Patriarch Hyrum G. Smith.
Testimony that the Lord is pleased with His Church officials--Duty of Church members to marry in the Temple--Man and wife should be of same religious faith--Observance of Word of Wisdom enjoined--Wonders of sound transmission--Blessings invoked upon the Church and its members.
My brethren and sisters, I am grateful for the privilege of standing before you for a few moments. I know that this is the work of the Lord, and I am very grateful to Him for the experiences I have received in His service during my visits throughout the Stakes of Zion; I have visited nearly all of them during the last three and a half years. I have made a number of observations, and have learned that the Lord is pleased with those who preside over the Church, those whom He has honored to hold responsible positions, who have been referred to in this conference as the General Authorities of the Church, including the presidencies of stakes of Zion, high councilors, the bishoprics of wards, and many others who bear the Holy Priesthood. This is my testimony, the Spirit of the Lord is with them wherever they are called to labor, even from the greatest down to the least.
The blessings of the Lord are with this people, yet in spite of this condition there are a few things existing in our midst with which the Lord is not pleased. I have noticed this particularly among some of our young people. Our young people are choice, they are the sons and daughters of Israel, the chosen blood of Ephraim, upon whom responsibility rests in this age. The thing to which I specially refer that is not pleasing in the sight of the Lord, nor to our faithful fathers and mothers in Israel, is the fact that too many of our boys and girls, choice young men and women, are not availing themselves of the blessings of the Lord as administered in the Holy Temples. To the Latter-day Saints, the Lord has given His law, which provides that if they abide not by it, there will come a time when there will be weeping and wailing, distress and sorrow, and we do not have to wait until after death, either, because we see these conditions in this life, because of our disobedience, and because of the fact that altogether too many of our young people, when they marry, accept the laws of the land only, and not the laws of God, both of which are legal and lawful as far as this life is concerned, but only the laws of God are valid after death. This conduct on the part of many of our young people, to marry outside the Temples, or to marry those not of their own faith is not pleasing in the sight of the Lord. I counsel my brothers and sisters, particularly those who are born and raised in the Church, to avail themselves of the blessings of the House of the Lord; and, if they are not now prepared to do this, that they humble themselves and repent, and prepare to live worthy of the teachings of their faithful parents.
Very much has been said in this conference about the Word of Wisdom. I believe that the time has passed when the Lord will look upon us as a people, or as individuals, and, as was said anciently, will wink at our failings and weaknesses. I believe that the Lord expects the youths of Israel today to live clean and pure lives, and leave alone the things which He has said are not good for us. My exhortation to the youths of Israel today, and to the parents in Israel, that we should obey the laws of the Lord, and abstain from the things which He has said are not good for us, repent of our present failings, and live hereafter in accordance with the laws of God. Let the youths of Israel secure their blessings in the House of the Lord, that their future generations may not condemn and censure them for having neglected their privileges as fathers and mothers.
I am thankful for the blessings of the House of the Lord, and I thank the Lord for my present standing in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I know that the Lord lives and that He will hear and answer our prayers. As a people, our prayers will be answered if we will humble ourselves and call upon the Lord in faith. We are living in an age when developments in the scientific world are bringing forth many valuable lessons. There are many good men and women in the world who do not humble themselves in prayer because they cannot see and understand the philosophy of it, they cannot reason it out in their own minds. Some of those who possess bright minds have invented and manufactured apparatus with which they can send the human voice across the continent, or ocean, thousands of miles, even without the use of wires, but yet individuals of such intellectual ability do not humble themselves sufficiently to admit that in the human mind there is an apparatus which has the power, if operated in obedience to the laws of God, to send the human voice into the heavens. This is a force which the world's scientists do not understand at present; but, as Latter-day Saints, we have been praying to our Father in heaven for many years, and have learned that our prayers will be answered as long as we keep our minds in tune with the Spirit of the Lord. The key-note to it all is humility and faith. I pray that the Lord will bless us with faith to understand and appreciate the plainness of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and render obedience to it. May we comprehend the revelations, live by them, and teach them to our children that they also may live by them. May the youths of Israel be valiant in defense of the truth and live worthy to receive the promised blessings.
By virtue of my calling, I bless this people, the Latter-day Saints in all the world. May God bless all Israel; bless the choice youths of Israel that they may have confidence in their parents' teachings, and listen to them with honor and respect. May we not turn away from sacred things, and laugh or scoff at them, but may we have in our minds respect and reverence for sacred things and sacred rites, that the Lord may not withhold His blessings from us. I pray the blessings of the Lord upon you, and upon the Church from first to last. all the faithful in the House of Israel, gathered and scattered, that the time may speedily come, my brethren and sisters, when the purposes of the Lord shall be accomplished in the earth. May we think seriously of the sacred things of life, and not turn away from the laws of God nor the blessings promised to the children of Israel in these the last days. I pray our Father's blessings upon us all in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
"God bless our mountain home," a duet and chorus, was rendered by Sarah L. Wood, James Moncarr and the choir.
Elder Rey L. Pratt offered the closing prayer.
Conference adjourned until Sunday, April 9th, at 10 a. m.
Third Day
Morning Session
Conference was resumed in the Tabernacle, at 10 a. m., Sunday, April 9th;. President Joseph F. Smith presiding.
President Smith announced an overflow meeting to be held this a. m., in the adjoining Assembly Hall, under direction of Elder Heber J. Grant, for the benefit of those who cannot be accommodated in the Tabernacle, now overcrowded.
The choir and congregation sang the hymn, "Now let us rejoice in the day of salvation."
Prayer was offered by Elder John A. Elison.
The male members of the choir sang the hymn, "See, the mighty angel flying."