I am pleased to see so many of the Saints assembled here on this the
opening day of conference, and I certainly hope that those who have
taken the trouble to come to conference on the first day may be amply
repaid for so doing.
We ought, I think, to be very willing to perform any duty that may be
required of us as Latter-day Saints, on the Sabbath day, and at other
times appointed for the gathering of the Saints. We should come
together for the purpose of being spiritually strengthened and
encouraged, that our faith may be increased, and that we may learn the
duties devolving upon us as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints.
We are not nearly as united as we ought to be. If the people
of Huntsville, whose Bishop has been reporting them, had been united
as Saints should be, and as I trust they will be some day, the
probability is that they would have been much better off financially
than they now are.
Cooperation is a principle that President Young was very much
concerned about, and that he endeavored, with his brethren, to impress
upon the minds of the people throughout the land. Under his
administration our cooperative institutions were established, and by
his efforts, many of the people, especially in the southern part of
Utah and in Arizona, became united together in organizations that were
called "the United Order." The object was cooperation, that the
principles of union in labor as well as in faith might be developed to
its fullest extent in the midst of the Saints. We all believe in being
united in faith. We all profess to believe that there is one God, one
faith, one baptism, and that we should be one people; but
notwithstanding we profess this, our individuality stands out very
prominent. Many of us cannot see just the same as our brethren see,
and we cannot possibly be wholly united with them. We do not expect—I
do not expect at all events—that the people will come to see eye to
eye all at once. I believe this to be a work of great importance, and
one that will not be accomplished without years of experience, and
perhaps we will have to suffer many chastisements and reproofs before
we are brought to a unity of the faith. Yet we ought to try to see eye
to eye as far as possible. Our being united does not destroy our
individuality at all. We can be just as strong in our in dividuality
when united in regard to the purposes and designs of the Almighty, as
we can possibly be when in opposition to these purposes and designs,
and to our brethren who are united in regard to the things of God.
Indeed I think it evinces a stronger characteristic of individuality
for men and women to bring themselves into harmony and union with the
purposes of the Almighty than to be divided against them or separate
from them. Of one thing I am certain, and that is, that we ought to
seek to become acquainted with the principles of economy. We ought to
use the best wisdom, judgment and understanding we can obtain in our
temporal as well as in our spiritual affairs and concerns. You take a
community like the community of Huntsville, or any community of Saints
in a Ward, isolated, perhaps, in a little valley, and if there is
union and cooperation in their midst, thousands and tens of thousands
of dollars can be saved in their own pockets; while, on the other
hand, if individuals are left to do as they please, thousands of
dollars will go out of their pockets into the pockets of speculators
and others. I know that to be true. As Bishop Hammond has very truly
said, there is in Huntsville from half a dozen to a dozen mowing
machines, when two or three would be ample to do all the work which is
required to be done in that place with these machines. This being the
case, as stated by the Bishop, then all the thousands of dollars which
have been expended upon these superabundant machines and other
implements, have gone out of the possession of the people into the
pockets of outsiders and strangers; whereas if they had been contented
with having just enough, they could have devoted the balance of their
means in other directions, or have placed it in such a
position as that it would bring them interest, instead of being
operated and used by their enemies, perhaps, for their political or
religious destruction. There is no reason why the principle of unity
should not operate in the midst of the Latter-day Saints, except that
we are too selfish. It should not be "every man for himself;" but we
are many of us covetous. We desire in our hearts to have everything
our neighbor has, whether we need it or not. In order to be like our
neighbor; in order that we may associate with him, and that our
daughters may associate with his daughters, and our sons with his
sons, we must have as fine a house, as costly furniture, as many
horses, as many plows, reaping and mowing machines, and headers, as
many cows, as many sheep, and as many luxuries, whether we can afford
it as well as our neighbor can or not. Now, all this is extremely
foolish. It is wrong. We see a vehicle which costs $200, more or less,
and we do not absolutely need it—only we must have it to be like our
neighbor—would it not be better to put that money in the bank, or lend
it to somebody in business, and thus while benefiting others with our
capital, secure interest upon it for ourselves. Certainly it would. In
that way the money would be a help to you; whereas if you purchase the
wagon you do not require, in addition to paying an exorbitant price in
the purchase which is generally the case, the wagon will very likely
be left exposed to the sun and wet—as wagons too frequently are left
by a great many of the people—and soon becomes useless. Some men think
nothing of buying a very nice carriage, spring wagon, or other wagon
of some kind, and treating it in this way until it is ruined and
worthless. The same with valuable agricultural machinery; too much of
it is bought and used for two or three days, or two or three weeks in
a season, or for a whole month in a year—say a reaper, or a mower, and
where is it the rest of the year? Outdoors, in the sun and rain, and
before it can be used next season, it must be taken to a blacksmith's
shop for repairs; for through exposure it has become rusty, the wood
season checked, every joint loosened. This is the way some people use
their agricultural implements whereas with very little trouble they
might be stored away in the shed, kept dry and secure, and ready for
service when the next season came round. But the better way of all
is—in a small community where every man knows his neighbor, and where
all are on neighborly terms, to consult together, and to form into
cooperative bodies for the purpose of transacting the business
necessary to be transacted outside of their little community. By thus
consulting together, and using the combined wisdom of the community as
to the number of reapers, mowers, etc., they will need to do the work
of the community, a great deal might be saved. One man need not own
the machinery. They could all join together, each contributing a
certain sum towards its purchase, which they could use to mutual
advantage, and see that it is well housed and taken care of when out
of use. In this way a community could save thousands of dollars year
after year, and I know the principle is a correct one for the people
of Zion. It is a principle of economy. Money is something which a man
ought to be able to take care of, and use wisely if he has it; if he
does not know how to take care of it, it will escape from his
pockets, it will take the wings of the morning and flee away.
I think we ought to be united in all these things, in the purchase of
machinery and of the vast amount of merchandise that we consume, that
we do not manufacture or produce among ourselves. The very foundation
of all real prosperity is home industry and home manufacture. This
lies at the foundation of the prosperity of every permanently
prosperous community. It is the source of wealth. I think, therefore,
we ought to encourage home industry. We ought to cooperate together,
if there is any kind of business in which there is a profit, let us
operate together and have the benefit of that profit among ourselves,
instead of giving it to strangers. Why should we encourage the
stranger to come here and import wagons to sell to us when we have got
the brains and the money to sustain that business among ourselves? Why
should we not rather do such things ourselves, and supply business and
employment for our own people, many of whom are idle, and be
independent of the world, and if there is a profit in it, put that
profit in our own pockets, and use it for the comfort and happiness of
our wives and children? It is a fact—at least it was reported to me as
a fact by a person who is supposed to be acquainted with the
business—that one man who deals in wagons and agricultural implements
in Utah Territory, put $30,000 into his pocket in one year, and he is
only an agent for the company he deals with. I presume that the
company put an equal amount into their pockets as the result of his
labors; but the agent, as I was informed, put $30,000 in his own
pocket as the result of his business. Who is it that buys the wagons,
the plows, the harrows, the reapers, the mowers, etc., in Utah
Territory? Is it the Gentiles? No, it is the Latter-day Saints. Those
who are not Latter-day Saints are not engaged in agriculture as a
rule. If there are any of them tilling the ground they are exceptions
to the rule and they are very few and far between. They are not the
people who use the wagons. They may it is true, use some of them at
the mines in hauling, etc., etc. The vast bulk of this class of
merchandise is consumed by the Latter-day Saints. The result is that
the Latter-day Saints put that $30,000 into the pocket of the man I
allude to. That same man sat on a Grand Jury and helped to indict a
man for marrying, acknowledging and maintaining his wives. That same
man stands head and shoulders above many of his fellows in opposition
to the Latter-day Saints, and in using his power abroad as well as in
Utah against the interests of the people from whom he gets his money.
I do not feel that the Latter-day Saints are using their best wisdom,
or acting upon the principle of the highest intelligence, when they
sustain and patronize such men, especially when they have got the
skill, the intelligence and the means to do all such business
independent of all strangers or foreigners. I know they can do it if
they will only cooperate together and do business upon business
principles. Our honesty with the world is proverbial. It is the
universal testimony of outsiders that trade with us here, that the
Latter-day Saints are the most honest and best paying people they ever
did business with. I believe this is true. If a Latter-day Saint owes
a Gentile and also a brother, it is said, he will pay the Gentile
every time in preference to his brother. Well, I do not know
that this is right. I think if he cannot pay the full amount to both,
it would be proper to pay each a proportion. Would not this be just as
honest—instead of paying all to the Gentile and leaving your brother
without anything? I think so. I do not know that we do this sort of
thing to any extent; but I have sometimes heard of people that were
thought to be very good payers to the outsiders, but were not so
prompt in paying their brethren. I do not think that is exactly right.
I think we ought not to go in debt at all beyond what we can pay. The
Lord commands this. We ought to live within our means if possible, and
if it is not possible and we keep living beyond our means, it is only a
question of time when we won't even have credit, our friends won't
trust us, and we will have to live within our means or die, or steal,
as someone has added. When it comes to that kind of thing I feel as
Dr. Johnson did when the beggar accosted him, "Why don't you go to
work?" said the Doctor. "I cannot get any work, I cannot get anything
to do, and you know, Doctor, I must live." "Well," said the Doctor,
"I
don't see the least necessity for it." (Laughter.) When a man won't
pay his debts, or will not live within his means, when he knows what
his income is: when a man will continue to get in debt to his
neighbors as long as he has got any credit, knowing all the time that
he cannot pay his way—well, I do not know that there is much necessity
for that man to live. Perhaps the world would be as well off if he
should pass away quietly somewhere. Every Latter-day Saint ought to
learn—and especially every youth in Israel ought to learn—that
everyone of them should try to make the world a little better for their
being in it, if they possibly can. We all ought to try to do some
good. If we will do that, then there is some necessity for our living.
God will bless us in our labors and efforts; and if we will cooperate
together in our temporal affairs and conduct our business on correct
principles, the world will be better for us, and we will be better off
in the world. We will have more means to build up the kingdom of God;
we will have more to use for the gathering of the poor, for the
building up of Zion, for the benefit of the Saints, and for our own
benefit, and we will have much more power in the world. Money is a
powerful agent in this degenerated age. It is said that knowledge is
power. Knowledge should stand above money or wealth. But in the
present condition of the world money takes the lead.
This ought not to be the case with us. The Lord says in the
scriptures, "make to yourselves friends of the mammon of
unrighteousness." What for? Obviously that you may have power and
influence with the unrighteous.
Now, if we had wealth—and we are bound to have it by and by—those who
worship wealth would either covet it and hate us and try to destroy us
to get it, as some are doing, or else they would be bound to
acknowledge the power we could wield through the possession of wealth.
Well, now, we need not be at all afraid of the former. They cannot
destroy us; for the Lord is our friend, and we are His friends. He
will not suffer them to rob and plunder us; and take away from us our
possessions; or if He does, he will give us more abundantly; because
if we possess riches they will be the Lord's. We will dedicate them
to Him, if we do our duty, and they will belong to Him, and
surely the Lord will protect His own. We should not despise these
things, but should endeavor to use them for the accomplishment of the
all-wise purposes of the Almighty. The Lord has said, Zion shall
become the richest of all people. The earth is the Lord's, and the
fullness of the earth is His. The cattle upon a thousand hills are
His. The gold and the silver and all the mineral wealth of these vast
mountains belong to the Lord. And although the wicked may get
possession of them for a little while, yet they will perish by and by,
and leave all their wealth behind. They cannot take it beyond the
grave. By and by the Lord will overrule these matters in such a way,
that the righteous, those who love God more than they love the world,
and will use their means to the honor and glory of God, shall be made
possessors of the earth and the fullness of it. It will be theirs to
use for every purpose that is right and legitimate—to manipulate
armies if necessary—to manipulate nations, or the world if necessary,
to the carrying out of the purposes of Almighty God. We do not want to
lavish it upon the lusts of the flesh. We should not desire it for
that purpose.
If we do, God will withhold it from us, I hope; for no man should have
wealth to gratify the lusts and desires of the flesh. We should use it
to the honor and glory of God's name, and to the building up of His
Kingdom.
We ought; therefore, to cooperate together in our mercantile
institutions. It is as much a duty to sustain these as any other duty
devolving upon us, or now as at any former time. We should patronize
our brethren. We ought to see eye to eye in regard to these things. We
ought to be united in everything. We should cheerfully extend a
helping hand to our neighbors from time to time. If our neighbor is
oppressed, if he lacks knowledge or understanding or skill in the
management of his affairs, you that have skill and experience and know
how to husband your strength and means, ought to take pains to
instruct your neighbor or brother who is not as thoroughly posted as
you are. The instructions he receives in this way will benefit him and
will not injure or impoverish you. We ought not to be miserly in
regard to anything we possess, that is good. We can freely impart to
others and not diminish our own store. We can impart our experience
for the benefit of others. If our brother is about to buy something
that is apparently not required, it would be a benefit to the poor
man, who lacks judgment, for the Bishop or his counselors, or for his
Teacher to go to him and endeavor to show him the mistake he is about
to make. I think we ought to cooperate together in all these matters,
be one in all respects, and not be like the world, "everyone for
himself and the devil for all." The Lord has told us in a revelation
through the Prophet Joseph Smith, that except we are one, we are not
His. He has said that we must be united. We must be one. We should see
eye to eye. We should help each other; help our neighbor and our
brother. The Savior very beautifully describes who is our neighbor in
the example of the good Samaritan. Who is your neighbor? Who is your
brother? Why, the man that ministers to you in the time of need; the
man that is your friend in the time of adversity; the man that extends
a helping hand and saves you from error; the man that gives you the benefit of his experience and of his superior intelligence—he
is your neighbor, your friend and your brother. Those who have
embraced the Gospel—and especially those who are endowed with the
authority of the Holy Priesthood, and are called to be saviors upon
Mount Zion—ought to be the first and foremost in this good work of
being saviors of their neighbors, and of their fellow creatures on the
earth. It is our duty to teach correct principles, to instill them into
the hearts of our children, and into the hearts of our neighbors, and
to see that these principles are grounded in our own hearts; for
except a man has been converted himself, and has a knowledge of the
truth, it is folly for him to undertake to teach others the right way.
But when the principles of the Gospel are thoroughly established in
our own hearts, we can then go in the midst of our fellow creatures
and say, "Come and follow me." We can do this consistently. We are
called to be teachers of these principles to the inhabitants of the
earth. We are called to be God's people, not a people of the world,
for we have come out of the world. We ought to be united in all things
temporal as well as spiritual. With God all things are spiritual.
There is nothing temporal with Him at all, and there ought to be no
distinction with us in regard to these things. Our earthly or temporal
existence is merely a continuance of that which is spiritual. Every
step we take in the great journey of life, the great journey of
eternity, is a step in advance or in retrogression. We are here in
mortality, it is true; but we are ahead of that condition we occupied
before we came here and took upon us mortality. We are a step in
advance of our former state. What is the body without the spirit? It
is lifeless clay. What is it that affects this lifeless clay? It is
the spirit, it is the immortal part, the eternal being, that existed
before it came here, that exists within us, and that will continue to
exist, and that by and by will redeem these tabernacles and bring them
forth out of the graves. This whole mission of ours is spiritual. The
work we have to do here, although we call it temporal, pertains alike
to our spiritual and our temporal salvation. And the Lord has just as
much right to dictate, to counsel, to direct and guide us in the
manipulation and management of our temporal affairs, as we call them,
as He has to say one word in relation to our spiritual affairs. So far
as He is concerned there is no difference in this regard. He looks
upon us as immortal beings. Our bodies are designed to become eternal
and spiritual. God is spiritual Himself, although He has a body of
flesh and bone as Christ has. Yet He is spiritual, and those who
worship Him must do so in spirit and in truth. And when you come to
separate the spiritual from the temporal, see that you do not make a
mistake. Some are inclined to say, "the Lord has a right to manage my
spiritual affairs, but I will not allow Him to interfere with my
temporal affairs." Why, bless your soul, temporal things pertain to
spiritual things. They minister to the spiritual man though they may
be clothed with a tabernacle of flesh. The Bishop has as good a right
to counsel the members of his Ward in relation to the purchase of
merchandise or machinery, where and when he can do so wisely, as he
has to counsel them in regard to spiritual matters. He has just as
good a right to do the one as the other. He is a father to the people
of the Ward. He is placed over the people for the purpose of
leading them in the way of truth and righteousness, and it is his
business to look after the temporal—if you chose to make any
distinction between the temporal and spiritual—as well as the
spiritual things. And President Taylor has as much right to direct the
people in temporal things as he has in spiritual things. We ought to
acknowledge that right, and ought to do it freely and cheerfully,
because we should see that it is right. We are under no compulsion to
do so if we do not see that it is right; but at the same time it is a
correct principle, and every Latter-day Saint ought to have
intelligence enough to know that this is the best thing for him to
do—to be united, to be one with his brethren.
Now, you are going to have an election of county officers by and by.
What are you going to do about it? Are you going to split tickets? Are
you going to the polls to scratch off names, and put on the name of
somebody else? I should hope not. I do not care who is put in office,
only so far as we must obey the commandments of the Lord in these
things. We must choose righteous men, good men to fill these
positions. Hence if you will only get good men to fill these offices
no one should care who they are, so that you have agreed upon them,
and were one. We want you to be one both in temporal, political and
religious things, in fact, in everything you put your hands to in
righteousness. We want you to be one, one as God and Christ are one,
seeing eye to eye. Do not try to crush anybody, or build yourselves up
at the expense of your neighbor. Do not do it; it is a custom of the
world, and it is a wrong principle. It is said in the Scriptures that
the chil dren of the world are wiser in their generation than the
children of light. What does that mean? Why as I see it, when you go
into Catholic communities, you will find that Catholics send their
children to Catholic schools, and not to Protestant schools. You will
find them patronizing Catholic merchants. They do not patronize
Protestants. If there is anybody to put up for office they will put up
their friends and vote for them. If you travel as missionaries
throughout the world you will find this to be true. I have seen it in
San Francisco, in New York, and in Great Britain, and upon the
Continent, and wherever I have been, and yet it is accounted criminal
for Latter-day Saints to follow this rule. We might commit treason
against the United States if we did not send our children to Gentile
schools, or if we did not patronize Gentile merchants. If a Gentile
wanted to run for an office, and we did not vote for him, why, we are
in rebellion against the government of the United States. I am going
to tell you in a few words, what I think about these matters. I think
the Latter-day Saints ought to send their children to be educated by
those who are their friends, and not by their enemies. I think the
Latter-day Saints ought to patronize their brethren and sustain them,
in preference to their enemies. I believe that the Latter-day Saints
ought to cooperate together and do their own business instead of
asking the Gentiles to do it for them. I believe the Latter-day Saints
ought to unite together in regard to all these things, and do their
business upon the most wise and economical principles, instead of
every individual doing it himself, wasting his means, sustaining his
enemies, and getting materials he has no use for. That is what
I believe in regard to these matters.
Today is Saturday, I am glad of it; for somebody would say I was
breaking the Sabbath if I were to preach to you in this way on the
Sabbath. But this is Saturday. It is the Jewish Sabbath. It is only
unto man that there is a Sabbath. The Lord has set apart one day in
seven upon which man should rest, because it is needful for the body
and the mind. We should worship the Lord upon that day. Man was not
made for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath was made for man.
It is for us to do our duty and live our religion on one day the same
as any other. Let us serve the Lord in righteousness all the day long,
and He will be our Father and Friend, and our enemies shall have no
power over us. This is my testimony in the name of Jesus, Amen.
- Joseph F. Smith