Show DISCOURSE BY ME EIDER JOHN HENRY SMITH 09 at 41 the sixty fourth semiannual semi annual con ference of the church in the tabernacle sau salt lake city friday after noo october 6 1893 BY BT ARTRUR with brother heber J grant I 1 was very much impressed this morning with the services held in this tabernacle every word so far as I 1 now remember was to methe balm of spiritual life the remarks that have been made this afternoon atter noon by brother grant in regard to the experiences through which we are going in in common with the rest of our brethren and sisters in this nation I 1 believe are timely also the latter day saints should be an elcee angly industrious dust rious people in every direction that tends to their up building in their faith and its observances and in the deve development iop of every resource that is calculated to provide for the needs and necessities of our commonwealth I 1 have during the past few months done snore more worrying over the fear that from the conditions that exist throughout the land and the spirit of doubt and dainty that have been engendered in the breasts of so many people a spirit of contraction would take too lull full possession of the latter day saints and many anany of them who are able not only to make provision for themselves and families but to give ive employment to some of their fitow follow would become so fearful of the conditions that surrounded them that a spirit would be engendered in them that would lead home to do that for which they would save regrets at some future time I 1 have discovered in my briel brief experience among men in in noting the growth and development of what we regard as the recent boom that by talking in any given direction men are worked up to a fever and many of our brethren and listers have sold their property back and forth to each other carrying by a little spirited talk the value from a very low price to an exorbitant figure I 1 have discovered also that when we regard the times as very hard we meet and shake hands and express to each other the feeling that the times are ex cee trying and the one spoken to retorts by saying that he is also pressed for means and we begin talking and t talking in regard to this matter until we work ourselves in common with people in other parts of our land into a feeling of depression men become downhearted and depressed in spirit and begin to withdraw in in every way and to curtail themselves in the proper and legitimate exercise of those powers and that means which our father has placed under their watchcase watch care I 1 am not one of those that can find special fault with any of my brethren and sisters for their extravagant habits I 1 believe many ot of us have been unwise in these matters that we have reached out with an eye of hope probably to an extent in some of these directions that we should not have done but I 1 say that the thinking men the wise and prudent men of any community that do not devise plans and schemes and seek to create industries and give employment to their people are unworthy of the confidence and esteem 0 the people who have chosen them to be their leaders we are not all endowed with the capacity to preach the gospel there are elders among us whose lives devoted to the ministry have been enabled to bring into the church hundreds and thousands of honest souls ohp hung upon their words as they would hang upon the word of th lord there are others in our midst possessed of material minds endowed richly in the papa capacity city to organize to plan and devise to create and suggest and to point out the way it was the design of providence in the placing ot of men at the head of his church in this dispensation to have them possessed of all the characteristics acte necessary to the up building and development of a people that should 0 become the head and the front ol of his children childr err upon this planet taking the crude elements as it were un taught so to speak and unlearned as the world has been pleased to regard us he has brought to the front among his ats people men possessed of these cap abili ties giving them the revelation of his will pointing out to them the importance of the growth and development of his work directing their movement sand showing the course in which they should move in planting the standard of our father fater upon these mountain peaks and scattering his children within her vales the prophet joseph with his spiritual tendencies is a sample he joseph gave the perfect plan of a spiritual life the lord also gave to this people that wise and prudent statesman whom the world will come to regard as among the brightest minds that have ever lived in the development of the material resources of a people brigham young his will of iron his judgment and ability were such that what he set his hand to do under the Fu guidance dance of providence he never turned his face from the accomplishment of that purpose today the world in studying the results ol of his labors to mankind points to him as an example worthy to be followed in this respect he used his skill and ability in seeking to make the people whom the lord had called him to be a steward of a sturdy capable and thorough people possessing the force and power to develop the resources of the land that had been given them bringing everything material in its proper use and at the same time school ing and educating his people in the refining influences that come from the possession of everything that tends to endow men and qualify women to indeed be pleasant and joyful and acceptable to the lord whom they would serve now my brethren and sisters in the consideration of the conditions that surround us at this time it is true that with others of my brethren I 1 spay may have been unwise in seeking to gather together means to aid in the creation of industries and in the building up of the temporal interests and of the people of utah or the saints throughout this mountain region but father in heaven knows my heart and I 1 believe I 1 know the hearts my of brethren for I 1 have been intimate with them in those councils looking to the accomplishment of their desires and wishes in these matters and I 1 know that president woodruff in his soul has yearned to open every door possible that the saints might have that which was requisite to their comfort provide for their children and their homes and to give them that which was tor for their good and for their advancement I 1 know that this is is true in in regard to his counselors I 1 know this is true in regard to the members of my quorum whether I 1 possess that feeling or not I 1 know they posses possessed poss eted qed it and not one of them today holds one aillar dollar in in property or means that would not as speedily and as readily be put upon the altar for the development of this work as they speak to you proclaiming to you the truth this day dav and declaring that jesus is the christ and that the gospel we ive have embraced came from our father de signed sighed to redeem and save us by our oui obedience to the principles which he has given for our salvation therefore in the midst of the development of this work we cannot be a penurious people we cannot be a small people it is not designed by our father that our homes should not possess the comforts and that which tends to beautify them it was not his design that we should be clad in the plainest of raiment but it was his plainest design es agn that in the possession of wealth we should utilize it for the good of ourselves and for the well being of everyone ane of his children whom wt we can assist in n seeking to make their lives a success in in the temporal in the physical in the religious and spiritual sense bringing out every power and making them in in every respect as near as possible approximate to that condition of uprightness of honor of truth and of worth that they would indeed be acceptable to their father in heaven I 1 know that our father in heaven does not delight in penuriousness ess I 1 know of all the generous fathers in this world he is the most generous to all his children he i showers the rains rains upon the just and the unjust we see the earth clad in its beauty we discover its bounties we understand that he planted in our breasts a love of that which is beautiful and a love of that which i is clean a love of that which tends to adorn adom and he desires that we shall cultivate this legitimately ti restraining selfishness avoiding greed controlling improper ambition but giving diving us reverence respect love humility and a legitimate pride making us stand up in his fear bow to his wish and blessing his children leading them to develop the powers within them that they may stand because b e he planted those powers with within i n ps us he gave ave them to us he created us in in his likeness and in his image and endowed us with the ability to do while some of us possess one and some another they that possess the gift to accumulate and to utilize means will be held to a strict account for the selfishness they display unjustly and improperly pr op erly in in dealing with their fellows an and d t they ey who possess these other gifts will wil I 1 beheld be held to an account for their use an and d thus in his justice and mercy every one of us will receive all that belongs to us be blessed of him and endowed with the power to accomplish our mission and our names if we are faithful will be found written in the lambs book of life we need have no dubiety in regard to this matter we have not been deceived the prophet was not deceived he did bow in the presence ot god the father and his son he did hear the voice of the heavenly messenger declaring the truth he did ordain and set apart those chosen of the almighty to carry this word to you in the homes where the elders found you and the mission that he gave to you in in calling you forth and placing responsibility upon you rests there until the ends of the earth are warned and the cry has been heard in every land and cli clime trie calling upon men to repent and turn in the way of life and obey the principles of truth walking in the pathway thereof M my brethren and sisters let us keep the faith let our hearts not waver in the midst of the conditions that surround us it is true that we cannot always read that which may occur to us had we planned and devised in our way had we had our own ideas in in regard to the progress of this work and the accomplishment ment of our fathers purpose we would have swamped it years ago it would have gone to pieces and his children would have been scattered broadcast among the people of the world but by his own unerring un effing counsels he has made a suggestion and his prophets and apostles have taken up the counsel and pointed out the way and while in our hearts at times we have felt to condemn them for what they were doing the lord has vindicated them and proven that he was their guide and counselor and he will continue to be until the great work that he has established is accomplished and the people of the east and the west have heard the cry and from the north and the south and upon the islands of the sea a voice will be heard calling upon tipon the sons of men to bow in the presence of their maker and receive his word and obe obey the requirements which he as their guide and their governor has placed upon them I 1 have pleasure my brethren and sisters in being with you I 1 rejoice in the gospel of peace god has taken me in the midst of my weaknesses and failings and given me ma a knowledge that this is the truth and I 1 have the greatest pleasure in bearing that witness to you today the safety of the saints is in the continued honest sturdy straightforward sustained pull in the direction of right and not in their excitements excite ments not in their fears not in their doubts we have proclaimed to the world that our fathers judgments would come upon them our hearts may fail us as these storms we have predicted break upon our heads our hearts may shrink in the midst of these conditions but no matter our fathers words were that such should be the case we are not responsible for his words but we are response res ble sor for that which has been imposed upon us of warning our fel fellow men to flee from the wrath to come and the judgments that will be poured out upon the nations may we accomplish this and may the blessing of our god rest resi upon this people and upon the honorable and good of our nation who are willing to do their just part by us willing that thai we should have our rights in common with our fellows may heavens blessing ever attend them may their hearts be ever sturdy in the pathway of right and may the right prevail until justice shall characterize the sons of men as I 1 believe our father designs it will in his own due time amen |