Again, all amusements become pernicious when pursued excessively. No

game in the world has been played a thousandth part of the time, aye

all the games in the world have not consumed a thousandth part of the

time, that cards have taken. The game itself leads to excessiveness;

it is the enemy of industry; it is the foe of economy and the boon

companion of the Sabbath-breaker. The best possible excuse that any one

can render for playing cards is that there is a possible escape from

the dangers to which it leads; and the best explanation that people can

give for such a vice is the adventurous spirit of man that delights in

that which is hazardous to his physical and moral safety.--_Juvenile

Instructor,_ Vol. 38, Oct. 1, 1903, p. 593.

EVIL FASHIONS. In my sight the present-day fashions {417} are

abominable, suggestive of evil, calculated to arouse base passion

and lust, and to engender lasciviousness, in the hearts of those who

follow the fashions, and of those who tolerate them. Why? Because women

are imitating the very customs of a class of women who have resorted

to that means to aid them to sell their souls. It is infamous, and I

hope the daughters of Zion will not descend to these pernicious ways,

customs and fashions, for they are demoralizing and damnable in their

effect.--_Oct. C. R.,_ 1913, p. 8.

IMPROPER FASHIONS. Please set the example before your sisters that God

would have them follow. When we teach people to observe the laws of God

and to honor the gifts that are bestowed upon them in the covenants

of the gospel of Jesus Christ, we don't want you teachers to go out

and set an example before your sisters that will destroy their faith

in our teachings. I hope you will take that to heart, for it has a

meaning to it. I am talking to the teachers among the sisters. We hear

it reported, from time to time, that some of the teachers that are sent

out among our sisters not only do not set the example that they ought

to set, but they set the example they should not set for our sisters;

they teach them by example to break the word of wisdom, rather than

to keep it. They teach them to mutilate their garments, rather than

to keep them holy and undefiled, by setting the example before them,

and we can tell you the names if you want to know. I am not scolding;

I don't want it to be understood that I am finding fault. I am only

telling a solemn truth, and I am sorry that I have it to say, but I

want it to be distinctly understood. We see some of our good sisters

coming here to the temple occasionally decorated in the latest and most

ridiculous fashions that ever disgraced the human form divine. They

do not seem to realize that they are coming to the house of God, and

we have to forbid them entrance, or find fault with them, and they go

away grieved and say sometimes, "We don't want to go there any more."

{418} Why? Because they come unprepared, like the man who was found at

the feast without the wedding garment, who also had to be turned out.

(Matt. 22:1-14) We have to turn them out occasionally, because they

will not hearken to the counsel that has been given to them.--_Oct. C.

R.,_ 1914, p. 130.

EXCLUSIVE CLUBS AMONG CHURCH MEMBERS. There is no need of exclusive

clubs among the Latter-day Saints. The many auxiliary organizations

should be made to supply every legitimate public, and social amusement

of the young people, and, in addition to the regular Church and quorum

meetings, should meet every religious and ethical educational need of

our community.--_Improvement Era,_ Vol. 12, February, 1909, p. 313.

A LESSON FOR THE BOYS. Self-respect requires, among other things, that

one shall behave like a true gentleman, in a house of worship. No

self-respecting person will go to a house devoted to the service of

God to whisper, gossip and visit; rather, it is one's duty to put on

self-restraint, to give one's undivided attention to the speaker, and

concentrate the mind upon his words that his thoughts may be grasped to

one's benefit and profit.

Among the strong helps to gain self-respect are personal purity and

proper thoughts which are the bases of all proper action. I wish that

all young men could appreciate the value there is in this practice,

and in giving their youthful days to the service of the Lord. Growth,

development, progress, self-respect, the esteem and admiration of men

naturally follow such a course in youth. The Savior set a striking

example in this matter, and was early about his Father's business. He

did not leave it until his older years, but even as early as twelve

he had developed so far in this line that he was able to teach men of

wisdom and doctors of knowledge in the temple. Samuel, the prophet,

had so prepared himself by a pure, self-respecting childhood that he

{419} was perfectly attuned to the whisperings of God. The shepherd

youth David was chosen above his older brethren to serve in high

places in the Master's cause. Other great characters in history were

also selected early in life; and the best men in all ages gave their

young manhood to the service of God who honored them abundantly

with commendation and approval. In more modern times the Lord chose

Joseph Smith in early youth to be the founder of the new and glorious

dispensation of the gospel. Brigham Young was but a youth when he

determined to devote his life to the Church; John Taylor, Wilford

Woodruff, and in fact all the early founders of the Church devoted

their youth and manhood to the cause of Zion. You may look around

today, and who are the leaders among the people but those who early and

zealously devoted themselves to the faith? And you may foretell who

are to be the leaders by observing the boys who show self-respect and

purity and who are earnest in all good works. The Lord will not choose

men from any other class of his people and exalt them into prominence.

The opposite course, waiting to serve the Lord until the wild oats of

youth are sown, is reprehensible. There is always something lacking

in the man who spends his youth in wickedness and sin, and then turns

to righteousness in later years. Of course, the Lord honors his

repentance, and it is better far that a man should late turn from

evil than to continue in sin all his days, but the fact is clear that

the best part of his life and strength is wasted, and there remains

only poor, broken service to offer the Lord. There are regrets and

heartburnings in repenting late in life from the follies and sins of

youth, but there are consolation and rich reward in serving the Lord in

the vigorous days of early manhood.

Self-respect, deference for sacred things, and personal purity are the

beginnings and the essence of wisdom. The doctrines of the gospel, the

Church restraint, are like school-masters {420} to keep us in the line

of duty. If it were not for these schoolmasters, we would perish and

be overcome by the evil about us. We see men who have freed themselves

from Church restraint and from the precious doctrines of the gospel,

who perish about us every day! They boast of freedom, but are the

slaves of sin.

Let me admonish you to permit the gospel schoolmaster to teach you

self-respect and to keep you pure and free from secret sins that bring

not only physical punishment, but sure spiritual death. You cannot bide

the penalty which God has affixed to them--a penalty often worse than

death. It is the loss of self-respect, it is physical debility, it

is insanity, indifference to all powers that are good and noble--all

these follow in the wake of the sinner in secret, and of the unchaste.

Unchastity, furthermore, not only fixes its penalty on the one who

transgresses, but reaches out unerring punishment to the third and

fourth generation, making not only the transgressor a wreck, but

mayhap involving scores of people in his direct line of relationship,

disrupting family ties, breaking the hearts of parents, and causing a

black stream of sorrow to overwhelm their lives.

Such a seeming simple thing, then, as proper conduct in a house of

worship leads to good results in many respects. Good conduct leads

to self-respect, which creates purity of thought and action. Pure

thought and noble action lead to a desire to serve God in the strength

of manhood and to become subservient to the schoolmasters, Church

restraint, and the doctrines of the gospel of Christ.--_Improvement

Era,_ Vol. 9, 1905-6, pp. 337-339.

{421}

CHAPTER XVIII

LOVE YOUR ENEMIES

WE ARE NOT DISCOURAGED. We are not disheartened, we are not

discouraged, we are not faint-hearted. We believe in the Lord and

we know that he is mighty to save, that he has guided the destinies

of this people from the first moment until the present, and that it

is not in consequence of the wisdom of men that we have escaped the

plots, schemes and machinations of our enemies, and that we have been

permitted to live and grow in the land, to become what we are, but

it is through the wisdom, mercy and blessing of Him who rules the

destinies not only of men but of nations. We owe all to God; we extend

our thankfulness and gratitude to him for the manifestations of his

love and care and protection.--_Oct., C. R.,_ 1906, p. 2.

I FORGIVE ALL MEN. I feel in my heart to forgive all men in the broad

sense that God requires of me to forgive all men, and I desire to love

my neighbor as myself; and to this extent I bear no malice toward any

of the children of my Father. But there are enemies to the work of the

Lord, as there were enemies to the Son of God. There are those who

speak only evil of the Latter-day Saints. There are those--and they

abound largely in our midst--who will shut their eyes to every virtue

and to every good thing connected with this latter-day work, and will

pour out floods of falsehood and misrepresentation against the people

of God. I forgive them for this. I leave them in the hands of the just

judge. Let him deal with them as seemeth him good, but they are not

and cannot become my bosom companions. I cannot condescend to that.

While I would not harm a hair of their heads, while I would not throw a

straw in their path, to hinder {422} them from turning from the error

of their way to the light of truth; I would as soon think of taking a

centipede or a scorpion, or any poisonous reptile, and putting it into

my bosom, as I would think of becoming a companion or an associate of

such men.

These are my sentiments, and I believe that they are correct. If you

can throw yourself in the way of the sinner to stop him in his downward

course, and become an instrument in the hand of the Lord of turning him

from the way of vice, iniquity, or crime, into the way of righteousness

and uprightness, you are justified, and that is demanded of you. You

should do this. If you can save a sinner from his wickedness, turn the

wicked from the course of death that he is pursuing, to the way of

life and salvation, you will save a soul from death, and you will have

been an instrument in the hand of the Lord of turning the sinner unto

righteousness, for which you will receive your reward. Some of our good

Latter-day Saints have become so exceedingly good (?) that they cannot

tell the difference between a Saint of God, an honest man, and a son of

Beelzebub, who has yielded himself absolutely to sin and wickedness.

And they call that liberality, broadness of mind, exceeding love. I do

not want to become so blinded with love for my enemies that I cannot

discern between light and darkness, between truth and error, between

good and evil, but I hope to live so that I shall have sufficient

light in me to discern between error and truth, and to cast my lot on

the side of truth and not on the side of error and darkness. The Lord

bless the Latter-day Saints. If I am too narrow with reference to these

matters, I hope that the wisdom of my brethren and the Spirit of Light

from the Lord may broaden my soul.--_Oct. C. R.,_ 1907, pp. 5, 6.

WE LEAVE OUR ENEMIES IN GOD'S HANDS. We thank God for his mercies and

blessings; and I do not know but {423} what we owe in small degree

gratitude to those who have bitterly opposed the work of the Lord; for

in all their opposings and bitter strife against our people, the Lord

has developed his power and wisdom, and has brought his people more

fully into the knowledge and favor of the intelligent people of the

earth. Through the very means used by those who have opposed the work

of God, he has brought out good for Zion. Yet it is written, and I

believe it is true, that although it must needs be that offenses come,

woe unto them by whom they come; but they are in the hands of the Lord

as we are. We bring no railing accusation against them. We are willing

to leave them in the hands of the Almighty to deal with them as seemeth

him good. Our business is to work righteousness in the earth, to seek

for the development of a knowledge of God's will and of God's ways,

and of his great and glorious truths which he has revealed through the

instrumentality of Joseph, the prophet, not only for the salvation of

the living but for the redemption and salvation of the dead.--_Apr. C.

R.,_ 1908, p. 2.

LEAVE RESULTS IN GOD'S HANDS. God will deal with them in his own time

and in his own way, and we only need to do our duty, keep the faith

ourselves, to work righteousness in the world ourselves, and leave the

results in the hands of him who overruleth all things for the good of

those who love him and keep his commandments.--_Apr. C. R.,_ 1905, p. 6.

OUR DEBT TO OUR ENEMIES. I was going to say that we did not owe

anything to our enemies; that was the first thought that sprang into

my mind, but I will hold that back. I think we owe something to our

enemies, too, for the advancement of the cause of Zion, for up to date

everything that has been done to thwart the purposes of God and to

frustrate his designs has been overruled for the good of Zion and for

the spread of truth. And that will continue {424} to be the case until

the end, for they are fighting God's work, and not mine nor that of any

other man.--_Oct. C. R.,_ 1906, p. 2.

A PRAYER FOR OUR ENEMIES. Let the Lord God have mercy upon those who

seek to hurt the cause of Zion. O God, pity the misguided, the erring,

the foolish, the unwise. Put thy Spirit in their hearts, turn them

from the error of their ways and from their follies, and bring them

back into the way of righteousness and into thy favor. I ask mercy

for my enemies--those who lie about me and slander me, and who speak

all manner of evil against me falsely. In return, I beseech God my

heavenly Father to have mercy upon them; for those who do it, not

knowing what they are doing, are only misguided, and those who are

doing it with their eyes open certainly need, most of all, the mercy,

compassion and pity of God. May God pity them. May he have mercy upon

them. I would not harm a hair of their heads, for all I am worth in

the world. I would not throw a block in their way to prosperity. No;

and I beseech my brethren that they keep hands off the enemies of our

people and those who are paving their own road to destruction and will

not repent, who are sinning with their eyes open, who know that they

are transgressing the laws of God and vilifying and lying against the

servants of the Lord. Have mercy upon them. Do not touch them; for that

is just what they would like. Let them alone. Let them go. Give them

the liberty of speech they want. Let them tell their own story, and

write their own doom. We can afford it. They do not hurt us, and if it

affords them any amusement, I am sure they are welcome to it.--_Oct. C.

R.,_ 1905, p. 95.

THE GOLDEN RULE. We need mercy; then let us be merciful. We need

charity; let us be charitable. We need forgiveness; let us forgive.

Let us do unto others what we would that they should do unto us. Let

us welcome the new {425} year and dedicate to it our best efforts, our

loyal service, our love and fellowship, and our supplication for the

welfare and happiness of all mankind.--_Juvenile Instructor,_ Vol. 46,

January, 1911, p. 16.

WHY THE WORLD DOES NOT LOVE US. "If ye were of the world, the world

would love its own; but because ye are not of the world, but I have

chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you." (John

15:19) The followers of Jesus were his chosen people, and because they

were chosen by him, the world hated them. The Jews were the chosen

people of God, and because they were his chosen people the world hated

them. Nowhere in the world today is the word Jew wholly disassociated

with the feeling of contempt. The feelings may differ greatly in

degree, but they are all of one kind. The word "Mormon," or Latter-day

Saint, is everywhere likewise associated with feelings of contempt.

Contempt is the heritage of a chosen people. Ought we therefore to

court the contempt of the world? By no means. On the other hand, we

should not be discouraged because it comes to us unsought. Some of our

friends--mostly in the Church, some few out of it--would lift us out of

the contempt of the world, and keep us out of it, if we would simply

be governed by their counsels. The truth is, we are not strangers to

hatred; and the contempt of the world has been our lot so much that

we have no reason to be discouraged when it comes, even in violent

forms. The danger lies not so much in our own peculiarity as in the

disposition of many of our people to court popularity at all costs, as

if it were something devoutly to be wished for. There is too often a

timid submission before the indignation storms that occasionally sweep

over the country.--_Juvenile Instructor,_ Vol. 39, August, 1904, p. 464.

LOVE ONE ANOTHER. Let us, brethren, love one another, and exercise

patience and forbearance, avoiding judgment, except when called upon

to render it, and then tempering {426} the law with a father's love.

The Latter-day Saints must be promoters of both law and religion, as

exemplified in the justice and mercy of God.--_Improvement Era,_ Vol.

6, 1903, p. 550.

KEEP ALOOF FROM THE WICKED. We should keep ourselves aloof from the

wicked; the dividing line should be distinctly drawn between God and

Belial, between Christ and the world, between truth and error, and

between right and wrong. We ought to cleave to the right, to the good,

to the truth, and forsake the evil.--_Deseret Weekly News,_ Vol. 31,

1882, p. 674.

THE ENEMIES TO FEAR. For my part I do not fear the influence of our

enemies from without, as I fear that of those from within. An open and

avowed enemy, whom we may see and meet in an open field, is far less to

be feared than a lurking, deceitful, treacherous enemy hidden within

us, such as are many of the weaknesses of our fallen human nature,

which are too often allowed to go unchecked, beclouding our minds,

leading away our affections from God and his truth, until they sap the

very foundations of our faith and debase us beyond the possibility or

hope of redemption, either in this world or that to come. These are the

enemies that we all have to battle with, they are the greatest that we

have to contend with in the world, and the most difficult to conquer.

They are the fruits of ignorance, generally arising out of unrebuked

sin and evil in our own hearts. The labor that is upon us is to subdue

our passions, conquer our inward foes, and see that our hearts are

right in the sight of the Lord, that there is nothing calculated to

grieve his Spirit and lead us away from the path of duty.

{427}

CHAPTER XIX

EDUCATION AND INDUSTRIAL PURSUITS

WE ARE EVER LEARNING. We are not "ever learning and never coming to a

knowledge of the truth." On the contrary, we are ever learning and are

ever drawing nearer to a proper comprehension of the truth, the duty

and the responsibility that devolve upon members of the Church who

are called to responsible positions in it. Not only does this apply

to those members who are called to act in responsible positions, but

it applies to those who may be termed "lay members," if we may use

such a term with reference to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of

Latter-day Saints.

Who is there, under the circumstances that exist around us, that is not

growing? Who is there of us that is not learning something day by day?

Who is there of us that is not gaining experience as we pass along, and

are attending to the duties of membership in the Church, and to the

duties of citizens of our state, and citizens of our great and glorious

nation? It seems to me that it would be a very sad comment upon the

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and her people to suppose

for a moment that we are at a standstill, that we have ceased to grow,

ceased to improve and to advance in the scale of intelligence, and in

the faithful performance of duty in every condition in which we are

placed as a people and as members of the Church of Christ.--_Oct. C.

R.,_ 1915, p. 2.

ADDRESS ON IGNORANCE. The subject which has been dwelt upon is a broad

one: "What can be done to stem the tide of evil that is sweeping

through the land?" I apprehend that one of the greatest evils existing,

that is "sweeping through the land," is that of ignorance, coupled

with indifference. {428} I presume that if the ignorant were not

so indifferent to these facts and to their condition they might be

prompted to learn more than they do. The trouble with men and women

is that they too frequently close their eyes to the facts that exist

around them, and it seems to be very difficult for many of the people

to learn and adapt to their lives those simple truths that should be in

fact the household words and precepts of every Latter-day Saint, and of

every home of a Latter-day Saint. How shall we stem the tide of this

evil, this indifference, this consequent ignorance? It appears to me

that the only way to do it is to wake up and become interested, or to

interest ourselves in those things which are so important and necessary

to the happiness and well-being of the children of men, especially

that which is so needful for the happiness and well-being of ourselves

individually.

It isn't all that is necessary, to learn the truth or to cease to be

ignorant. Following that comes the application of the understanding and

knowledge that we gain, to those works and things that are needful for

our protection and for the protection of our children, our neighbors,

our homes, our happiness.

I see occasionally, as I walk out in the evening, crowds of little

girls and boys who seem to me from their appearance as not yet having

reached their teens, little boys and little girls perhaps from ten to

fourteen, and perhaps some of them older, in defiance of the curfew

law, playing in the streets, loitering together in shady nooks, in

alleys, in the recesses about their homes or the homes of somebody

else. This I apprehend is an evil, a very serious evil. How will you

stem it? How can it be prevented?--M. I. A. Conference, 1910; _Young

Woman's Journal,_ Vol. 21, pp. 403-406.

THE VALUE OF PRACTICAL EDUCATION. I have often thought of the

undesirableness of the young men of our community seeking for light

employments, and lucrative positions, {429} without regard to manual

and mechanical skill, and knowledge and ability in agriculture.

None can deny that there is too great a tendency among the young men,

especially in our larger cities, to seek the lighter employments.

Politics, law, medicine, trade, clerking, banking, are needful and good

in their place, but we need builders, mechanics, farmers, and men who

can use their powers to produce something for the use of man.

Salaried positions, in which little responsibility is required, are

well enough for young men who are making a beginning, but it should be

the ambition of all to get out and take upon themselves responsibility,

and to become independent, by themselves becoming producers, and

skilful workers.

If life is valuable in comparison with the experience we obtain,

every youth will increase the worth of his life in proportion to the

new obstacles that he is able to conquer. In a routine, there are no

difficulties to encounter; neither is there profit to the mind or body

in the sameness of dependent positions. But let the man who would grow

and develop, go forth into the practical and productive ways of life.

These will lead to broadmindedness and independence, while the other

road ends in narrowness and dependence.

And here, also, a word to parents who have daughters. Are you fitting

them for the practical duties of mother and wife, that they may

in due time go out and make homes what they should be? Or are you

training your daughters to play the lady by making them accomplished

in flourishes, and expert in ostentatious embellishments? Is mother

doing all the work? If you say yes to the last two questions, you are

not doing your full duty to your child. For, while accomplishment and

polished grace, attainments in music and art, and a knowledge of the

sciences, are good and useful in their place, it is not intended that

these shall replace the common labors of life. Where children are so

trained, their {430} parents have done them a positive injustice, of

which both the children and the parents may live to be ashamed.

While we are educating our children in all that may be termed the

beautiful in science and art, we should not fail to insist that they

shall learn to do practical things, and that they do not despise the

common labors of life. Any other course toward them is an injustice

to the boys and girls, as well as to ourselves and the community in

general.

I believe the morals of the people will improve as skill in workmanship

and productive labors is acquired. Parents, too, will find it easier

to govern and control their children, if these are trained in useful

manual labor. We shall not then witness the sad spectacle of young men

loafing about our cities hunting for some easy place that just suits

their notions of work, which, if they can not find, they will not labor

at all, but go without in idleness. Mischief and devilment, frequently

so common because the hands are unemployed, will decrease and better

order will prevail.

Thus, while not decrying education in the aesthetic sense, I think it

is a serious duty devolving upon parents and those who have educational

matters in hand to provide a supplemental if not a coordinate course

in practical labor for every boy and girl, which shall make them

proficient in handiwork, and enable them to expend their powers in

the production of something for the material use and benefit of

man.--_Improvement Era,_ Vol. 6, January, 1903, p. 229.

PRACTICAL EDUCATION ADVOCATED. I desire again to say that I would be

pleased to see more of our young men learning trades instead of trying

to learn professions, such as the profession of law, or of medicine, or

other professions. I would rather a man would become a good mechanic, a

good builder, a good machinist, a good surveyor, a good farmer, a good

blacksmith, or a good artisan of any kind than to see him follow these

other kinds of professions. We need, however, those who are capable

of teaching in the {431} schools, and I would like to see a greater

interest manifested by our young men and women in normal training, that

they might become proficient teachers and look forward to following

this profession, because it is a most important one, and great results

will follow the faithful performance of the duties and labors of

those who are engaged in it. I would like to see the giving of proper

instruction to those who are seeking education, as well as the creating

of facilities in our midst for all who desire not only the common

branches of education, but the higher branches, that they may obtain

these privileges and benefits at home instead of being compelled to go

abroad to complete their education.

Some of our friends took very grievous offense at what I said in

respect to some of these things last April, I believe. I was sorry to

bear what they said in relation to this. Why, bless your soul, the

counsel that I gave last April in relation to these matters was in

the interest of all parties and of all professions. I did not speak a

disrespectful word of any profession. I simply advised, and I still

advise, the young men of Zion to become artisans rather than to become

lawyers. I repeat it; and yet I would to God that every intelligent

man among the Latter-day Saints was able to read law and to be his own

lawyer. I wish that every young man could and would study and become

familiar with the laws of his state and with the laws of his nation

and with the laws of other nations. You cannot learn too much in these

directions; but I think there are too many trying to be lawyers, for

the good of that profession. They are eating one another up, to some

extent. Not long ago a young man who had studied law and hung out his

shingle here, after waiting for business, trying to stir up business

for some length of time, came so near starving himself and family that

he came and wanted to know what to do. He could not make a living in

the profession of law. I asked him if he knew how to do anything else.

He said yes, he was a good printer. Well, {432} then, I said, abandon

the profession of law and take up the profession of printing; do

something that you can do and that you can make a living at. If he had

any practice at all in law, my counsel to him, if he obeyed it--and he

did--would have been a benefit to those who remained in the profession.

There are some men, most honorable, most genuine, and most intelligent,

who are following the profession of the law. I wish I could say that

much of all.

Then, my brethren and sisters, get out of debt. My young friends, learn

to become skilful in the arts and in mechanics and in something that

will be material, useful in building up the commonwealth where we live

and where all our interests are centered.--_Oct. C. R.,_ 1903, pp. 5,

6.

BOYS SHOULD BE TAUGHT THE ARTS OF INDUSTRY. One of the things that I

think is very necessary is that we should teach our boys mechanism,

teach them the arts of industry, and not allow our sons to grow up

with the idea that there is nothing honorable in labor, except it

be in the professions of law, or in some other light, practically

unproductive, and I was going to say, unremunerative employment, but I

know of scarcely any employment more remunerative than is the practice

of law to those, at least, who are proficient. But what do they do to

build up the country? What do they produce to benefit the world? There

may be a few of them who have farms; there may be a few of them who

have manufactories; there may be a few of them who may be interested

and engaged in other productive labor, something that will build up

the country and the people and establish permanence, stability and

prosperity in the land; but the vast majority of them are leeches

upon the body politic and are worthless as to the building up of any

community. There are a good many of our boys who feel that they could

not be farmers, and that the pursuit of farming and stock--raising is

beneath their dignity. There are some who think it is {433} menial and

low for them to engage in building enterprises as masons, carpenters,

or builders in general.

There are but a few of our boys who take to the hammer and to the anvil

and to those pursuits of labor that are essential to the permanence

of any community in the world and that are necessary to build up the

country.

I say that we are remiss and slack in relation to these things, that we

are not instilling them sufficiently in the minds of our children, and

that we are not giving them the opportunity that they should enjoy of

learning how to produce from the earth and the materials that are on

the face of it or in the bowels of it, that which is necessary for the

advancement and prosperity of mankind. Some of us have the idea that

it is degrading for our daughters to learn how to cook, how to keep

house, or to make a dress, apron or bonnet, if necessary. No; daughters

in families that are blessed with plenty of means are taught to play

the piano, to sing, to go out in society and spend their time in

idle, useless pleasure, instead of being taught how to be economical,

industrious and frugal, and how to become good housewives. That is

degrading! I would like to say to this congregation, and to the world,

that if I possessed millions of dollars I would not be satisfied or

content in my mind unless my boys knew how to do something that would

bring them in a living, how to handle a pitchfork, or to run a mowing

machine or reaper, or how to plow the ground and sow the seed; nor

would I be satisfied if my daughters did not know how to keep a house.

I would be ashamed of my children if they did not know something of

these things.

We need manual training schools instead of so much book-learning and

the stuffing of fairy tales and fables which are contained in many of

our school books of today. If we would devote more money and time,

more energy and attention to teaching our children manual labor in our

{434} schools than we do, it would be a better thing for the rising

generation.

There are many subjects of this character, in addition to the

principles of the gospel of eternal truth and the plan of life and

salvation, that can be dwelt upon with profit by those who may speak to

us.--_Apr. C. R.,_ 1903, pp. 2, 3.

MANUAL TRAINING AND AGRICULTURE. We want to make these valleys of the

mountains teem with the products of our own labor, and skill, and

intelligence. I believe it to be suicidal for us to patronize those

who are at a distance from us, when we should and could go to work and

organize our labor and produce everything at home; we might thereby

give employment to everybody at home, develop the intelligence and the

skill of our children, instead of letting them hunt after these fancy

occupations that so many young people desire above manual labor. The

schools of the Latter-day Saints and some of the state schools are

beginning to introduce manual labor. Some of our boys are learning how

to make tables, chairs, sofas, book-cases, bureaus and all that sort

of thing--all good as far as it goes; but if we want a mason to lay

brick, we have to look mostly to some man who has come from England or

Germany, or from somewhere else, to lay our brick. Why? Because our

boys do not like to lay brick. If we want a good blacksmith, we must

hunt up some foreigner who has learned the trade in his mother country,

and who has come here with a knowledge of blacksmithing; we must find

such a man before we can get blacksmithing done, because boys do not

like to be blacksmiths. They don't like even to be farmers; they would

rather be lawyers or doctors than to be farmers. This is the case with

too many of our boys, and it is a great mistake. I hope the time will

come when the children of the Latter-day Saints will learn that all

labor that is necessary for the happiness of themselves and of their

neighbors, or of mankind in general, is honorable; and that no man is

degrading {435} himself because he can lay brick, or carry on carpentry

or blacksmithing, or any kind of mechanism, no matter what it is, but

that all these things are honorable, and are necessary for the welfare

of man and for the building up of the commonwealth.--_Oct. C. R.,_

1909, p. 8.

AGRICULTURE AND MECHANIC ARTS IN CHURCH SCHOOLS. We have sought to

encourage in our Church schools the establishment of departments of

mechanic arts and manual training; and, so far as I know, everything

possible is being done, at least in the principal schools, for the

training of our youth, not only in the regular mechanic arts, but also

in the art of agriculture. An agricultural course has recently been

started in the Brigham Young University, and one of our most proficient

scientists has been called to take charge of the class. I am happy to

say that some of our oldest farmers are delighted with the information

that they have obtained by attending this class. I heard a brother who

had been farming for many years say that he had always been under the

impression that when a man could not do anything else, all he had to

do was to turn his attention to the plow and cultivate the soil, for

anybody could be a farmer, but he had found out since attending this

class that it required intelligence and intelligent application to be a

good farmer, as well as to be a good artisan. In connection with this

I may state a circumstance that came under my own observation years

ago. A certain brother had lived upon his farm for some fourteen or

fifteen years. He had cultivated it every year the best he could, but

it had become so impoverished that he could not make a living off it

any longer, and he became so disgusted with the country, especially

with his farm, that he concluded, if he could only trade the farm off

for a team and wagon that would take him out of the country, he would

be glad to go. By and by, his man came along, and he sold his farm

for a team and wagon, in which he put his wife and children and moved

to some other country. {436} The purchaser took possession of this

worn-out farm, and within three years, by intelligent operation, he

was able to gather from that farm forty bushels of wheat to the acre,

and other products in proportion. The nutriment of the soil had been

exhausted, and it needed resuscitation; so he went to work, gave it the

nourishment it required, and reaped a bountiful harvest as a result of

his wisdom. There are too many of our farmers who think it does not

need any skill to be a farmer; but this good brother in Provo, to whom

I alluded, found it did. So we are teaching agriculture in our schools,

as well as the mechanic arts. The Brigham Young College is putting up

a building now wherein are to be taught all sorts of industries; where

our youth will be able to learn carpentry, blacksmithing, domestic

arts, and other trades that will be useful to them. Yet we find it a

drag to induce anybody possessed of means to contribute very largely to

it. Some of our wealthiest men felt they were doing their utmost when

they donated perhaps a hundred dollars towards a building that will

cost eight or ten thousand dollars, if not more.--_Apr. C. R.,_ 1906,

pp. 5, 6.

WE SHOULD STUDY AGRICULTURE. In connection with this matter, I think

it is wisdom for us, as agriculturists, to study agriculture and to

become able to produce out of an acre of ground as much as the "heathen

Chinee," or as much as any other people can produce from the same

ground. I do not see why we cannot learn to cultivate the soil as

intelligently and as profitably as any other class of people in the

world; and yet it is a well known fact that up to the present we have

not devoted that attention, care, thoughtfulness, or that intelligence

to agriculture in our country that we should have done and that we

are now learning to do, by the aid of schools where men who desire

to follow agriculture may learn the nature of the soil and all the

other conditions necessary to produce the largest results for their

labor.--_Apr. C. R.,_ 1910, p. 4.

{437} DIGNITY OF AGRICULTURE. I believe there is no labor on earth more

essential to the well-being of a community or more honorable than the

labor which is necessary to produce food from mother earth. It is one

of the most noble occupations. And next to it is the tending of the

flocks of sheep and cattle. This is another noble occupation, if it

is only carried on properly and righteously. These are the foundation

of the prosperity of every community in the world. When the farming

community is prosperous, when the Lord blesses the earth and makes it

fruitful, then the blacksmith, the carpenter, and those who follow

other pursuits, will also be prosperous. But when the earth refuses to

yield of its strength for the good of mankind, then all other business

is stagnant and will languish. Therefore, let us till the earth; let us

cultivate the soil; let us produce our own living out of the earth, by

the blessing of God, as far as we possibly can, always keeping in mind

that we have entered into solemn covenant with God, which is an eternal

covenant, and from which he cannot depart or be moved, and in which

we can only fail by ourselves transgressing that new and everlasting

covenant and turning away from it.--_Apr. C. R.,_ 1898, p. 70.

ENCOURAGE FORESTRY. Professor Fernow, of the Department of Forestry, at

Washington, declares that at the present rate of consumption our supply

of timber suitable for manufactured lumber will not last thirty years.

If it were true that our lumber supply was likely to be exhausted

within the next hundred years, it would still be a matter of alarming

concern to the people of this country. The use of lumber is not the

only serious question involved. Our trees aid the precipitation of

moisture and store it away for its gradual distribution during the hot

summer months.

The time is not distant in Utah when people will be compelled to grow

their own lumber, just as they grow other products of the farm. What

would we do without Oregon and the Sierras of Nevada? Oregon timber

may {438} now be very plentiful and rainfall ample, but some day the

Oregonians will demand a cessation of their forest destruction.

It is the business of presiding authorities in the stakes and wards of

the Church to study thoughtfully and to forward the interests of the

people. It is to be hoped that these authorities will look into the

matter of establishing the forestry industry, and see if something can

be done in their sections of the country to inaugurate the planting of

trees on private estates for the supply of lumber in years to come. It

would be commendable in the highest degree to the Latter-day Saints if

they would set apart here and there a small acreage of their land to

tree culture. If this matter is taken up in priesthood meetings and

some united action agreed upon, future disaster may be averted.

The Latter-day Saints ought not to be governed by purely selfish

motives in the use of their landed inheritances. The number among us

who have converted a single acre of our farms into forestry must be

extremely small, and yet it is a duty which we owe to ourselves and

to those who have the right to rely upon us to give this matter our

earnest consideration. The cultivation of timber lands will in time be

remunerative; but we are so accustomed to look for immediate returns

that we insist upon an early harvest for all that we do. The policy of

living for today is not only destructive of our material interests,

but it begets a selfishness harmful to religion and discreditable to

patriotism.

No ward or branch of the Church can long remain free from a public

interest without endangering its spiritual life and the spirit of

progress. Public interests are necessary to protect us against the

elements of social and material decay. Evidences of the truth of

these principles are abundantly manifest in those communities where

public spirit has been wanting and public improvements have not been

undertaken {439} for years. The wise and active president of a stake

or bishop of a ward will not fail to appreciate the value of a public

spirit and a united effort in the accomplishment of some necessary

and commendable public undertaking; and if there is not something

immediately at hand, he will look about to discover, if he can, a means

for calling out in a united and patriotic way the energies of the

people. We here therefore suggest that one of the public duties which

every Latter-day Saint owes to the Church and to his country is the

extension of valuable timber forests upon both private lands and public

domains.--_Juvenile Instructor,_ Vol. 38, August 1, 1903, p. 466.

YOUNG WOMEN SHOULD HAVE PRACTICAL PREPARATION FOR LIFE. I, too, think

it is very important that young women should early form some design,

some definite purpose in life. Let that resolve be a noble one, a good

one; something with a view of benefiting others as well as one's self.

Perhaps your sphere may be in the household; if so, let every member

feel that you are indispensable to the comfort of home, by your good

works and your love and patience. You may be a stay and a comfort and

a help to your mother, though you may not be called to herculean tasks

or heroic sacrifices. Fix in your minds noble thoughts, cultivate

elevated themes, let your aims and aspirations be high. Be in a

certain degree independent; to the degree of usefulness, helpfulness

and self-reliance, though no human beings can be said truly to be

independent of their fellow beings, and there is no one reckless

enough to deny our utter dependence on our heavenly Father. Seek to

be educated in the highest meaning of the term; get the most possible

service out of your time, your body and brains, and let all your

efforts be directed into honorable channels, that no effort shall be

wasted, and no labor result in loss or evil.

Seek the very best society; be kind, polite, agreeable, seeking to

learn whatever is good, and comprehend the {440} duties of life that

you may be a blessing to all those with whom you associate, making the

very most and best of your lot in life. * * * *

It does not matter how wealthy the Latter-day Saints become; so long as

they are worthy of that name they will teach their sons and daughters

the dignity of labor and how grand it is to be practical in the duties

and responsibilities of life. One of the speakers during the general

conference remarked that if his children could not cultivate but one

set of faculties, rather than theoretical, he would choose practical

labor. It is very important to the welfare, usefulness, happiness, and

comfort of our daughters (in view of certain circumstances) that they

learn some branch of industry that could be turned to practical account

in the way of making a living, should circumstances require it. Mothers

should see to it that their daughters do this, and that when she is no

longer by them, they may be capable of providing themselves with the

necessaries of life.

There are people fond of saying that women are the weaker vessels. I

don't believe it. Physically, they may be; but spiritually, morally,

religiously and in faith, what man can match a woman who is really

convinced? Daniel had faith to sustain him in the lion's den, but

women have seen their sons torn limb from limb, and endured every

torture satanic cruelty could invent because they believed. They are

always more willing to make sacrifices, and are the peers of men in

stability, Godliness, morality and faith. I can not understand how a

man can be unkind to any woman, much less to the wife of his bosom,

and the mother of his children, and I am told that there are those

who are absolutely brutal, but they are unworthy the name of men. I

believe that most women are very devoted to their children, desiring

for them most ardently all that is good, and I loathe with every fibre

of my soul the son who turns against the mother who gave him birth. I

cannot tolerate the young lady who appears {441} well in society at the

expense of the comfort of her mother at home. Do not fear to divide

the burdens, and to do all in your power to brighten the lot of your

mother, and you will find blessings that are never discovered in the

path of selfishness.

And I exhort you young sisters to sustain those who are placed over

you, to improve all your opportunities, and refrain from evil; and,

mark me, you will attain to a high standard of character and the

honors of life, and become potent factors in forming your communities.

Maintain your dignity, integrity, and virtue at the sacrifice of life.

Take this course, and although you may be ignorant of many things,

you will be esteemed as of the noblest types of womanhood. With such

virtues for her adornment, no man could help loving such a young

lady.--_Young Woman's Journal,_ Vol. 3, 1891-1892, pp. 142-144.

OBJECT OF CHURCH SCHOOLS. The object, I may say almost the only

purpose, for the maintenance of Church schools is that true religion

and undefiled before God the Father, may be inculcated in the minds

and hearts of our children while they are getting an education, to

enable the heart, the soul and the spirit of our children to develop

with proper teaching, in connection with the secular training that they

receive in schools.--_Oct. C. R.,_ 1915, p. 4.

VALUE OF CHURCH SCHOOLS. In my opinion the Church schools are laying

the foundation for great usefulness among the people of God, and they

should be sustained by the people and by the Church. The Church is

sustaining them, and as we acquire more means and become more free from

obligations which have been resting upon the Church for years, we will

be more free-handed to administer to the needs of our Church schools,

as well as other requirements of that nature.--_Apr. C. R.,_ 1906, p. 6.

PURPOSE OF CHURCH SCHOOLS. The purpose of our Church schools is the

harmonious development of our young {442} people in all that relates

to their future well-being and progress; and eternal progress can be

enjoyed only when the principles of eternal life are associated with

their daily existence. Whatever hinders upward progression deadens the

sensibilities and real enjoyments of this world's life. And education

that has for its highest ideals the pursuit of worldly ambitions is

wanting in that free and unrestrained flow of the spirit which makes

for higher freedom and a more wholesome life. As we ripen in years and

in experience, our spiritual lives have more and more to do with our

real happiness. Our thoughts are more frequently turned inward as we

contemplate the approaching end of this life and the unfolding of the

greater life to come.--_Juvenile Instructor,_ Vol. 47, November, 1912,

p. 630.

THE CHURCH AMPLE FOR ALL NECESSARY ORGANIZATION. The Church is provided

with so many priesthood organizations that only these can be recognized

therein. No outside organization is necessary. There is no call for

individuals to organize clubs, or special gatherings in social,

educational, or national capacity, in order to express wishes or

desires for reforms that can always be expressed in the organizations

that already exist in the Church. There is enough to do in the general

ward organizations, under Church control, to fill requirements, to

satisfy all righteous ambitions, and to develop the latent talent of

the people. It is neither proper nor necessary to establish further

public organizations under individual leadership, unsanctioned by the

Church authorities. If further public organizations are required,

they will be founded by proper authority, when it can be proved that

there is indeed any need for them. Such separate action leads to

clannishness, conflict and disunion, and is not pleasing in the sight

of God.--_Improvement Era,_ Vol. 6, Dec., 1902, p. 150.

DEVELOP FACULTIES IN CHURCH ORGANIZATIONS. Where men are ambitious to

show their ability and fitness {443} as leaders, teachers, organizers,

champions of a righteous cause, or saviors of men, let them develop

these qualities in the many suitable organizations now existing in the

Church, which are waiting, yea, often crying aloud, for men with just

such superior ability. This course, pursued with the right spirit,

will do good, and meet the blessings of the Lord, while the other,

by playing upon their pride of nationality, their natural desire to

conquer, and their sectional clannishness, will lead to schisms among

the people that will finally cause them to lose the spirit of the

gospel.--_Improvement Era,_ Vol. 6, Dec., 1902, p. 151.

THE FOUNDATION OF PROSPERITY. 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 manufacture and every home industry. We ought to co-operate

together, if there is any kind of business in which there is a profit,

let us co-operate together and let us have the benefit of that profit

among ourselves instead of giving it to strangers.--_Deseret Weekly

News,_ Vol. 33, 1884, p. 446.

THE OBJECT OF CO-OPERATION. Co-operation 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 co-operative 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

co-operation, that the principle of union in labor as well as in

faith might be developed to its fullest extent in the midst of the

Saints.--_Deseret Weekly News,_ Vol. 33, 1884, p. 466.

{444}

CHAPTER XX

MISSIONARIES

HOW MISSIONARIES ARE CALLED. No person but the President of the Church

has the authority to call missionaries to preach the gospel; others may

suggest or recommend, but they do so to him, and he issues the call.

We draw attention to this fact as it occasionally happens that some

brother is spoken to about going on a mission by one of the general

authorities, by the president of the stake or by his bishop, and he at

once goes to work and begins to prepare to leave, sometimes going so

far as to rent his farm, sell his belongings or lease his property.

Then, when no date is appointed for his departure and no field of

labor assigned him, he feels disappointed and aggrieved.--_Juvenile

Instructor,_ Vol. 37, February, 1902, p. 82.

REQUIREMENTS OF PROSPECTIVE MISSIONARIES. In accordance with the

present regulations of the First Presidency, brethren are not now

sent on missions who have not themselves a testimony of the truth of

the work of the Lord. It is deemed inconsistent to send men out into

the world to promise to others through obedience to the gospel that

which they have not themselves received. Neither is it considered

proper to send men out to reform them. Let them first reform at home

if they have not been strictly keeping the commandments of God. This

applies to the Word of Wisdom as well as to all other laws of heaven.

No objection is offered to men being called who in earlier years may

have been rough or wayward, if in later years they have lived a godly

life and brought forth the precious fruits of repentance. Neither

should men be sent who are not in good health; a sickly elder is able

to do but little {445} good himself and often impedes the work of his

companion; and, too frequently, has to be sent home after a short

absence entailing suffering on himself and expense to the people or the

Church.--_Juvenile Instructor,_ Vol. 37, February, 1902, p. 82.

THE KIND OF MEN WANTED FOR MISSIONARIES. We do not want boys that have

been in saloons, that have been in houses of ill-fame, that have been

gamblers, that have been drunkards, that have been infamous in their

lives--we do not want such to go into the ministry of this holy gospel

to represent the Son of the living God and the power of redemption

to the world. We want young men who have been born or adopted in the

covenant, who have been reared in purity, who have kept themselves

unspotted from the world, and can go into the nations of the earth

and say to men, "Follow me, as I follow Christ." Then we would like

to have them know how to sing, and to pray. We expect them to be

honest, virtuous, and faithful unto death to their covenants, to their

brethren, to their wives, to their fathers and mothers, to their

brothers and sisters, to themselves and to God. Where you get men like

this to preach the gospel to the world, whether they know much to begin

with or not, the Lord will put his Spirit into their hearts, and he

will crown them with intelligence and power to save the souls of men.

For the germ of life is in them. It has not been vitiated or corrupted;

it has not been driven away from them.--_Oct. C. R.,_ 1899, pp. 72-3.

NECESSARY QUALIFICATIONS OF MISSIONARIES. Another thing--one of the

indispensable qualifications of the elders who go out into the world to

preach is humility, meekness and love unfeigned, for the well-being and

the salvation of the human family, and the desire to establish peace

and righteousness in the earth among men. We can not preach the gospel

of Christ without this spirit of humility, meekness, faith in God and

reliance upon his promises {446} and word to us. You may learn all the

wisdom of men, but that will not qualify you to do these things like

the humble, guiding influence of the Spirit of God will. "Pride goeth

before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall."

It is necessary for the elders who go out into the world to preach to

study the spirit of the gospel, which is the spirit of humility, the

spirit of meekness and of true devotion to whatever purpose you set

your band or your mind to do. If it is to preach the gospel, we should

devote ourselves to the duties of that ministry, and we ought to strive

with the utmost of our ability to qualify ourselves to perform that

specific labor, and the way to do it is to live so that the spirit of

God will have communion and be present with us to direct us in every

moment and hour of our ministry, night and day.--_Apr. C. R.,_ 191 5,

p. 138.

FURTHER QUALIFICATIONS OF MISSIONARIES. There are many excellent

men but very few really good missionaries. The characteristics of a

good missionary are: A man who has sociability--whose friendship is

permanent and sparkling--who can ingratiate himself into the confidence

and favor of men who are in darkness. This cannot be done offhand. You

must get acquainted with a man, learn him and gain his confidence and

make him feel and know that your only desire is to do him good and

bless him; then you can tell him your message, and give him the good

things you have for him, kindly and lovingly. Therefore, in selecting

missionaries, choose such as have sociability, who have friendship and

not enmity towards men; and if you have not any such in your ward,

train and qualify some young men for this work. Some men can never make

good missionaries, and you should not select such. In the very first

place, a missionary should have in himself the testimony of the Spirit

of God--the witness of the Holy Ghost. If he has not this, he has

nothing to give. Men are {447} not converted by eloquence or oratory;

they are convinced when they are satisfied that you have the truth and

the Spirit of God.--_Improvement Era,_ also _Digest of Instructions,_

Y. M. M. I. A., 1904.

WHAT MISSIONARIES SHOULD TEACH. Our elders are instructed here, and

they are taught from their childhood up, that they are not to go out

and make war upon the religious organizations of the world when they

are called to go out to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, but to go

and bear with them the message which has been given to us through the

instrumentality of the Prophet Joseph, in this latter dispensation,

whereby men may learn the truth, if they will. They are sent out to

offer the olive branch of peace to the world, to offer the knowledge

that God has spoken from the heavens once more to his children upon

the earth; that God has in his mercy restored again to the world the

fulness of the gospel of his Only Begotten Son, in the flesh, that God

has revealed and restored to mankind the divine power and authority

from himself, whereby they are enabled and authorized to perform

the ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ necessary for their

salvation; and their performance of these ordinances must of necessity

be acceptable unto God who has given to them the authority to perform

them in his name. Our elders are sent out to preach repentance of sin,

to preach righteousness, to preach to the world the gospel of life, of

fellowship, and of friendship among mankind, to teach men and women

to do that which is right in the sight of God and in the presence of

all men, to teach them the fact that God has organized his Church, a

Church of which he, himself, is the author and the founder--not Joseph

Smith, nor President Brigham Young, not the Twelve Apostles, that have

been chosen in this dispensation--to them does not belong the honor of

establishing the Church. God is its author, God is its founder, and we

are sent out, and we send out our elders, to make this proclamation

{448} to the world, and leave it to their own judgment and discretion

as to whether they will investigate it, learn the truth for themselves,

and accept it, or whether they will reject it. We do not make war upon

them; if they do not receive it, we do not contend with them; if they

fail to benefit themselves by receiving the message that we give to

them for their own good, we only pity. Our sympathy goes out to those

who will not receive the truth and who will not walk in the light when

the light shines before them; not hatred, not enmity, not the spirit

of condemnation; it is our duty to leave condemnation in the hands of

Almighty God. He is the only real, true, righteous, impartial judge,

and we leave judgment in his hands. It is not our business to proclaim

calamities, judgments, destruction, and the wrath of God upon men, if

they will not receive the truth. Let them read the word of God, as

recorded in the New and the Old Testaments; and, if they will receive

it, let them read the word that has been restored through the gift and

power of God to Joseph the prophet, as contained in the Doctrine and

Covenants and in the Book of Mormon. Let them read these things, and

they will learn here, themselves, the promises that God has made to

those who will not hearken when they hear the truth, but will close

their ears and their eyes against the light. We need not repeat these

things and try to impose upon the feelings and judgments of men by

threatening them or by warning them against the dangers and evils that

may come upon the ungodly, the disobedient, the unthankful, and those

who will not yield to the truth. They will learn it soon enough, if we

do not mention it to them at all.--_Apr. C. R.,_ 1915, pp. 3-4.

WHAT AND HOW TO TEACH. The question often arises in the minds of young

men who find themselves in the mission field, "What shall I say?" And

another follows closely upon it, "How shall I say it?" To those who

go out in earnestness and who have made a partial study of the {449}

principles of the gospel at home, the first question will soon be

solved even if they have failed to make the very best use of their time

and opportunities in our schools, associations, and religious meetings.

They will soon find attraction in the principles of truth, and as they

find time, by close application, become familiar with the teachings

set forth in the gospel of Jesus Christ, as revealed to and taught by

the Latter-day Saints. But the second question, involving the best

method of delivering the message which the missionary has gone out to

proclaim, that is not always so readily solved. And yet, the success

or failure of a mission largely depends upon the false or accurate

solution of this problem.

While no specific rule may be given, experience has taught that

the simplest way is the best. Having learned the principles of the

gospel, through a prayerful spirit and by careful study, these should

be presented to men in humility, in the simplest forms of speech,

without presumption or arrogance and in the spirit of the mission of

Christ. This cannot be done if a young missionary waste his effort in

a vain-glorious attempt to become a noisy orator. This is the point

I wish to impress upon the elders, and to advise that all oratorical

effort be confined to appropriate times and places. The mission field

is not the place for such effort. The gospel is not successfully taught

by ostentatious display of words and argument, but rather is expressed

by modest and rational statements of its simple truth, uttered in a

way that will touch the heart and appeal, as well, to reason and sound

sense.

It isn't the rounded period, but the thought which it contains that

is of value; nor is it the faultless sentence so much as the spirit

accompanying the speaker that awakens life and light in the soul.

The spirit must first be with the missionary, if he shall succeed in

awakening its response in his hearers; and this is true whether the

words be spoken in conversation, face to face, or in public gatherings.

The {450} spirit will not manifest itself in the person who devotes his

time to deliver what he has to say in pompous words or with display of

oratory. He hopes to please artificially, and not effectively through

the heart.

It is, therefore, of great importance that the gospel should be

preached in the simplest and most intelligible way. This does not

mean that the language should not be choice, nor that all the

refinement possible should not be employed, but that there should be no

affectation, nothing "put on." There is enough in the gospel to occupy

our earnest time and language, without devoting our time to artificial

effects. By earnestness and simplicity the missionary will not only

establish himself in the truth, but his testimony will convince others.

He will also learn to stand for himself with God as his helper; he will

touch the hearts of the people and will have the pleasure of seeing

them come to an understanding of his message. The spirit of the gospel

will shine forth from his soul and others will partake of his light

and rejoice therein. The other course will be ineffectual, serving no

useful purpose, either to the missionary himself or to those who hear

him, but rather leading to vanity, emptiness and futility.

In the mission field, as in our daily lives, it is best to be

natural, rational--neither given to exaggeration of spiritual gifts

nor to destructive affectation in act or language. It is best to

develop simplicity of speech, earnestness of manner, humility of

spirit, and a feeling of love for our fellows, thereby cultivating

that well--balanced common sense in our lives that shall command the

respect and admiration of the honest in heart, and insure the continual

presence and aid of the Spirit of God.

NOT ALL MEN READY TO ACCEPT THE GOSPEL. I was struck by a remark made

by one of the brethren with respect to the many people who saw and

heard the Prophet Joseph Smith and yet didn't believe that he was a

prophet of God, or {451} a man raised up by the Almighty to lay the

foundations of this great latter-day work. It was said that the Lord

had not revealed it unto them. Now, I do not dispute that statement,

nor call it in question; but it occurred to me that there are thousands

of men who have heard the voices of the inspired servants of God, unto

whom the Almighty has borne record of the truth, and yet they have

not believed it. It is my opinion that the Lord bears record to the

testimonies of his servants unto those who hear those testimonies,

and it is left with them whether or not they will harden their hearts

against the truth and not listen to it, and abide the consequences. I

believe the Spirit of the Almighty God is upon most of the elders who

go out into the world to proclaim the gospel. I believe their words are

accompanied by the testimony of the Spirit of God. But all men are not

open to receive the witness and the testimony of the Spirit. And the

responsibility will rest with them. Yet it may be possible the Lord

withholds his Spirit from some, for a wise purpose in him, that their

eyes are not opened to see and their minds not quickened to comprehend

the word of truth. As a rule, however, it is my opinion that all men

who are seeking after the truth and are willing to receive it, will

also receive the witness of the Spirit which accompanies the words and

testimonies of the servants of the Lord; while those whose hearts are

hardened against the truth and will not receive it when it is borne

record of to them, will remain ignorant and without a comprehension of

the gospel. I believe there are tens of thousands of people who have

heard the truth and have been pricked in their hearts, but they are

seeking every refuge they possibly can to hide themselves from their

convictions of the truth. It is among this class that you will find

the enemies of the cause of Zion. They are opposing the truth in order

to hide themselves from their convictions of the truth. There are men,

possibly within the sound of my voice--certainly {452} within the

limits of this city--who have read our books, who have listened to the

discourses of the elders, and who are familiar with the doctrines of

the Church; but they will not acknowledge--openly, at least--the truth

of this gospel and the divinity of this work. Well, the responsibility

rests with them. God will judge them and deal with them in his own way

and time. Many of them, through their efforts to bring reproach upon

the cause of Zion, are awakening the attention of people in the world

to "Mormonism," and thus unwittingly advancing the cause of Zion, while

they know it not. I thank God my Father that he brings good out of the

evil designed against his people by their enemies. And he will continue

to do this. The clouds may gather over our heads, and, as in the past,

it may seem impossible for us to penetrate them; yet there can be no

clouds so dark, so gloomy or so heavy, but God will roll them away in

his own time and will bring good out of threatening evil. He has done

it in the past, he will do it in the future; for it is his work, not

the work of man.--_Apr. C. R.,_ 1899, pp. 40-41.

OUR PEOPLE GENEROUS TO MISSIONARIES. I believe I can confidently say

that the Latter-day Saints, as a rule, are among the most hospitable,

generous and kindhearted people that can be found upon the earth. Not

long ago one of our elders returned from a mission in the South. There

had been a question raised in his mind as to whether the Latter-day

Saints in Zion would be as open-handed, as hospitable, as kindhearted

and as willing to receive and entertain a stranger as were the people

of the South, and he determined to put the matter to the test. The

story of his visits to some of our people here is published in the

Improvement Era, No. 6, Vol. 1, p. 399. I cannot give it to you in

detail, but will only attempt a brief outline. Representing himself as

a minister of the gospel from the state of Tennessee, traveling without

purse or scrip, as the elders of {453} the Church of Jesus Christ of

Latter-day Saints were generally doing, he called upon Brother B. Y.

Hampton, of the Hampton House, and asked for entertainment without

charge. Bro. Hampton readily consented to take care of him. He next

called at the Temple Barber Shop, with a similar representation, and

asked for a "shave and shingle," on the same terms, which was readily

complied with, and he was asked to "come again." He next called upon

Brother Henry Dinwoodey, and presenting himself as before, asked for

means to pay his fare on the railroad, going north, whereupon Brother

Dinwoodey handed him out the money. Needing a mainspring in his watch,

he called upon Brothers John Daynes & Son, and introduced himself as

before, and they cheerfully repaired his watch. He then called upon

Thomas G. Webber, of Z. C. M. I., and in the same guise asked for a

pair of shoes, which Col. Webber generously gave him. Having a tooth

which needed filling, he called at the dental parlors of Dr. Fred

Clawson, whom he convinced, after some difficulty, that he was not

an old friend and school mate, but really a minister of the gospel

from Tennessee, having a similar name; the doctor readily consented

to filling his tooth without money or price. Thus it was proven that

the Latter-day Saints were as generous, as kindhearted, as ready to

help the stranger of another religion, as were the good people of the

Southern States, and for that matter of any other country. Having put

these people to the test, in other words, having weighed them in the

balance and found them not wanting in each case, he fully explained

his motive and who he was, to their mutual delight. And when the elder

returned their gifts or declined to receive the favors granted him

without proper remuneration in each case, as I understand, the brethren

insisted that what they had done was in good faith on their part, and

he was welcome to the same, believing that an elder who had spent two

years and upwards on a mission, {454} laboring without purse or scrip,

would be likely to stand almost as much in need of such help as would

the strange minister whom he had personated.--_Apr. C. R.,_ 1898, pp.

46-7.

ADVICE TO MISSIONARIES. The missionary labor accomplished by the

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a subject of growing

comment and marvel among people of the world who come to learn of its

extent and results. This feeling of wonder is blended with admiration

in the minds of those who study the details of our missionary system,

and who are able to appreciate the self-sacrifice, enduring faith,

and God-fearing reliance by which the missionaries of the Church are

distinguished. The fact that those of our people who go forth on

missions do so at their own expense, unsalaried, indeed, without hope

of pecuniary reward, spending years away from home--usually years of

early manhood--the years that are regarded as most valuable in shaping

the individual's course and position in life--this fact, indeed, may

well arouse the surprise and admiration of the world.

Many of our devoted missionaries are valiantly striving to do their

best, and to make their best better, day by day; great is and greater

yet shall be their reward. Others are lacking in energy and effort;

their work is done, if at all, in a half-spirited way, and their

thoughts are ever running ahead to the time of their release and return.

To those of the first class the days are all too short and the months

too few for the exalted labors in which they find such genuine

satisfaction and happiness. To the others the days drag and the weeks

are burdensome.

The individual elder is left largely to the guidance of the spirit of

his calling, with which he should be imbued. If he fail to cultivate

that spirit, which is the spirit of energy and application, he will

soon become torpid, indolent and unhappy. Every missionary should

strive to devote part of {455} each day to study and prayerful

thought on the principles of the gospel and the theology of the

Church. He should read and reflect and pray. True, we are opposed

to the preparing of set sermons to be delivered with the thought of

oratorical effect and rhetorical display; yet when an elder arises

to address a congregation at home or abroad, he should be thoroughly

prepared for his sermon. His mind should be well stored with thoughts

worth uttering, worth hearing, worth remembering; then the spirit of

inspiration will bring forth the truths of which his auditors are in

need, and give to his words the ring of authority.

Brethren--you to whom these words of admonition apply, for your

own sakes, if not for the sake of those whose welfare is your

charge--beware of indolence and neglect. The adversary is only too

eager to take advantage of your apathy, and you may lose the very

testimony of which you have been sent to bear record before the world.

We would recommend to conference presidents and other presiding

officers in the various branches of the Church, that where

possible, they have the elders in their charge follow regularly and

systematically a study of the standard works and other approved

publications of the Church, thus more fully equipping themselves as

teachers to the world.

There is little excuse for the idle man in any walk of life; work is

abundant for every one who will labor; but least of all is there excuse

or palliation in the case of a listless or idle missionary pretending

to be busy in the service of his Lord.

It is to be earnestly recommended that elders abroad on missions, as

indeed Latter-day Saints in general, avoid contentious argument and

debate regarding doctrinal subjects. The truth of the gospel does not

depend for its demonstration on heated discussion; the message of

truth is most effectively {456} delivered when expressed in words of

simplicity and sympathy.

The history of our missionary work already written proves the futility

of public debate and argument between our elders and their opponents;

and this in spite of the fact that in the great majority of such

undertakings the forensic victory has been won by our representatives.

A testimony of the truth is more than a mere assent of the mind, it is

a conviction of the heart, a knowledge that fills the whole soul of its

recipient.

Missionaries are sent forth to preach and teach the first principles of

the gospel, Christ and him crucified, and practically nothing more in

the way of theological doctrine. They are not commissioned to expound

their own views on intricate questions of theology, nor to mystify

their hearers with a show of profound learning. Teachers they are and

must be, if they meet in any degree the responsibilities of their high

calling; but they should teach as nearly as they can after the manner

of the Master--seeking to lead by love for their fellows, by simple

explanation and persuasion; not trying to convince by force.

Brethren, leave these themes of profitless discussion alone; keep

closely to the teachings of the revealed word, as made plain in the

standard works of the Church and through the utterances of the living

prophets; and let not a difference of views on abstruse matters of

doctrine absorb your attention, lest thereby you become estranged from

one another and separated from the Spirit of the Lord.

The standard works of the Church and other approved writings should be

carefully studied and commented on by the brethren; every Latter-day

Saint, and particularly every elder in the field, should seek to become

learned in the gospel; but let it not be forgotten that to understand

the inspired writings aright the reader must himself have the {457}

spirit of inspiration; and this spirit will never impel one to hostile

discussion or wordy contests.

Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all else that

is desirable, including the knowledge for which you yearn, shall be

given unto you.--_Juvenile Instructor,_ Vol. 38, October 15, 1903, p.

624.

MISSIONARIES AND THE WORD OF WISDOM. Young men cannot hope to be

successful missionaries who violate the Word of Wisdom. Its observance

is necessary to the spiritual fervor and assurance which carry

conviction to the hearts of those who receive the words of the elders.

The absolute necessity of the observance of the Word of Wisdom in the

missionary field makes it desirable that all who violate this important

law to the people, reform before they can hope to accomplish anything

helpful to others, either by precept or example.

There is no thoughtful Latter-day Saint who does not look forward with

some pleasure to the time when his son will be called on a mission.

No greater honor can come to a home than a call to represent the

work of the Lord among the nations; yet parents are too frequently

indifferent about the preparation their sons receive prior to the call

to fill a mission. Fundamental in that preparation is the observance

of the Word of Wisdom. So important do I esteem this subject that at

a recent conference in the Beaver stake I was led to speak upon it

at considerable length. The extracts that follow from that discourse

should be of interest and deep concern to every reader of the _Juvenile

Instructor_:

"Now, I do wish with all my heart--not because I say it, but because

it is written in the word of the Lord--that you would give heed to

this Word of Wisdom. It was given unto us 'not by commandment'; but by

the word of President Brigham Young, it was made a commandment unto

the Saints. It is written here for our guidance, for our happiness and

advancement in every principle that pertains to {458} the kingdom of

God, in time and throughout eternity, and I pray you to observe it.

It will do you good; it will ennoble your souls; it will free your

thoughts and your hearts from the spirit of destruction; it will make

you feel like God, who sustains even the sparrow, that it does not

fall to the ground without his notice; it will bring you nearer to the

similitude of the Son of God, the Savior of the world, who healed the

sick, who made the lame to leap for joy, who restored hearing to the

deaf and sight to the blind, who distributed peace, joy, and comfort to

all with whom he came in contact, and who cured and destroyed nothing,

save it was the barren fig tree, and that was to show forth his power

more than anything else:

"'And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in

obedience to the commandments, shall receive health in their navel, and

marrow to their bones.

"'And shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden

treasures;

"'And shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint;

"'And I, the Lord, give unto them a promise, that the destroying angel

shall pass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them.'

(Doc. and Cov. 89:18-21.)

"Are these glorious promises not sufficient to induce us to observe

this Word of Wisdom? Is there not something here that is worthy our

attention? Are not 'great treasures' of knowledge, even 'hidden

treasures,' something to be desired? But when I see men and women

addicting themselves to the use of tea and coffee, or strong drinks, or

tobacco in any form, I say to myself, here are men and women who do not

appreciate the promise God has made unto them. They trample it under

their feet, and treat it as a thing of naught. They despise the word

of God, and go contrary to it in their actions. Then when affliction

overtakes them, they are almost ready to curse God, because he {459}

will not hear their prayers, and they are left to endure sickness and

pain.

"And among the least things that we should do is to keep the Word

of Wisdom. Brethren and sisters, do not be so weak! I recollect a

circumstance that occurred three years ago in a party that I was

traveling with. There were one or two who persisted in having their tea

and coffee at every place they stopped. I preached the Word of Wisdom

right along; but they said, 'What does it matter? Here is So-and-so,

who drinks tea and coffee.' Thus the act of one woman or one man

nullified not only all that I or my brethren said in relation to it,

but also the word of God itself. I said at one time, 'Oh, yes, you

say it is a good thing to drink a little tea or coffee, but the Lord

says it is not. Which shall I follow? The Lord says that if we will

observe the Word of Wisdom we shall have access to great treasures of

knowledge, and hidden treasures; we shall run and not be weary, we

shall walk and not faint; and the destroying angel shall pass us by, as

he did the children of Israel, and not slay us. But the class of men

of whom I speak say, in effect, 'We don't care what the Lord says or

promises, we will drink tea and coffee anyhow.' Such people will set a

bad example, no matter what others say or what God has said. They will

take the bits in their own mouths, and do as they please, regardless of

the effect upon the Saints. I say, out upon such practices! If I could

not travel with the people of God and observe the laws of God, I would

quit traveling. But if the Lord will give me strength to keep his word,

so that I can teach it conscientiously, from the heart as well as from

the lips, I will visit you, and labor with you, and plead with you. I

will pray for you and earnestly beseech you, my brethren and sisters,

especially the young men of Zion, to cease practicing these forbidden

things, and observe the laws of God, so that you can run and not be

weary, walk and not faint, {460} and have access to great treasures

of knowledge, hidden treasures, and every blessing that the Lord has

promised through obedience."--_Juvenile Instructor,_ Vol. 37, December,

1902, p. 721.

CAUTION TO MISSIONARIES. I am sorry to say it, but if these two

boys, recently drowned, had kept away from those rivers, where they

had no special duty, or calling, they would not have been drowned

as they were. I would like it to be understood by the presidents of

missions, and by the elders, that are out in the world, that it is not

a good thing, neither is it at all wise for our elders to go out on

excursions, on dangerous lakes, on streams, or bodies of water, just

for fun. They would better keep away. The Lord will protect them in

the discharge of their duty; and if they are more careful of their

health, there will not be so many of them become a prey to disease.

We know of some incidents that were the cause of the death of some of

our brethren who have passed away in the mission field. They lacked

caution. They did not exercise the best wisdom and judgment. They went

too far for their strength and were not as careful of themselves as

they ought to have been. I do not speak this to blame these brethren.

I have not the least doubt but they have done according to the best

wisdom they possessed; but there is such a thing as overdoing. A man

may fast and pray till he kills himself, and there isn't any necessity

for it; nor wisdom in it. I say to my brethren, when they are fasting,

and praying for the sick, and for those who need faith and prayer, do

not go beyond what is wise and prudent in fasting and prayer. The Lord

can hear a simple prayer offered in faith, in half a dozen words, and

he will recognize fasting that may not continue more than twenty-four

hours, just as readily and as effectually as he will answer a prayer of

a thousand words and fasting for a month. Now, remember it. I have in

mind elders now on missions, anxious to excel their {461} associates.

Each wants to get most "red marks" of credit, and so he will exert

himself beyond his strength; and it is unwise to do it. The Lord

will accept that which is enough, with a good deal more pleasure and

satisfaction than that which is too much and unnecessary. It is good

to be earnest, good to be diligent, to persevere, and to be faithful

all the time, but we may go to extremes in these things, when we do

not need to. The Word of Wisdom dictates that when we become weary we

should stop and rest. When we are threatened with exhaustion through

over exertion, wisdom would caution us to wait, to stop; not to take a

stimulant to urge us on to greater extremes, but go where we can retire

and rest and recuperate according to the laws of nature. That is the

best way to do.

Now, I do not blame my dear brethren who have met with death abroad;

yet, I wish that they could and would have escaped it.--_Oct. C. R.,_

1912, pp. 134-135.

HEALTH OF MISSIONARIES TO BE GUARDED. Presidents of all the missions

are under strict instructions from the Presidency of the Church to

guard carefully the health of the elders who are laboring under their

direction. These presidents of missions are also under instructions to

send home any and all elders whose health or whose other circumstances

may make it necessary for them to return.--_Oct. C. R.,_ 1904, p. 41.

MISSIONARIES IN ILL HEALTH. I would like to exhort the elders who are

upon missions, and those who shall go upon missions in the future,

not to allow the thoughts to enter their hearts that they will be

criticized or be made to suffer in their character or their standing in

the Church because their health will not permit them to fulfil a two

or three years' mission abroad. We would like them rather to feel in

themselves a wholesome aversion to coming home without having filled an

honorable mission, when their health and other conditions will permit

them to do so; and {462} if they have any reluctance about coming home

at all, before completing their missions, it should be based upon this

principle.--_Oct. C. R.,_ 1904, p. 42.

CARE OF RETURNED MISSIONARIES. It is also a good thing for the bishops

in all the wards to look after their returned missionaries. It is

a pity that after so many of our boys who go abroad and fill good

missions return home, they should be apparently dropped or ignored by

the presiding authorities of the Church and be permitted to drift away

again into carelessness and indifference, and eventually, perhaps, to

wander entirely away from their Church duties. They should be kept in

the harness, they should be made active in the work of the ministry, in

some way, that they may better keep the spirit of the gospel in their

minds and in their hearts and be useful at home as well as abroad.

There is no question as to the fact that missionary service is required

and is as necessary in Zion, or here at home, as it is abroad. Many

people seem to be careless with reference to the proper training

of their children. We see too many boys that are falling into very

careless, if not into pernicious, ways and habits. Every missionary boy

who returns from his mission full of faith and good desire should take

it upon himself to become a savior as far as possible of his young and

less experienced associates at home. When a returned missionary sees

a boy falling into bad ways and is becoming accustomed to bad habits,

he should feel that it is his duty to take hold of him, in connection

with the presiding authorities of the stake or of the ward in which

he lives, and exercise all the power and influence he can for the

salvation of that erring young man who has not the experience that our

elders abroad have had, and thus become a means of saving many and of

establishing them more firmly in the truth.--_Oct. C. R.,_ 1914, pp.

4-5.

{463} WORK FOR RETURNED MISSIONARIES. Returned missionaries ought to

be in demand where brave hearts, strong minds and willing hands are

wanted. The genius of the gospel is not that of negative goodness--mere

absence of what is bad; it stands for aggressive energy well directed,

for positive goodness--in short, for work.

We hear much of men who are specially gifted, of geniuses in the

world's affairs; and many of us force ourselves to think that we are

capable of little and therefore may as well take life easy, since we

do not belong to that favored class. True, not all are endowed with

the same gifts, nor is every one imbued with the strength of a giant;

yet every son and every daughter of God has received some talent, and

each will be held to strict account for the use or misuse to which it

is put. The spirit of genius is the spirit of hard work, plodding toil,

whole-souled devotion to the labor of the day.

Let no one think that any honorable labor is beneath him; harbor no

dislike for the work of the hands, but let the mind direct them in

skill and energy. The example set by our late beloved President Wilford

Woodruff has often been cited abroad, and held up for the admiration

and emulation of those who are not of us; it is that of most of the

leading men of our Church. Even in his old age he did his share of

physical toil, and rejoiced in his ability to "hoe his row" and hold

his own with his grandchildren on the farm.

"My son, be up and doing, and the Lord will be with thee."--_Juvenile

Instructor,_ Vol. 38, p. 689.

DUTY OF A PERSON CALLED ON A MISSION. When a man is called to go on a

mission, and a field of labor is assigned to him, he should, I think,

say in his heart, "Not my will be done, but thine, O Lord."--_Deseret

Weekly News,_ Vol. 33, 1884, p. 226.

{464}

CHAPTER XXI

FALSE TEACHINGS

THE DEVIL'S KNOWLEDGE. The devil knows the Father much better than

we. Lucifer, the son of the morning, knows Jesus Christ, the Son of

God, much better than we; but in him it is not and will not redound

to eternal life; for knowing, he yet rebels; knowing, he is yet

disobedient; he will not receive the truth; he will not abide in the

truth; hence he is perdition, and there is no salvation for him. The

same doctrine applies to me and to you and all the sons and daughters

of God who have judgment and knowledge and are able to reason between

cause and effect, and determine the right from the wrong, and the

good from the evil, and who are capable of seeing the light and

distinguishing it from the darkness. Then this is the gospel of Jesus

Christ, to know the only true and living God and his Son whom he has

sent into the world, which knowledge comes through obedience to all his

commandments, faith, repentance of sin, baptism by immersion for the

remission of sins, the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands

by divine authority, and not by the will of man.--_Apr. C. R.,_ 1916,

p. 4.

THE ENEMY OF TRUTH ALWAYS ARRAYED AGAINST THIS WORK. From the day that

the Prophet Joseph Smith first declared his vision until now, the

enemy of all righteousness, the enemy of truth, of virtue, of honor,

uprightness, and purity of life, the enemy of the only true God, the

enemy to direct revelation from God and to the inspirations that come

from the heavens to man has been arrayed against this work.--_Apr. C.

R.,_ 1909, p. 4.

WHY THE TRUTH IS HATED. Why should men be embittered against you

because of this, because of your belief in Joseph Smith? Why should

they become your enemies {465} because you declare your faith in a

new revelation from the Father and from the Son to mankind for their

guidance? Why should they? Let me tell you why: for the very same

reason precisely that the embittered and unbelieving Pharisees and

hypocrites of the Savior's time persecuted the Redeemer of earth,

for the very reason that they later put to death the disciples of

Jesus Christ, whom he ordained as apostles and as special witnesses

of himself, who bore testimony of him and of the gospel to all the

nations of the earth. They put them to death one by one, some of them

in the most cruel manner, simply because they preached Jesus Christ,

and him crucified and risen from the dead, and ascended into heaven,

and sitting with all glory and power and majesty and might at the right

hand of his Father, God. The world felt injured by it. Why? Because it

laid the ax at the root of the tree of error, of superstition, and of

tradition, of lack of faith, and unbelief. It laid the ax at the root

of the tree of wickedness, in the world, and of ignorance of God and

his principles, and the plan of life and salvation, and the world hated

the disciples because of it, and they hated the Son of God because of

it, and they crucified him. They hated the disciples because of it,

and they put them to death. That is why they hate you, for the same

reason; that is, those who do hate you, those who have exercised their

power, their will and their thoughts or minds sufficiently to be imbued

with the spirit of persecution and hatred against the light and the

truth.--_Oct. C. R.,_ 1911, p. 5.

ONLY THOSE WHO DENY THE FAITH CONTEND. You find the spirit of

contention only among apostates and those who have denied the faith,

those who have turned away from the truth and have become enemies

to God and his work. There you will find the spirit of contention,

the spirit of strife. There you will find them wanting to "argue the

question," and to dispute with you all the time. Their food, their

meat, and their drink is contention which is abominable {466} in the

sight of the Lord. We do not contend. We are not contentious, for if we

were we would grieve the Spirit of the Lord from us, just as apostates

do and have always done.--_Apr. C. R.,_ 1908, p. 7.

BEWARE OF FALSE TEACHERS. I know that this is the work of God, and he

is carrying it on. The honor of triumph over error, sin and injustice

will belong to God and not to you or me, or any other man. Some men

there will be who would limit the power of God to the power of men,

and we have some of these among us and they have been among our school

teachers. They would have you disbelieve the inspired accounts of the

Scriptures, that the winds and the waves are subject to the power of

God; and believe the claim of the Savior to cast out devils, raise the

dead, or perform miraculous things, such as cleansing the leper, is

only a myth. They would make you believe that God and his Son Jesus

Christ did not appear in person to Joseph Smith, that this was simply

a myth, but we know better; the testimony of the Spirit has testified

that this is the truth. And I say, beware of men who come to you with

heresies that things come by laws of nature of themselves, and that

God is without power. I am thankful that men who make such claims

are few in number in the world, and I hope they will become fewer

still.--_Logan Journal,_ April 7, 1914.

WHERE TO EXPECT FALSE DOCTRINE. Among the Latter-day Saints, the

preaching of false doctrines disguised as truths of the gospel, may be

expected from people of two classes, and practically from these only;

they are:

First--The hopelessly ignorant, whose lack of intelligence is due

to their indolence and sloth, who make but feeble effort, if indeed

any at all, to better themselves by reading and study; those who are

afflicted with a dread disease that may develop into an incurable

malady--laziness.

Second--The proud and self-vaunting ones, who read by {467} the lamp of

their own conceit; who interpret by rules of their own contriving; who

have become a law unto themselves, and so pose as the sole judges of

their own doings. More dangerously ignorant than the first.

Beware of the lazy and the proud; their infection in each case is

contagious; better for them and for all when they are compelled to

display the yellow flag of warning, that the clean and uninfected may

be protected.--_Juvenile Instructor,_ Vol. 41, p. 178.

KNOWLEDGE: OF SIN UNNECESSARY. It has been very wisely said that "the

knowledge of sin tempteth to its commission."

It has been said that now and then the morbid curiosity of a missionary

leads him into questionable places, and the only excuse he has for

visiting these dens of vice is that he would like to see the shady

side of life in some of our great cities that he may know thereof for

himself. He wants to see "Paris by night" in order that he may know

something of the actual life of vast numbers of his fellowmen. Such

knowledge can have no beneficial effect upon the thoughts or feelings

of the missionary who seeks it. It does not strengthen him in the

duties of his calling. It is a peculiar sort of knowledge that is

enticing to the feelings and imaginations, and tends in some measure to

degrade the soul.

It is not necessary that our young people should know of the wickedness

carried on in any place. Such knowledge is not elevating, and it is

quite likely that more than one young man can trace the first step of

his downfall to a curiosity which led him into questionable places. Let

the young men of Zion, whether they be on missions or whether they be

at home, shun all dens of infamy. It is not necessary that they should

know what is going on in such places. No man is better or stronger for

such knowledge. Let them remember that "the knowledge of sin tempteth

to its commission," and then avoid those temptations that in time to

come may {468} threaten their virtue and their standing in the Church

of Christ.--_Juvenile Instructor,_ Vol. 37, May, 1902, p. 304.

RETREAT FROM EVIL. Sometimes in life, we are brought face to face with

an enemy whose evil ways are beyond our power of combat, a victory

over which cannot be hoped for. There is only one escape from moral

annihilation and that is in retreat. The man with accumulated and

unforgiven wrong behind him may find all retreat cut off and his

condition in the world hopeless; and he who recklessly cuts off every

opportunity of retreat by the neglected evils of the past is most

unfortunate.

The daily practice, then, of seeking divine mercy and forgiveness as

we go along, gives us power to escape evils, that can be overcome only

by a safe retreat from them.--_Juvenile Instructor,_ Vol. 44, August,

1909, p. 339.

THE LAW OF RECOMPENSE. Let me impress it upon you that one never

can hold quite the same relation to a law of God which he has

transgressed, as if one has lived in conformity with its requirements.

It is unreasonable to expect it, and contrary to the laws of nature

to conclude that you can. If a person has determined that sin can

easily be wiped out, and hence, that he will enjoy unlawful pleasures

in youth, repenting in later life, with an idea in his mind that

repentance will blot out completely the results of his sin and

debauchery, and place him on a level with his fellow who has kept in

virtue the commandments, from the beginning--time will wake him up

to his serious and great mistake. He may and will be forgiven, if he

repent; the blood of Christ will make him free, and will wash him

clean, though his sins be as scarlet; but all this will not return to

him any loss sustained, nor place him on an equal footing with his

neighbor who has kept the commandments of the better law. Nor will

it place him in the position where he would have been, had he not

committed wrong. He has lost something which can never be regained,

notwithstanding the perfection, the {469} loving mercy, the kindness

and forgiveness of the Lord God.--_Improvement Era,_ Vol. 7, January,

1904, p. 225.

SYMPATHY WITH CRIMINALS. There is a deplorable tendency among the

people of this nation to sympathize with murderers, bank defaulters,

evil adventurers, and a hundred other classes of criminals who are at

large or who have been arrested or convicted for breaking the law.

Such a tendency is not alone manifest among the people of the various

states and territories of our nation, it is also apparent among the

Latter-day Saints. This sympathy for criminals is entirely abnormal,

and has a tendency to lower and destroy the moral sentiment of any

people who indulge in it. For a Latter-day Saint to sympathize either

with crime or with criminals, is a burning shame, and it is high

time that the teachers of the community should stem such tendency

and inculcate a sentiment that would make it extremely abhorrent to

commit crime. Young men may please God by thinking right, by acting

right, by shunning, as they would destruction, not only every crime,

but the spirit either to see or sympathize with the criminal, or to

hear or read the details of his damnable acts. It is an old saying,

that we are what we think; then, to be a good Latter-day Saint it is

necessary to think pure thoughts, to imbibe pure ideas, and to let the

mind dwell continually upon the noble things, and the good deeds, and

the exalted thoughts of life, discarding all sympathy or interest for

crime and criminals, and all thought of evil. The man or woman who

will resort to the court room, who will visit criminals with flowers,

who will read and constantly discuss every detail of crime, should be

condemned, frowned upon, and their actions should be made detestable in

the eyes of the pure in heart. When a murderer is condemned, he should

be detested, dropped, and forgotten; and so also should criminals of

other classes who sin grievously against law and the commandments of

God.--_Improvement Era,_ Vol. 5, August, 1902, p. 803.

{470} THE CRIME OF WITCHCRAFT AND OTHER SUPERSTITIONS. After all the

horrors, persecutions, and cruelties that have been brought about by

the senseless belief in witchcraft, it seems strange in this age of

enlightenment that men or women, especially those who have received

the gospel, can be found anywhere who believe in such a pernicious

superstition. The Bible and history alike conclusively brand this

superstition as a child of evil. In ancient times, God required the

Israelites to drive the Canaanites from their land, and witchcraft was

one of the crimes which he laid at the door of the Canaanites, and for

which they were adjudged unworthy of the land which they possessed.

Witchcraft has not infrequently been the last resort of the evil doer.

Men bereft of the Spirit of God, when the voice of the Lord has ceased

to warn them, have frequently resorted to witchcraft, in the endeavor

to learn that which Heaven withheld; and the people of God from very

early days to the present have been troubled with superstitious and

evil-minded persons who have resorted to divination and kindred devices

for selfish purposes, and scheming designs. In the middle ages it

rested like a nightmare upon all Christendom.

Let it not be forgotten that the evil one has great power in the earth,

and that by every possible means he seeks to darken the minds of men,

and then offers them falsehood and deception in the guise of truth.

Satan is a skilful imitator, and as genuine gospel truth is given the

world in ever-increasing abundance, so he spreads the counterfeit coin

of false doctrine. Beware of his spurious currency, it will purchase

for you nothing but disappointment, misery and spiritual death. The

"father of lies" he has been called, and such an adept has he become,

through the ages of practice in his nefarious work, that were it

possible he would deceive the very elect.

Those who turn to soothsayers and wizards for their {471} information

are invariably weakening their faith. When men began to forget the God

of their fathers who had declared himself in Eden and subsequently to

the later patriarchs, they accepted the devil's substitute and made for

themselves gods of wood and stone. It was thus that the abominations of

idolatry had their origin.

The gifts of the Spirit and the powers of the holy priesthood are

of God, they are given for the blessing of the people, for their

encouragement, and for the strengthening of their faith. This Satan

knows full well, therefore he seeks by imitation--miracles to blind

and deceive the children of God. Remember what the magicians of Egypt

accomplished in their efforts to deceive Pharaoh as to the divinity of

the mission of Moses and Aaron. John the Revelator saw in vision the

miracle--working power of the evil one. Note his words. "And I beheld

another beast coming up out of the earth; * * * and he doeth great

wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in

the sight of men. And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth, by the

means of those miracles," etc. (Rev. 13:11-14.) Further, John saw three

unclean spirits whom he describes as "the spirits of devils, working

miracles." (Rev. 16:13-14.)

That the power to work wonders may come from an evil source is declared

by Christ in his prophecy regarding the great judgment: "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." (Matt. 7:22-23.)

The danger and power for evil in witchcraft is not so much in the

witchcraft itself as in the foolish credulence that superstitious

people give to the claims made in its behalf. It is outrageous to

believe that the devil can hurt or injure an innocent man or woman,

especially if they are members of the Church of Christ--without that

man or woman has faith {472} that he or she can be harmed by such an

influence and by such means. If they entertain such an idea, then they

are liable to succumb to their own superstitions. There is no power in

witchcraft itself, only as it is believed in and accepted.--_Juvenile

Instructor,_ Vol. 37, p. 560.

SUPERSTITIOUS PRACTICES. It is needless to assert that to those who

are intelligent, and not bound by old notions and superstitions, there

is no truth in what people call witchcraft. Men and women who come

under the influence of a belief therein are bewitched by their own

foolishness, and are led astray by pretenders and mischief-makers who

"peep and mutter." It is really astonishing that there should be any to

believe in these absurdities. No man or woman who enjoys the Spirit of

God and the influence and power of the holy priesthood can believe in

these superstitious notions, and those who do, will lose, indeed have

lost, the influence of the Spirit of God and of the priesthood, and are

become subject to the witchery of Satan, who is constantly striving to

draw away the Saints from the true way, if not by the dissemination of

such nonsense, then by other insidious methods.

One individual can not place an affliction upon another in the way

that these soothsayers would have the people believe. It is a trick of

Satan to deceive men and women, and to draw them away from the Church

and from the influence of the Spirit of God, and the power of his

holy priesthood, that they may be destroyed. These peepstone-men and

women are inspired by the devil, and are the real witches, if any such

there be. Witchcraft, and all kindred evils, are solely the creations

of the superstitious imaginations of men and women who are steeped

in ignorance, and derive their power over people from the devil, and

those who submit to this influence are deceived by him. Unless they

repent, they will be destroyed. There is absolutely no possibility for

a person who enjoys the Holy Spirit of God {473} to even believe that

such influences can have any effect upon him. The enjoyment of the Holy

Spirit is absolute proof against all influences of evil; you never can

obtain that Spirit by seeking diviners, and men and women who "peep

and mutter." That is obtained by imposition of hands by the servants

of God, and retained by right living. If you have lost it, repent and

return to God, and for your salvation's sake and for the sake of your

children, avoid the emissaries of Satan who "peep and mutter" and who

would lead you down to darkness and death.

It is impossible for anyone possessing the spirit of the gospel and

having the power of the holy priesthood to believe in or be influenced

by any power of necromancy.--_Improvement Era,_ Vol. 5, September,

1902, pp. 896-899.

THE MESSIAH CRAZE. Your communication has been received. In response,

I send you a few of my reflections on the subject of the so-called

"Messiah craze" among the Lamanites.

Just what these manifestations have been is a matter of some doubt,

in my mind, not as to their evident purpose, judging from the many

newspaper reports of the main features of the manifestations so much

talked about, for it seems clear that the purpose or object thereof

has been to awaken in the benighted minds of these degenerate people a

belief and faith in and ultimately a knowledge of a crucified and risen

Redeemer, and the righteous precepts which he taught.

That God will manifest his purposes to the Lamanites in his own time

and way there can be no doubt in the minds of those who believe in the

divine origin of the Book of Mormon--for in that book this fact is made

unmistakably clear, but just how he will do so in every particular,

and just what agencies he will use to bring about his purposes in

this regard, may be matters of conjecture beyond what has actually

been revealed. One of the agencies, we {474} know will be the Book

of Mormon itself. Through the medium of the holy priesthood, which

has been restored to the earth in these latter times, God will also

operate to accomplish his will. So far, however, but little of good

has been effected through either of these channels, on account of the

extremely benighted condition of the minds, and the wild nomadic habits

of the red men. And for many other sufficient reasons they have not

been susceptible to the impressions of the Holy Spirit, nor capable of

rising to the comprehension of its power.

The time had not come, and is not yet come, for them to receive the

message and the work bequeathed them by their fathers, as designed

of God--but the time will come, and may be nearer at hand than many

anticipate. That these supernatural manifestations, if they indeed are

such, indicate the beginning of that time may without inconsistency be

believed. To suppose that the work will be accomplished in a day--or in

any very brief period--would be folly. God has not heretofore worked,

nor will he be likely to so work among this remnant of his people.

Their fall and degradation came slowly, by degrees, and in like manner

will their redemption, doubtless, come to pass. Yet he will cut his

work short in righteousness, and it behooves the Saints always to be

ready.

That the Lord will hasten their enlightenment by means of dreams,

visions, and heavenly manifestations, when the time shall come, and

that holy messengers may appear to them from time to time, and that

among them shall yet be inspired men of God raised up as teachers to

instruct them in the truth, we cannot doubt, for these things have been

promised in the last times both in the Book of Mormon and in the Bible,

and also in the revelations to Joseph Smith the prophet. But all these

things will come to pass as God has determined, in his own time and

way. And blessed will he be who shall be worthy to bear the message of

good tidings {475} and the offering of peace, the word of God and the

means of redemption to the seed of Joseph, to whom the promises are

made, and woe to him who shall despise and scoff in the day of God's

power.

With reference to who the personage is (one or more) who is claimed

by the Lamanites to have visited them, there appears to me to be room

for grave doubts. From all the reports I have seen upon this subject,

it is not at all conclusive to my mind that he was indeed the Messiah.

Upon this point we must consider the sources of our information; it

has come to us second handed, through interpreters and writers whose

knowledge of the Lamanitish tongues may or may not be very imperfect,

who have absolutely no knowledge of the ancient history of the race,

and of the purposes and promises of God concerning them. That they

know the scriptural account of Jesus, the Son of God, his crucifixion,

resurrection, and ascension on high, with the promise to come again in

like manner as he ascended, and this only, we need not question, but

knowing only this and nothing more respecting this matter, they might

easily be misled by the reports coming from persons far removed from

the actual witnesses.