
by the knowledge of eternal truth, and the balance of eternal justice,
how many would he find who really have paid one-tenth of their
increase in compliance with this law? There are some people that do
it, but when you take out these that do keep this law according to the
strict letter and spirit of it, you will find that in comparison to
the whole they are few. The people pay a portion of their tithing.
President Young frequently charged the people with not paying one
tenth of their tithings. I presume that was an extreme view. I believe
the people are doing better than that, now at least; but at the same
time I believe that a very large proportion of us pay only a portion
of the tenth of that which God puts into our hands.
Now, why do I refer to these things? I leave it to you—to
conscientious men and women—it would not become me to say that Brother
Jones or Brother Smith, or any other individual is the person that is
delinquent in his duty; but it behooves me to speak on the principle
in general terms, and I think I am very near the truth in relation to
this matter. I will leave that for you, however, to say in your
hearts, whether you pay an honest tithing before God, or whether you
pay a portion of your tithing. God knows; we cannot deceive Him. Why
do we not comply fully with this law? Simply because we lack wisdom,
faith, understanding, and confidence in the promises of God. If we
felt the fire of the Holy Spirit in our hearts; if we were
conscientious in all our acts before God, this people would be raised
to a higher plane; faith would be increased, good works would abound,
and others, seeing our good works, would be led to glorify our Father
in heaven. I will read a few instructions that were given to the
ancient Saints. They are not new, therefore, they are very old
instructions, They are applicable, however, to us, although spoken to
the former-day Saints, for the key by which the blessings are obtained
is given to us" Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be
comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth."
The meek shall inherit the earth. Shall the proud and the haughty and
those that are lifted up in the vanity of their hearts? No; God has
said that they shall be burned as stubble; that the day that
is coming shall burn them up; that neither root nor branch of them
shall be left, but they shall become as ashes beneath the feet of the
righteous. But "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the
earth." Then as meekness is one of the requisite qualities of a
Latter-day Saint, a Christian, a member of the Church of God upon the
earth, except we are meek and lowly, we shall not receive the promised
blessing. "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after
righteousness: for they shall be filled." "Blessed are the merciful:
for they shall obtain mercy." Shall they that are not merciful obtain
mercy? No. Why? Because it is said elsewhere that the measure which we
meet out shall be measured back to us again. And when it is measured
back unto us it will be shaken down and pressed together, heaped up
and running over. If we act, for instance, in regard to the law of
tithing as I have mentioned, we shall be judged accordingly, and
receive according to our works. If we forgive them that trespass
against us, it shall be measured back unto us in mercy, etc. "Blessed
are the pure in heart: for they shall see God." Shall the corrupt see
Him? No. Shall they be counted worthy to stand in His presence, and be
called "blessed?" Certainly not. "Blessed are the peacemakers: for
they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are
persecuted for righteousness sake: for theirs is the kingdom of
Heaven. Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and persecute you,
and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
Rejoice and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for
so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. Ye are the salt
of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it
be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing but to be cast out, and
to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world." Who?
The peacemakers, the pure in heart, the meek, those that hunger and
thirst after righteousness, the good, the honorable, the Godlike. "Ye
are the salt of the earth, but if the salt have lost his savor
wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but
to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men." "A city that is
set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it
under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all
that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they
may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."
That I understand to be the duty of a Latter-day Saint, "Let your
light shine" that men shall see your good works. And if God has given
a commandment, prove to the world that you believe it, by keeping it
so that men, seeing your good works, may glorify your Father in
heaven. If God has said that tobacco and strong drinks are not good
for us, let us hearken to this warning and not defile our tabernacles
by indulging in things that are injurious to our systems; and thus
respect the word of God ourselves, and show a good example to others.
When we can show to the world that we are saved from the sins of the
world, they will see our good works and be constrained to glorify our
Father in heaven. But when strangers come among us and witness
drunkenness, hear profanity, see that some of us are dishonest and
cheat each other, that so far some of us are no better than the
people of Babylon; "the Pharisees and Sadducees" of the present age,
at the same time professing to be the children of God; they justly
say, "These people are hypocrites, they profess one thing and do
another; they profess to be the children of God, but they are the
children of the devil." In other words, if we bring not forth the
fruits of the Gospel, it will be set down as a natural and philosophic
conclusion that we either do not have the Gospel, or if we do, we do
not live it. For "a bitter fountain cannot send forth sweet water,"
nor vice versa. And if, therefore, we are redeemed from sin through
the atoning blood of the Savior—redeemed from the world—we will have
power to establish the Kingdom of God upon the earth. There will be no
swearing, no whoredom, there will be no crimes of infanticide or
feticide. No such sins will be known among us, our children will be
born in honorable wedlock under the ordinances of the holy Priesthood,
and not illegitimate, to be denied the privileges of the congregations
of Israel, until perhaps the tenth generation according to ancient
law. But today, I am sorry to say it, some of these evils exist; we
see them cropping out here and there once in a while. Yet, while this
is the case, I say—and I say it without fear of successful
contradiction—that the Latter-day Saints are the best people that I
know of upon the face of the earth; a greater proportion of them are
honest, honorable and virtuous, according to the light they possess
and the ability they have, than the same proportion of the rest of
mankind. But let us be more faithful and spread the kingdom and gather
the people of God, and possess the land which He has given unto us,
even the Zion of God—this land of Joseph.
May God help us to do so, is my prayer in the name of Jesus, Amen.
- Joseph F. Smith