Elder Reed Smoot

I have enjoyed the spirit of this conference greatly. I thank my heavenly Father for the privilege I have had of listening to the wonderful testimonies that have been borne, and the explanation of the sayings of the Savior, and the revelations of our heavenly Father. And I, like every one who has attended the conference, without a doubt in our minds, feel that the present conference is among the best conferences ever held by the Church.

I have not the time to take up any special subject as the adjournment hour is nearly at hand.

Baptism for the Dead

Yesterday I asked Hon. Albert J. Beveridge of Indiana, to attend the afternoon session of our conference. We came into the temple block by the east gate, and as we walked down the path towards the tabernacle, he stopped and looked at the temple. He asked when the "Mormon" people began to build this magnificent structure. I told him the erection of the building was begun in the year 1853, long before there was a railroad in this country, and at a time when the people had very little of this world's goods. I called his attention to the fact that the building of the temple was an evidence of the faithfulness and loyalty of the people to the work established by God in this dispensation. It did not take so much ready money, but it did take a spirit of determination and sacrifice that could only come through a knowledge that they were working in the service of God. Said he, "What do they use the temple for?" I told him of the sacred ordinances of baptism for the dead; I told him of the eternal marriage covenant, and that our people believed in both, and the vicarious work that was preached by the apostles of old was attended to in our temples. He said, "What do you mean by baptism for the dead?" Said I, "Senator Beveridge, we mean this, that we are carrying out the same instructions in regard to this wonderful principle as taught in the days of the Savior and his ancient apostles. referred him to Paul's letter to the Corinthians. And he said, "That is wonderful. Are there any other churches in all the world today that preach and practice it?" "No." "Well, tell me the operation." I said, "Suppose my great- grandfather had lived at a time (which he did) before the gospel, as revealed in this dispensation, had ever been preached, or a testimony of an elder of the Church had ever been heard; some relative can be baptized for him. And that is a great part of the work that is done in the temple."

Impressiveness of the Laie Temple and Grounds

My brethren and sisters, the world will yet understand the work in our temples in carrying out the revelations and teaching of the Master; and sometime in the near future it will be a potent power to bring the people not only to an investigation of the gospel, but it will bring them to a realization that it is of God.

I had an experience upon the boat not long ago in coming from Honolulu. I have not the time to go into it, but it was with a minister of the gospel telling me that I could find nowhere in the Bible that he believed in or taught from a reference to the principle of baptism for the dead. This conversation was the result of his recent visit to the Hawaiian Islands, and in his drive around the Island of Oahu, he had visited the temple grounds at Laie. And, my brethren and sisters, there have been few visitors to that island since the completion of the temple, and I doubt ever will be, but who will stand in front of that magnificent building, that wonderful approach to the house of the Lord, and receive an impression of the sincerity at least, if not the knowledge, of this people, in temple work.

President Joseph F. Smith's Dedication of the Temple Site

Five years ago I had the privilege of going with President Smith and Bishop Nibley to the Hawaiian Islands. Somehow or other, my heart goes out to those people. They are of the blood of Israel, and the faith spoken of by Brother Wood as found in the people of Samoa is enjoyed by the natives of the Hawaiian Islands, where the power and manifestation of God have been shown among that people attended a gathering of the people at Laie in honor of President Smith, in June, 1915. At the close of the exercises, President Smith came to me and said, "Reed, I want you to take a walk with me." And as we went out of the door, he said to Bishop Nibley, "I wish you would accompany us." I never saw a more beautiful night in all my life; the surroundings were perfect. You who have been at Laie know the surroundings; all nature smiles. We walked toward the meetinghouse. Nothing was said of what we were going for until we stood at the back of the meetinghouse, and President Smith then said: "Brethren, this is the birthday of President Brigham Young, June 1, 1915. I feel impressed to dedicate this ground for the erection of a temple to God, for a place where the peoples of the Pacific Isles can come and do their temple work. I have not presented this to the Council of the Twelve or to my counselors; but if you think there would be no objection to it, I think now is the time to dedicate the ground." I have heard President Smith pray hundreds of times. He has thrilled my soul many times with his wonderful spirit of prayer and his supplications to our heavenly Father. But never in all my life did I hear such a prayer. The very ground seemed to be sacred, and he seemed as if he were talking face to face with the Father. I cannot and never will forget it if I lived a thousand years. Five years, and the temple was completed and dedicated, and it is a marvelous building of beauty and loveliness, as every one who will visit it will see.

Love of the Natives for President Joseph F. Smith

It was on the Island of Maui that God spoke to President George Q. Cannon. Our heavenly Father told him where to go, the very house to enter, and there he would find a man who would receive him. And it was on those islands that he, as a young man, was given the language by the power of God. And it was on those islands that President Joseph F. Smith began his missionary work.

Talk about people loving a man! I do not believe it is possible for human beings to love a man more than did the natives of the islands love President Joseph F. Smith. Five years ago when he landed at Honolulu, on his arrival at the mission house, there stood in the front door President Smith's native "mamma," blind, but oh, what a greeting there was. No mother and son ever met with greater manifestations of love for each other.

Temple building, temple work, salvation for our dead and salvation for ourselves have just begun; the ninth temple is about to be erected in Arizona. I look to see the time when temples will be erected in all parts of the world, and the peoples of the world will understand that this wonderful principle revealed again to the Prophet Joseph is given for the world's salvation.

Who Are the Native Hawaiians?

I said these people were of the blood of Israel. I don't think there is any question about that. They are the direct descendants of Lehi. When I was in Honolulu a little while ago, there was a great conference being held considering the question of where the natives of the islands came from and who they were. I have no doubt they drifted from America. We do know this, that not long ago the government of the United States, in order to determine how the trade winds affected navigation took a bottle and outside of the Golden Gate dropped it into the ocean; and inside of the bottle was a note asking the person finding the bottle to notify the government at Washington, the time and place. Twenty days after the dropping of the bottle into the ocean, outside of the Golden Gate, the bottle was picked up on the shores of Laie, the home of the "Mormon" people. Oh, I have heard President Smith tell those people that Laie should forever be a refuge for the natives of those islands. I have heard him dedicate the ground for that purpose, and I believe it was given by our Father to those people for that very purpose.

Strange, folks say, that one hundred years or more ago, when each of those islands had a king, it was definitely understood by every king over the different islands, and it was lived up to strictly, that whenever a native of any of the islands reached Laie, the place of refuge, there was no power that could remove him from there. Laie was the natives' place of refuge in years past, and today it is the home of the natives belonging to our Church.

May God bless us in our labors, I ask, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

The choir sang, "The sunset glories of the west."

Benediction was pronounced by Elder Andrew Jenson, Assistant Church Historian.