Show DISCOURSE red at the morgan stake confer y ence morgan sunday feb auary 1396 by RESIDENT JOSEPH F SMITH 8 s i PV BY ARTHUR WINTER I 1 can say my brethren and sisters that jaci with some degree of pleasure that I 1 pe the privilege ot of meeting with you afi this occasion as it has been a num afif of years since I 1 last met with you ast have all no doubt passed through ofed experiences since then A num i of us to my certain knowledge be grown geown much older and greyer it ii sa bitter better and I 1 presume a large pro t labion on of this congregation have grown som m comparative childhood to man womanhood since I 1 was last here that at to such I 1 am comparatively a haager ra ager r and they strangers to me alt I 1 hope e that we have grown at least haft Ht tte in the right direction during the wae of these years we are here upon aft earth for the purpose of growing of progressing asin I 1 of developing and of tut ful filling the measure of our mission upon ua footstool oot stool of our father we are ba bom into the world in a very helpless one of great dependence and mm ignorance orance we have to begin at the v wry ery foundation and learn all that we know in the course of a lifetime we bavi not only to develop the body but abo bo the mind the spiritual or immortal ewt tor for we are dual beings possessor posses sir g mortality and immortality a body and cirit while the body may reach the nut amit of its development in a 9 few years tie doe spirit is of a different character it wo too may reach the limit ot of its dimen nans amp but never perhaps wh itie it bicich ichao to L ae umit of its capacity to acquire knowl 4 dge adge power and understanding there 1 lofio limit to growth and development northis direction so far as we have any s for there is no end to pro bession god our heavenly father is r progressing while he knows all 1 fiut is all that has been and possibly A 11 41 0 things that he designs for the future jold wh what atwill will be in the future yet he is constantly adding to his dominion con bantly increasing his power constantly developing in Hs his resources and in his grous orious aspirations this at least is i 01 understanding of the condition ol of father in heaven the thought has abeen expressed and accepted as a truth tha chat as we are now god has been and pa C god od is now we i may be and if we td ad boit z this to be a truth and I 1 have no 04 disposition position to dispute it then I 1 repeat AK even god our heavenly father has reached the ultimatum of his great elc k his power or his capacity but sir t that he is continually increasing and expanding in power in dominion in glory and in greatness if I 1 may be permitted to use such huch terms as these which some people who knew no better would call blaff lemous in connection with the supreme being the father of us all all ut of us have had more or less experience in the world and from the time we were born until now there has been opportunity fur fir us to improve our mental and spiritual condition to enlarge ourselves intellectually and sti spiritually ritually to in increase our powers of bt comprehension and our knowledge and to profit by our experience in the world those of us who have not improved our opportunities as we should have done ought to be aroused if possible to renewed determination minati mi nation ori to form resolutions that we will begin again in the school of life on the road to spiritual and mental growth and development in every way that is good the man who is still groveling under the weaknesses of mortality should resolve that from this time forth he will begin anew to try to rise above those weaknesses let him pick out an object in life if he can for an example unto aimse f let him study the character and attributes ol of that chosen example and see it it is not possible weak and prone as Ls he is to evil to overcome his weaknesses imperfections and burst the letters that bind him to these groveling things and rise above them and emulate toe example of one who is more perfect more noble and better in some it not in every respect than he is ii 11 any man has been guilty in the past of doing wrong let him say at once 1 I 1 will beek seek for an exemplar who will be as a beacon light to me to guide me in the he right path that henceforth and forever I 1 Imy m y i iise ise above the evil that I 1 have aten guilty of and become abet a better man trian I 1 have ever been this is the mission that we have come to fulfill in the world the man who slackens his hold and loses heart in this great ba tie of life proves himself a cow ard in the performance of the great mi mission s that he hs has come to fulfill A man should determine in his bis heart that he will emulate the examples of the good that he will never cease to try and to try again howver however oft he may fail in the attempt un if 11 he shall shail attain to the high mark he has set fur for himself no matter what the obstacles may be if a man fet feals Is thus ihus in his heart tie he will succeed there will be no iio such word as tail fail in his vocabulary though he may not sue suc aeed at first por nor again and again yet each time he be does not succeed hw he will aan g strength for the next attempt the blacksmiths arm at first becomes weary in wielding the hammer but every blow it strikes prepares it better for the next and by and by it becomes strong and well adapted to the labor which it has to perform so it will be with us in our resolutions and determination to overcome evil and to establish ourselves in works of righteousness As I 1 said saidee be fore we are here to progress and increase in every good word and work the purest and best standard that has ever been set for men in this world is the man jesus christ the son of the living god he has given precepts and laws which the world today after eighteen hundred years of experience and culture in reading the word of god still fail to com or appreciate some of the most important principles laid down by cur savior and the most easily to be understood are today among the least practiced and conceived of in their true light by those who profess to bethe be the followers of the meek and lowly jesus it is a comparatively easy thing for a man to say he believes in god and in the atoning blood of jesus christ that he believes in repentance of sin in baptism for the remission of sin and in the laying on of hands for the gift of the holy ghost it is apparently earv for a man to prop progress r ess thus far but when it comes to loving ones neighbor as oneself it is not so easy here we come to the difficult hill to climb where we find all our powers taxed to the utmost to get to the top of it and climbing as we may have been for many years of our lives I 1 will v venture e kiture the assertion that we woke up anis morning and found ourselves climbing still at the foot of the hill we have not even approached the summit for few men indeed or women even in the church of jesus christ of latter day saints can say truthfully 1 I love my mv neighbor as I 1 love myself 11 we do not as a rule love our neighbor as we love ourselves professor holding once said cfall of all my mothers son sons I 1 love mys myself elf the best so it is with gods chi children idren upon this earin though our father has many of them and we are alt all of one blood I 1 and we are members perhaps of one community om of one faith oe lieving in one god and in one lord jesus christ yet each of us loves himself or herself the best this feeling crops out in in our daily life in our hourly association with each other it too of ten crops out even between husband andt and wife often between father and children and it is is very prevalent among children Is this christianity Is this the doctrine of jesus christ not according to the way I 1 read the books and understand the principles of life and salvation the scriptures tell us that we should prefer one another in love that we e should yield our own comfort our own con vengence veni ence our own desires our own happiness to the desires the comfort and happiness of our neighbor sto say nothing of our kindred und and loved ones neat jesus has laid down the doctrine that we are not to return wrong for wrong nor do evil for evil and furthermore lurther more we are not merely to do good fo for good even the publican and the sinners do that of course this is i goo i as far as it goes and it is the prevalent idea in the world it if a man does good to me I 1 will do good to him if he be befriend me I 1 will befriend him baill though he does good to me yet I 1 am very careful to watch his motives and to see that not only does he not get the advantage of me but it ii possible possible sible that I 1 might get advantage of Eos him im what is there in the prevailing principles of the world to prevent a man from doing this why not only do the pub ican and sinner so but the saints do so at least some who profess to be bc saints though we have had faith though we have repented ol of our sins at least in name though we have been baptized lor for the remis remission bion of our sins and ana have had bad hands laid upon us lor for the gift ot of the holy ghost I 1 am surry sorry to say that many of us do not appear to have progressed I 1 ro gressed but little liitle darher than that ve we nave have not grown a great deal above the fathers lai hers we have not bot even advanced very much irom from the condition they atre in belore they knew anything about this gospel and priesthood even now the gift of the holy ghost in our possession with the and privilege ol of revelation irom from god with all the increased dight within our with all the plainness of instruction insi ruction and counsel tuai nas been and is continually being given to us we still are traveling in the ruts ot of the fathers to 10 a very great extent and we are not making the that men and women ought to 10 make who profess to have received a remission ol of their sins by tue inter position of the power of 0 god and add the holy ghost by the laying on of hands W why blebs blabs your soul I 1 have b been en listen ing to things within the me tabt twenty tour lour hours that thai have tainy fairly didde my hair stand on ends and it was told in the sincerity and candor we hear taik about some men once professing tv t be latter day saints trig engaging ging in steal ing their neighbors cattle ealing si their ne ghiors wagons ste stealing alag their bots bois harness and for aught I 1 know stealing their neighbor neigh bur s chickens chck n thieves cattle harness thieves thieves of every description so to speak dwelling in the community shielded and protected by kindrea ki anu and yet live and move anu have their being as tree iree and as inde pendent as their hone t neighbor Is it possible that such a condi condl uon Lion as this can exist in a community like this thib A community of eldera elder erie sis and 1 leach cacti ers high and severities seventies can such a wing ming toe be and ana tue people sit down anu fold their arms saying a bialle more sleep and a little more slumber it I 1 lived in a community wibert I 1 had bad any influence or power and was v as con convinced tuat thieves and robbers and bandits existed there i 1 would not grou until I 1 had put on loot 1001 au an organization ot of honorable and honest men who would lerret ferret out the thieves and prosecute cute them to the bitter enu end and put a stop t to 0 such a condition of things it it exists the tat good men aud ad aumen in a community that will quietly down by their knowing that mat the peo pie je were being plundered by do 0 nothing to uproot the evil irom the land are in part guilty with we the they should not cease a moment until every thief was hunted out and his true character brought into the light of day to be seen of all men or until he should be punished according to the law of his offense off rinse that sin and iniquity shall be put a stop to in this region the man who shields the guilty one because he is his neighbor or his brother from just punishment under the law is carrying the doctrine of love tor for his neighbor too far did you ever hear of jesus asking men to shield the wicked in their wick edness to shield even their brother and nurture him in the continuance of sin did christ ever promulgate such a doctrine as this no he did not the doctrine that was taught by christ was that the evildoer evil doer must repent of his evil doings he must turn away from his wickedness the man that shields the wrongdoer wrong doer or that sympathizes with his wrongdoing wrong doing is guilty of wrong him sell seli god does not look upon sin with any degree of allowance he does not tolerate sin in him that knows to do better 10 lo him that to do good and boeth it not to him it is sin where light is and men prefer darkness rather than light they are under con oem nation christ said this is the condemnation that light is come into the world and men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil evi no man should protect his brother in sin no man should protect his bis son in sin no man should justify the evils that are committed by men be cause the men happen to be their neighbors or near of kin it is an evidence of weakness to do this and it is wrong the man that condones evil and pro sects him who is doing evil i is s as guilty in the eyes of gd as the man who commits the evil I 1 have heard that there exists here an organization of men wh are committing depredations and robbing the honest I 1 give it to 10 you one and ana all and especially to thoe who hold prominent puit ions here and if you have just grounds tor the suspicion that such a condition of things does exist in thia taits community it becomes your duty duly to bring to bear every influence that you can and to combine every power that yuu you can to put an end to thit that condition and stop such iniquity let the guilty be brought to judgment and suffer the consequences ot of their own conduct teach ail the people that men cannot rob with impunity that men can not steal their neighbors goods and escape justice that the eye of vigilance is upon them and they will be hunted out and punished according to law let this be understood here and you will st stop this evil if it really exists and you bif wil start mens thoughts in a batter direction for even a thief has a soul to save he has started out in the wron wrong direction and if he can be convinced that he be is in error and that he is doing wrong perhaps he will amend and start out in ahe right road I 1 feel very earnestly about this my is at stake I 1 stand as one ot or the watchmen upon the towers ot ol zion men ook to me to my associates to iny we hie leaders in III ahe church of god and we are in reproach it itsie sin flourishes in t ane ae midst of the people and we e raise not our voice against it therefore I 1 say that thai my reputation is at stake because I 1 am identities with this people my inderst inter st is theirs and their interest is mine and there is not ing which will be good for yu y ju that it is not my duty to enhance and develop as far as I 1 can I 1 am not in a position to be indifferent in relation to these things I 1 must be active and energetic I 1 must put my talents to me I 1 must not wrap them in a napkin and bury them in the earth but I 1 must st dw do the utmost within my power to help people to grow and dt develop celop in righteous onS ness purit virtue honor and inte integrity grit 7 to god that we may be indeed and caf ofa a truth the saints 0 ot I 1 the most now have any of you ought against me have I 1 done or said hurt you it II I 1 have I 1 want to say it ass hw been I 1 never in my leie intentionally hurt the feelings of any in iki ai vidual I 1 never intended in my heart to injure any man or any community on the contrary I 1 have felt deep and earnest solicitude for the welfare of the |