I am requested to get up and address you a short time. I do not know
that I will be able to make this large assembly of people hear me this
morning, but I will do the best I can to accomplish it. I feel that it
is a very good sign to see so many people out to meeting, it seems as
though they felt interested in meeting together to receive
instructions; to see as crowded a house as this is this morning, is a
proof that there is an increasing interest resting upon the people to
hear the word of the Lord and receive instructions from the servants
of God, and I do hope, brethren and sisters, that what instructions
you do receive, you will prize, lay it up, and practice it, whether it
be much or little.
I realize that the salvation of this people does not depend
upon the great amount of teaching, instruction, or revelation that is
given unto them, but their salvation depends more upon their obeying
the commandments of God which are given unto them, their becoming a
doer of the word, and following the counsel of those who are set to
lead them. We certainly have a great amount of teaching, of
instruction, of principle, of revelation, and of the word of God,
which has been given unto this people, not only that which is recorded
in the Bible, the Book of Mormon, Book of Doctrine and Covenants, the
Church History, but we have day by day, and night by night,
instructions given unto us, we have a little here and a little there,
a discourse today and another tonight, and we are continually
receiving instructions from the servants of God. We receive
instructions in our Ward meetings, and almost every time a few of us
meet together, we do so for the purpose of receiving the word of the
Lord.
It appears to me, then, that we are certainly a favored people, and
that we are having a great deal of important instruction, such as is
calculated to lead us unto salvation. Inasmuch then as we have been
called upon to reform, or to advance and to grow in the principles of
eternal life, and to become holy in our lives, I hope there are none
of us but that will take hold with our whole soul and carry out the
instruction, and try to practice it in word and deed. We frequently
hear remarks made about the reformation being over, and about their
having got through with it in this place or in that place, but the
amount of it is there never will be any end to the reformation, or in
other words there will never be any end to our advancement, there will
be no end to our improvement nor to our increase, neither in time nor
in all eternity.
If we act up to our privileges as a people, we have no more time to
lose or to spend in an unprofitable manner. We should not act
indifferently with regard to the blessings which the Lord is offering
unto us, and which we have the privilege of obtaining; we should
labor with all our might to build up the kingdom of God, that we may
secure unto ourselves every blessing necessary for our salvation. We
live in an important day; it is a day of mercy and a day of great
blessings unto us as a people, and we should appreciate it as such.
I have reflected a good deal within the last few months, and
especially while sitting and listening to the teachings of the First
Presidency, the Twelve, and the Elders of Israel, in their various
spheres and callings in which they are called to act. In my prayers
and reflections I have thought much of our present position, and I
have concluded that if we do not enjoy the Holy Spirit, and if the
vision of our mind is not open to comprehend the things of God, and
the power which is being made manifest for our benefit and good, that
we are in great danger of suffering loss; we should see more fully the
importance of taking hold with our might, and then, as brother Kimball
says, the Holy Spirit of God would be diffused through our whole
bodies, and through the whole body and Church of Christ.
I feel and see the importance of this work, and I see the necessity of
our walking up to the line of our duty, that we may live and walk
daily in the light of the Lord. I realize that the Presidency of this
Church stand between this people and the Lord, for they are the head,
and I realize that God reveals to them His will, and therefore we
should look unto them for light and for information. The head may be
full of light, of inspiration, revelation, and of the mind and will of
God, but if those officers who stand next to them, and if we
ourselves are asleep in relation to our duties, and are not in a fit
state to receive that light, do you not see that the river is dammed
up at the head? There is no current or medium through which the light
may flow to the limbs and branches of the body.
I realize that it is the duty, not only of us who hold the Priesthood
but of this people generally, to present ourselves in humility and
faith before the Lord, that we may obtain the blessings which are in
readiness for us, and we can obtain all the light, the knowledge, the
faith, the intelligence and power which is necessary for our salvation
by humility, obedience, and submission to the will of God. We should
attend to this in order that our minds may be prepared, and our bodies
become fit subjects for the reception of the Holy Ghost, so that the
Spirit of God may flow freely through the whole body from the head to
the foot. Then when this is the case we will all see alike, feel
alike, and be alike, and become one as far as the Gospel and kingdom
of God is concerned, as the Father and Son are one, and then this
people will begin to see the position and relationship which we bear
towards each other and towards God, and we shall feel the importance
of attending to our duties, and we will willingly step forward and
improve our time, make good use of our talents, and obtain the
blessings that the Lord has for us to enjoy; but do you not see that
if the people are asleep, and slothful, and not living up to their
privileges, and the Spirit of God begins to flow from the head to the
body, that it soon becomes obstructed and dammed up?
We may trace this principle through the Church and kingdom of God, and
you may carry it into the family government, and you will find it as
brother Kimball has already presented it to us. It is like the vine
with its limbs, its branches, and its twigs. This is a very good
figure to teach us the principle of righteousness.
In order for us to be prepared to do the will of God, and be in a
position to build up His kingdom upon the earth, and to carry out His
purposes, we must not only become united and act as the heart of one
man, but we must obtain the Holy Spirit of God, and the mind and will
of God concerning us, and be governed and controlled by it in all of
our movements and acts, in order to be safe, and to secure unto
ourselves salvation.
If I do not enjoy the Holy Spirit, there is something the matter, and
I should labor until that is removed, for I consider that to be the
first turning key, and we should do this to prove that we are honest
before the Lord, and that we desire to do right in our minds and in
our hearts. Yet, as I have said before, unless that Spirit is with us,
we do not know whether we are doing right or wrong.
[President Kimball: Shut that door and let it remain so, for I tell
you there is no one can enjoy the peaceful influence of the Holy
Spirit where there is confusion; and I am sure this congregation
cannot while that door is going clickitty-clack.]
As I was remarking, unless we do obtain the Holy Spirit, we are in
danger every step we take, we are not safe, neither are we in a
condition to build up the kingdom of God or do His work. I consider
that the Lord requires this at the hand of every man and woman in
Israel, every Latter-day Saint, that we first obtain the Holy Spirit,
then bring forth the fruits of it unto salvation, then you will see
this people keep their covenants and obey the commandments of God;
this is the duty of all of us, and we should live our religion and
follow its dictates. When this is done, you will see this people awake and bring forth works of righteousness, then they will have
faith, and they will have power, and rise up, and the power and glory
of God will be made manifest through such instruments as the Lord has
chosen in this dispensation upon the earth, into whose hands He has
committed the Holy Priesthood.
Ask any people, nations, kingdoms, or generations of men the question,
and they will tell you they are seeking for happiness, but how are
they seeking for it? Take the greatest portion of mankind as an
ensample, and how are they seeking for happiness? By serving the devil
as fast as they can, and almost the last being or thing that the
children of men worship, and the last being whose laws they want to
keep are the laws of the God of heaven. They will not worship God nor
honor His name, nor keep His laws, but blaspheme His name, from day
to day and nearly all the world are seeking for happiness by
committing sins, breaking the law of God, and blaspheming His name and
rejecting the only source whence happiness flows.
If we really understood that we could not obtain happiness by walking
in the paths of sin and breaking the laws of God, we should then see
the folly of it, every man and every woman would see that to obtain
happiness we should go to work and perform the works of righteousness,
and do the will of our Father in heaven, for we shall receive at His
hand all the happiness, blessing, glory, salvation, exaltation, and
eternal lives, that we ever do receive, either in time or eternity.
We should understand that we should not deceive ourselves in this
matter, for if we deceive ourselves we shall suffer the loss. We may
just as well search our own hearts, and at once resolve that we will
do the works of righteousness, honor our Father in heaven, do our
duty to God and man, take hold and build up the kingdom of God, and we
will then understand that in order to obtain happiness and satisfy the
immortal soul in a fulness of glory that man must abide a celestial
law, and be quickened by a portion of the celestial Spirit of God; and
we will also understand that to commit sin, break the law of God, and
blaspheme His name, will bring sorrow and misery, and it will bring
death, both temporally and spiritually. If we walk in the paths of
unrighteousness, we grieve the Holy Spirit, and grieve our brethren,
and injure ourselves.
Again, I wish to say a few words upon the blessings to be obtained by
what we do, the labors we perform, the work we are called upon to do
in paying our tithing, in building temples, and in doing those things
that are required of us. These are things that are for our own benefit
and good, these, with other subjects, have been impressed upon my mind
for some weeks past, and it does appear to me that the people have not
understood these things in their proper light.
Some of the people have looked upon the law of tithing as a kind of
tax and burden laid upon them, but who is it for? Our tithing, our
labor, and all that we do in the kingdom of God, who is it all for?
The tithing is not to exalt the Lord, or to feed or clothe Him, He has
had His endowments long ago; it is thousands and millions of years
since He received His blessings, and if He had not received them, we
could not give them to Him, for He is far in advance of us. I want the
brethren to understand this one thing, that our tithing, our labor,
our works are not for the exaltation of the Almighty, but they are for
us. Not but what the Lord is pleased to see us obey His commandments,
because by doing this it will place us in a position that will fulfil
and accomplish the object of our creation, and bring about the
end designed by our coming to take tabernacles here in the flesh.
Again, when we do wrong, the Lord knows we shall inherit sorrow and
misery if we continue in that wrong. Then I say, brethren, let us
understand this as it is, and we shall do well. In paying our tithing,
in obeying every law that is given to exalt us and to do us good, it
is all for our individual benefit and the benefit of our children, and
it is not of any particular benefit to the Lord, only as He is pleased
in the faithfulness of His children and desires to see them walk in
the path which leads to salvation and eternal life.
If we look upon things in this light, we shall do everything
cheerfully, and whatever calls are made upon us, we shall gladly
respond, and then the channels will be opened, there will be no
obstruction in the edification of the body of Christ, and light and
intelligence will flow from the fountainhead unto the people, then
when a man speaks, the people will, by their prayers and faith, draw
forth the word of the Lord from him, and they will have their minds
upon the things of God, and not upon everything else as it has been
heretofore.
If this people would rise up and do their duty, when men rise before
them in this stand to point out the way of life, the Spirit of the
Lord would reveal the things necessary for the people to understand,
for the faith of the people would draw them out. All that is required
is for the people to arouse themselves, and get the light of God
within them.
Brethren, I do not feel to speak much longer; I have done what I was
required to do—to occupy a few moments in opening the meeting this
morning, and there are two of the Presidency here who will speak to
the people, and we wish to hear from them. I will say, let us awake to
righteousness, and in doing this we will see that there is no time to
go to sleep; this we shall all know when we come to the end of the
race, if not before. We are now in our alphabet, we are yet engaged in
doing our first works, and there are many lessons and principles which
we have yet to learn before we get to those who are gone far in the
advance of us and received their reward with the just; and, therefore,
I say, there is no time to be lost. Let us make the best use of our
time, and in doing so, I pray that our minds may be enlightened, that
we may live our religion, that we may grow in grace and in the
knowledge of God, from this time forth, that we may improve the
talents we have received, and that we may be satisfied at the end of
the race, which may God grant, for Christ's sake. Amen.