Elder Andrew Jenson.

(Assistant Historian.)

The remarks made in the morning session of the conference today by Elder Orson F. Whitney, in which he referred to the testimony of the late Anson Call, and the testimonies that we have listened to from Elder John R. Young, in this meeting, have suggested to me the following paragraph contained in the Book of Mormon, written at the time that Christ was manifesting Himself in person upon this continent:

"And when Nephi had brought forth the records, and laid them before him, he cast his eyes upon them and said,

"Verily I say unto you, I commanded my servant Samuel, the Lamanite, that he should testify unto this people, that at the day that the Father should glorify his name in me, that there were many saints who should arise from the dead, and should appear unto many, and should minister unto them, And he said unto them, were it not so?

"And his disciples answered him and said, Yea, Lord, Samuel did prophesy according to thy words, and they were all fulfilled.

"And Jesus said unto them, how be it that ye have not written this thing, that many saints did arise and appear unto many, and did minister unto them,

"And it came to pass that Nephi remembered that this thing had not been written.

"And it came to pass that Jesus commanded that it should be written; therefore it was written according as he commanded." (Three-Nephi 23:8-13.)

I desire, in this connection, to give expression to a thought: Brother Young is one of a few in this vast assembly who was acquainted with the Prophet Joseph Smith. The time will come, say in fifty years from now, that Saints who were acquainted with President Joseph F. Smith and his contemporaries will be as scarce as the men who were acquainted with the original Prophet, Joseph Smith, are now.

There are a great many events of modern times that have not been properly recorded. I want to draw attention to this fact, (as one of your historians), that a great number of our veterans have neglected, and are still neglecting to record such things as we have listened to with interest today. The testimony of Anson Call in regard to the Saints coming to these Rocky Mountains to become the mighty people they are today, is of great importance.

We have had just a little said about this great prophecy. We have known for many years that on the 6th of August, 1842, Joseph the Prophet made remarks of this kind, and just a few lines have been written in Church history concerning it, but as we have indeed become a mighty people in the Rocky Mountains, we want to know more about this important prediction which has been so literally and accurately fulfilled. A few lines are not sufficient to record a prophecy concerning such an event, if we can get any more. We do not want Anson Call's testimony only; we would like a hundred other witnesses, if that many were present and heard the Prophet's words on that memorable occasion. We want the testimony of all who heard the Prophet utter this important prophecy. We want their testimonies recorded in the interest of the many millions of people who by and by will be interested in the early days of this Church as well as in our day, and in all the days and years that have elapsed since Joseph Smith first began to receive revelations from on high. I want to draw attention to this fact, brethren and sisters, and state here in your hearing that many things are not recorded that ought to be recorded concerning the history of the Latter-day Saints.

At the Historian's Office, we have already compiled about four hundred volumes of Church history, each containing about six hundred closely typewritten pages, and we have made an estimate that if we compile and put into proper shape the historical matter which we have in sight at present we will have at least one thousand volumes (containing six hundred pages each) of Church history for the Nineteenth century alone. This compilation then will represent six hundred thousand pages of records pertaining to the history of the Latter-day Saints for that period of time. Of course a great deal of this vast amount of material may be as to details more or less important and interesting, but as works of reference for the benefit of those who shall live after us it will have incalculable value. The books are being prepared in such a way that we can add pages here and there. Hence, we can easily incorporate abe testimony of Elder John R. Young who has spoken to us here today, and we can add the testimony of as many others as desire to place themselves on record in regard to any important event which they may have witnessed in their experiences in life.

I am safe in stating that there are thousands of people in the midst of the Latter-day Saints who ought to make a record of what they have seen, heard and done. They should especially bear testimony of the many blessings which they have received from the hand of the Lord through having yielded obedience to the Gospel of Jesus Christ in these the last days; and not, only that which happened in the days of the Prophet Joseph, or in the earlier days of the Church, should be faithfully recorded, but that which has taken place all along since we came to these mountain valleys and that which is taking place day by day. My advice to everybody would be this: Write something concerning your experiences in life and what you have seen and witnessed in connection with the Church of Christ--to bequeath to your posterity, so that it may be said of you like that which has been recorded of Abel of old. "Though dead, he yet speaketh."

This is the thought I would like to impress upon all who hear my voice on this occasion and upon all who may read the record made of this general conference of the Church. I would like to explain further that my advice does not apply only to our brethren and sisters who have grown old in the service of the Lord, and who may soon expect to go to the great Beyond to receive, in due time, the reward which their deeds in mortality merit at the hands of a righteous judge and a merciful God, but it applies as well to you who are middle-aged, and even those who are young men and women in our midst at the present time. The time will surely come when your testimony will be of great importance, just as much as the testimony that we have heard today, because this Church will continue to grow, and our of it will finally come the kingdom of God. As yet we are scarcely a hand full compared to the many millions of people who inhabit our earth, but after our testimony, or the testimony of the elders of Israel, shall have been borne to every nation, kindred, tongue and people, and after these people who listen to that testimony shall have been converted and gathered to the Stake of Zion, and after such stakes shall have been organized in all parts of this great land of promise, then the experiences of those who in an early day helped to establish the Church in the midst of these Rocky Mountains will, if recorded, be read with the greatest interest by millions and millions of God-fearing men and women, who shall rejoice in the success and triumph of Zion, and who shall be members of the Church of Christ and citizens of the Kingdom of God at the time that Christ, our Redeemer, shall reign on the earth as the King of king's and Lord of lords. When that time comes, many of the events which to us now may seem commonplace will be things of vast importance, because many of the little deeds that we now do and to which we pay but very little attention at the present time are the seeds from which, using a figure "the sturdy oak" shall grow; they may be the little things that shall mark the beginning of great achievements hereafter.

Even the eyes of unbelievers are upon us at the present time. Thinking men and women know what a community that is doing right, people who are living moral lives--means for the future, and the adversary of our souls, the great archenemy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, is alarmed, together with his emissaries, because of the stand we are taking in the world, and the success that has attended us so far. They know what a God-fearing and a righteous community represented by superior men and women may mean to the rest of the world at no distant day. They know that, through transgressions of the law of God and the laws of nature, the human family are becoming weaker all the time, and that strong men and women, who comply with the laws of nature and the law of God, are bound to obtain dominion, influence and power in the midst of the earth; and this indeed is the destiny of the Latter-day Saints.

While I was filling a mission in Scandinavia, a few years ago, an old Lutheran priest who had studied, our religious system, and had become acquainted with our ways of living, exclaimed, "If the Mormons continue that way they will in due course of time not only control little Denmark, but their power will be felt throughout the entire world, for they live a different life to that lived by the majority of the people in the world." In making this statement that priest did not particularly refer to the Word of Wisdom, but to our moral life and practical religion in a general way. And the priest was right. If we Latter-day Saints, if you, the sons and daughters of Zion, will take advantage of your birthright, if you will do what is right, serve God and keep His commandments, it is only a question of time when you will rule the world. It cannot be otherwise, unless mankind generally will turn from their evil ways and become saints of the most high God.

My brethren and sisters, may God help us to fulfil our mission and our destiny on the earth. May we indeed become the redeemers of the world and saviors upon Mount Zion, and may we labor diligently, with our whole might and strength, to usher in the great millennium when peace and happiness shall abound on the earth, is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.