President Joseph F. Smith.

Closing Address-Knowledge of Gospel principles most essential for missionary service-Other missionary requisites, are, love and humility-First Presidency annoyed by unnecessary questions-Indignant repudiation of false statement concerning attitude on prohibition-Saints advised to endeavor to perfect their lives-Importance of teachers' duties-The Saints enjoined to pray.

I want to read a passage of the scripture which will apply not only to the Seventies but to all the Saints:

"Wherefore, honest men, and wise men should be sought for diligently, and good men and wise men, ye should observe to uphold; otherwise whatsoever is less than these cometh of evil.

"And I give unto you a commandment, that ye shall forsake all evil and cleave unto all good, that' ye shall live by every word which proceedeth forth out of the mouth of God;

"For He will give unto the faithful line upon line, precept upon precept; and I will try you and prove you herewith:

"And whoso layeth down his life in my cause, for My name's sake, shall find it again, even life eternal;

"Therefore be not afraid of your enemies, for I have decreed in My heart, sayeth the Lord, that I will prove you in all things, whether you will abide in My covenant, even unto death, that you may be found worthy;

"For if ye will not abide in My covenant, ye are not worthy of Me."

I think that this passage of scripture opens to us a vast field and subject for thought and reflection, for research, and careful attention. I believe in all the words that have been spoken by the Holy Prophets concerning the dispensation of the fulness of times and the establishment of the kingdom of God in the earth. I believe it is good to seek knowledge out of the best books, to learn the histories of nations, to be able to comprehend the purposes of God with reference to the nations of the earth; and I believe that one of the most important things and perhaps more important to us than studying the history of the world, is that we study and become thoroughly acquainted with the principles of the Gospel, that they may be established in our hearts and souls, above all other things, to qualify us to go out into the world to preach and teach them. We may know all about the philosophy of the ages and the history of the nations of the earth: we may study the wisdom and knowledge of man and get all the information that we can acquire in a lifetime of research and study, but all of it put together will never qualify any one to become a minister of the Gospel unless he has the knowledge and spirit of the first principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Another thing-one of the indispensible 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 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 hand 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. It is surprising to hear the multitude of questions that are continuously sent to the Presidency of the Church, and to others of my brethren who are in leading positions, for information upon some of the most simple things that pertain to the Gospel. Hundreds of questions, communications, and letters are sent to us from time to time asking information and instruction on matters that are so plainly written in the revelations of God-contained in the Book of Mormon, the D&C, the Pearl of Great Price, and the Bible-it seems that any one who can read should understand. Why Elders and Bishops and missionaries should be under the necessity of writing to inquire about many of these things is mysterious to me. They have the books and other sources of information within their reach; they should have every facility to acquire the knowledge that is necessary to fit them for their duties, if they will only pay attention to them; but they don't always do it. Some people seem to like to ask questions. I have been so bored at times with questioners that I have said to them: "Answer your own questions yourselves and submit them to me, and I will tell you whether you are right or wrong, as near as I can. But if we were to devote ourselves to answering questions that the Bishop should answer for the people, and attend to duties that should be attended to by the Teachers in the wards, we would have very little time for doing anything else. When the brethren and sisters want to know anything about temple work, about the ordinances, about the precepts and principles of the Gospel or the obligations of members in the Church, let them go to their Bishops and find out; and, if the Bishops can't inform them, let them go to the presidents of their stakes, and let the president of the stake and his counselors and the Bishop and his counselors get together, if necessary, and answer the question. Then if they are not satisfied about it let them appeal to the Presidency of the Church or to the Twelve, or the Seventy or Presiding Bishopric as the case may require, and possibly we may help you out.

There is a disposition-I feel almost indignant to refer to it at all, but I am led to believe that there is a feeling and disposition on the part of some of our brethren to misconstrue my position, my feeling and my desire with reference to the temperance question. I thought I expressed myself here last night as plainly as a man could do it, and yet the very remarks that I made here last evening, before the priest-hood meeting, have been, I am told, so misinterpreted and misconstrued that I am beset to know what I meant, and as Brother Golden said: "I am going to tell you something." I started out in this ministry in 1854, a boy of fifteen years of age. From that hour until now I have never relented nor relaxed, one moment, in my advocacy of abstinence from strong drink, and my advocacy of temperance and prohibition, wherever prohibition can be effected; I believe in it. I believe that the time will come and that it is close by, when the people of this state will have to join in the procession of other states and adopt a law of state-wide prohibition; I believe the time will come when they will be forced to do it, to keep in line with the other states in the Union.

I am delighted with the effort that is being put forth in Great Britain-the motherland and the fatherland of many of the Latter-day Saints, and one of the most fruitful nurseries of the Church, where people have been let loose to indulge in drunkenness, to wallow in the debasing evils of the "public house," the "beer shop" and to indulge in every species of licentiousness which leads to degradation and poverty. Many of the mayors of the great boroughs and cities are principal owners of the ale houses, and dispensaries of intoxicating drinks. Now the authorities of that great nation, the leaders of the people are waking up to these monstrous evils and are setting to work with a will and a determination to establish temperance in that land. It will be the salvation of our mother country, if they will only do it as Russia has done it. I propose to continue to preach abstinence and to advocate the cause of temperance; I not only believe in and will advocate this, but I will also advocate and strive to the best of my ability to use every opportunity or power within my reach for prohibition, in wisdom, and not in unwisdom. If I go to any extreme at all, in any matter, I hope it will be in the cause of justice, truth, temperance, righteousness and honesty of life and purpose. I may get extreme in matters of that kind, but I may not be so extreme as some people are in questions of policy.

I have enjoyed the spirit of our conference. I feel that we have been blessed in our assemblies; that much has been said of a very important and precious character to us, and I sincerely hope that the spirit of the conference will abide with us, will go With us to our homes, and that we will be able to continue to build on the foundations of the Gospel of the Son of God until we become perfect even as our Father in heaven is perfect, according to the sphere and intelligence that we act in and possess. I do not expect that any of us will ever become in mortality quite so perfect as God is perfect; but in the spheres in which we are called to act, and according to the capacity and breadth of intelligence that we possess, in our sphere and in the exercise of the talent, the ability and intelligence that God has given to us, we may become as perfect in our sphere as God is perfect in His higher and more exalted sphere. I believe that.

Now may the Lord bless Israel. May He bless our presiding Patriarch, who will give us a parting blessing in the adjournment of this conference. May the Lord bless the presidents of the stakes of Zion and their counselors, and the high councils of the stakes, and the Bishops and their counselors, and all who are called to act in the very important callings as teachers among the people. I don't know of any duty that is more sacred, or more necessary, if it is carried out as it should be, than the duties of the teachers who visit the homes of the people, who pray with them, who admonish them to virtue and honor, to unity, to love, and to faith in and fidelity to the cause of Zion; who strive to settle uncertainties in the minds of the people and bring them to the standard of the knowledge that they should possess in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. May all the people open their doors, call in the members of their families and respect the visits of the teachers to their homes, and join with them in striving to bring about a better condition, if possible, in the home than ordinarily exists. If you can advance, try to aid the teachers to help you make that advancement.

May God bless Israel in all her abidings. Remember our Elders who are laboring throughout the nations of the earth, in your prayers; and remember your prayers, for the Lord has enjoined it upon us that we shall pray, morning and evening. And the prophets of the Book of Mormon have enjoined upon us that we should carry with us always the spirit of prayer in our hearts, morning, noon and night, and that we should pray for the blessings of the Lord upon our families, our farms, our flocks, our herds, our business, and everything that we possess in the world. Do not forget to pray. Don't suppose for a moment that you are as safe and secure in the favor of the Lord when you feel independent of Him as you will be if you feel your dependence upon Him all the day long. God bless you. Amen.

The congregation sang the hymn:

We thank Thee, O God for a Prophet,
To guide us in these latter days;
We thank Thee for sending the gospel
To lighten our minds with its rays.