Show DISCOURSE Delivered at the General Conference f- f the Church in the Tabernacle Salt 4 City Friday October 1894 by t PRESIDENT JOSEPH F SMITH I- I II I- I REPORTED BY ARTHUR WINTER I f- f fel f-el el that I can certainly bear my testimony to those things which I have heard this morning and I am very grateful grateful to fur m ur Heaven y Father that we have haye so many evidences of His kindness and mercy towards Zion We are con con I s called upon from almost every quarter guarter of the globe for more Elders tobe to tobe be lam sent out to preach the Gospel and andi we we have found it somewhat difficult to supply th the demand although the calls r that are made upon the Elders are as a al mie rule responded to with pleasure and alacrity The general answer made by bythe the Elders is I feel honored to be considered worthy to be called to go ona on a mission and with the help of the 14 thet Lord ord I will be on hand at the time appointed But all of the answers are not of this kind Occasionally and and and- especially of late we receive replies that run somewhat in this way I am pleased released to be honored with a call can to go goon 11 on a mission mission but I am sorry to say ff- ff that at present I do not see how it is isY j Y possible for me to respond I am in and my affairs are in in such a shape at it would be impossible forme to tor r arrange e them so that I could leave upon the mission mission at the time appointed and I IS would be pleased if you could grant me S months ix-months or a years year's time and I will will will- endeavor to straighten up up my affairs and by that time be ready to respond to 4 call call late Of-late Of late we have had quite a am umber m ber of responses of this kind from from if the be Elders Of course we regret egret this i J riot not only because we need their theU services 1 in the missionary field but because it grieves us to know that our brethren ff f 1 fare are we in debt As we are paSSIng passing through i a time of if stringency and scarcity scarcity of means cleans it that we will experience to pay our debts to get square with the world and then resolve in tn our minds that for the 1 future we will keep out ot of debt as far as possible I have noticed that in times J when money is plentiful and everything is is flourishing the people are more morey i prone to incur obligations that they are 77 y to fail in meeting them In timare times es of scarcity it is easier to economize to retrench and to settle up our obligations obligations obligations- as far fac as we can f We have demands for missionaries for Holland and we search all over the f country to find Hollanders who can go goEck back Eck to their native land to preach the Gospel We find it difficult however to Sf meet the calls that are made upon us for missionaries to that land We are con con- constantly constantly constantly called upon for Norwegians and Swedes to go to their native land to preach the Gospel and we find ClOd it some some- somewhat somewhat somewhat what difficult to obtain sufficient number for this purpose It is not so difficult to find Danes to go to Denmark We are generally pretty well supplied with Elders of this nationality We need Elders togo to togo togo go to Germany It seems hard to find good bright intelligent men who can speak the German language and who can go to Germany to preach the Gospel The Gospel is being op opened ned up remark remark- remarkably remarkably ably in that land and religious toleration is is enlarging there We have had calls made upon us for Elders to go to the Holy Land and nd we find it d difficult to supply the demand It is the same in other directions Not that Elders are scarce but to find those who are really suited for these calls is what makes it I difficult When a man is wanted to go goto goto to Sweden we want to send a man that can talk Swedish to Norway a aman aman aman man who can talk Norwegian to Ger Ger- Germany Germany Germany manya many a a a man who can talk German When we send Elders to the islands of the sea we are under the necessity of calling young men who are capable ot of acquiring with facility a knowledge of a foreign language In consequence ot of this it is not an easy task to obtain a sufficient number of Elders to meet the calls that are made upon us In ad- ad addition ad addition addition to this as I have said when Elders are called upon one is in debt and cannot go another has married a wife must make a home and cannot go another has bas bought him a farm and he cannot go and another has entered land and he has to stay until his time to prove up shall come and there are a number of excuses of this kind which adds to the difficulty disc Ity we experience in meeting the many calls that are made upon us But it must be said that these are the exceptions The rule is that those who are called upon respond cheerfully and this is very gratifying You will please excuse me for talking a little about missionaries There is a aI I committee of Apostles appointed to look directly after the calls that are made for Elders to go out to preach the Gospel and I h happen to be a member of that committee therefore I have something to do in relation to these I matters The word of ot wisdom also concerning which Brother Young has been speaking has something to do with these matters For when we call upon a young man to go upon a mission and we fInd that he is addicted to the pernicious habit of using tobacco it isan is isan isan an obstacle to his going It will not do doto doto doto to send a man out to preach the Gospel with a cigarette or a cigar cigar or a pipe in in his mouth It is a sorry thing to know that numbers of the young men of Zion who ought to be fitting themselves for any position in the h Kingdom of God Godare Godare Godare are addicted to this pernicious habit of smoking tobacco Brother Heber J Grant probably when he shall talk to you will tell you about how many hundred thousand of dollars worth of tobacco is smoked every year The amount would astonish you Brother Heber is a mathematician and he has been making calculations upon this subject the result of which will astonish you I think A young man who is addicted to these habits of using tobacco and drinking is not a fit subject fora for fora a mission He is under the sity necessity of ot reforming before he can become qualified togo to go out to preach the Gospel to the world Then think ot of it for a the moment the id idea a of calling a young man to go out to preach the Gospel who needs to be preached to and to Is it not a sad reflection on the youth of Zion that there should be a single young man in Israel who when called upon to take a mission would have to undergo radical changes in himself in order ordet to be prepared for that glorious work We do not send young men abroad to preach the Gospel if we know it who are addicted to any per per- pernicious practices We must send young men that are exemplary in every way who are pure-minded pure and faithful and anad who will go out into the world ana and d da good not only by precept but by example also I do not know whether there there are any young men in this con con- ference conference who need preaching to up upon n this subject but there may be a good many many fathers here who have sons that will be called to go out to the world to preach the Gospel and I would like to enjoin it upon the young men mei men that are re here and upon the fathers and mothers of the youn young men that are not here bere that from this time forth they will WIt s t their minds upon pruning out all H these dry branches arid and ari l bringing themselves themselves- to the standard that that is set for tor us in iii th the Kingdom Kingdom of God th that t when we ar at e called upon for for anything we sh shall ll be ready and nd be willing to says say Here Her I 1 am the Lord L rd can command me Ole me and I Iam am ready to ob obey y His commands comm It is important therefore therefore- therefore that we should observe the Word WOld of Wisdom that has been bee been given to us If the memo mem- bers members of the Church were to abstain one year from the use of tobacco intoxicating ing InK drinks and tea and coffee there would remain in this country enough money to pay every debt owned by the the- people the people Talk about hard times and scarcity ot of money when we are ate paying g hundreds of tho thousands sands of dollars ev every ty year for these articles that are injurious and hurtful unfitting us for the ministry and for goo good standing in the Church of L God The money expended for these articles is not kept in this territory for these things are arc not produced here They sr are re articles that have to be import import- imported imported imported ed from abroad and every dollar that is expended for them by the Latter Latter Latter day day Saints goes out of the country If there was no other cause than this it would be ample cause for a scarcity of means in the territory We believe that it is unwise for us to expend our means inthis in inthis inthis this direction It is is doubly unwISe In the first place it is unwise for the reason that these articles do not give us usI health or vitality They are not necessary necessary necessary sary to life or to health They are only I necessary to our supposed happiness in inso inso inso so far as we have become happy in a pernicious practice The drunkard I becomes a slave to his drink others become slaves to the use of tea coffee I and tobacco and therefore they con con- consider consider I sider them necessary to their happiness I but they are not really necessary to their happiness nor to their health Indeed they are injurious to health You cannot find an intelligent physician in the world that will tell you OU these thin things are not hurtful for common use Every man that knows anything about the laws of life will tell you that the use of these artIcles is i injurious to the human system system system tem Yet we will wilt use them and we will become slaves to them in defiance of the laws of nature and the word of the Lord unto us Thus it is an evil and wrong Furthermore it is is wrong be- be because because be because cause it takes our means from us and gives it to the stranger Probably every drop of spirituous liquor consumed by those who profess to be Latter-day Latter Saints I is imported from abroad Consequent Consequent- Consequently ly Iy every dollar that is expended for it itI goes abroad We have a number of I breweries I am sorry to say in Salt Lake City and there are a number of people engaged in the brewing of beer Of course the money that is spent in in inthis inthis inthis this direction does not go abroad but it itis itis itis is a business that is calculated to buildup build buildup up no one but the brewer and the vendor o of his product It does not build up the theman theman man that buys and drinks the beer It f does n not t give him strength or health The brewer and the seller may become rich and build palaces out ot of this bus bus- business business iness but they are the only ones that are benefited by this traffic while those who patronize them only become the poorer for it But aside aside aside- from all this the thing is it is wrong for the Latter day Latter Latter- day Saints to do it The Lord has laid down a rule for us to go by He has told us what is good for man and what is not good for man and if we will only humble bumble ourselves and acknowledge that the Lord knows what is best for lor us and do as He tells tens us we will begin to see seethe seethe seethe the effects of it and be able to ap- ap appreciate appreciate ap appreciate the beauties of it better than we can now It is by by putting the word of the Lord into practice practice that we will be beable beable beable able to appreciate it not by simply looking upon it without doing it When we do the will of the Lord then shall we know of the doctrine that it is of God then shall we build upon the rock then when the floods descend and the storms beat upon the house it will not nottaU taU tall Let us be doers of the word and not hearers bearers of it only Let us keep the commandments of God and not merely pretend to believe in them for it is an axiom axiom among mankind that when a man says t-e t t e in something and yet dots not do it ii he ht either is deceiving himself or he is trying to deceive others others- but when a man believes a thing ana and it into he is is consistent Aman Aman A puts practice tf f t- t ti i r t- t tf f- f for man should walk according to his belief or his knowledge of that which is good goodHe He must be consistent with his profess profess- professions professions professions ions Or God will reject him These are my sentiments I believe in obeying the commandments of of God or else get out of at the way We ought not to be stumbling stumbling stumbling ling blocks to those who are trying to enter in at the door God will hold us responsible for this If there is a man manon manon manon on earth that has done wrong because I have set him the example I am in some measure responsible for lor that wrong andI and I will have to pay the debt in some way Therefore that I may not be a stumbling stumbling stumbling ling block that I may not stand at the thedoor thedoor thedoor door and hinder those who would enter but that I may be an assistance to those that are faltering I want to be consistent consistent consistent tent with my professions and do the things that I am commanded to do No doubt doubt I fail in a great many things and others may see my weaknesses and fail fail- failings failings failings ings much better than I do We have not all yet attained the power to see ourselves as others see us yet it stands to reason that every man ought to know himself better than his neighbor and I believe that every intelligent man does I know himself better than anybody else unless it may be his wife or his children i Of course your wife knows you better than you do yourself and your children have a great deal of knowledge con con- concerning concerning you If there are any defects in a man or virtues either the wife and the children will be pretty apt to see them because he is right with them and they see every side of his life life-in life his unguarded moments in his thought thought- thoughtless thoughtless thoughtless less hours as well as when he is on his knees before the Lord They know himon him himon himon on every hand And when a mans man's wIfe and children respect and honor him be- be because because be because cause of his good examples you may depend upon it he is a pretty good man My brethren and sisters may God bless you and help us all to live righteously May we keep the command command- commandments commandments commandments ments of God save our means at home pay our debts be free men and tree free women and not bondmen and bond bond- bondwomen bondwomen bondwomen women as many of oi us are today Many of us are in the bondage ot of debt and it may be difficult for us to get out of it but it we possibly can get out of it in honor let us bend all aU our efforts to that end and do it that when we are called to go goon on missions we can say Yes I Iam Iam Iam am ready and willing to go and what is more I do not ow ow owes anybody and andI I have the means to go with and to pro provide provide vide for my family while wile I am gone that they shall not become a charge upon the Bishop If this people will only qUIt using strong drinks and tea and coffee and tobacco in in any shape and then th n cutoff cut cutoff cutoff off offa a great many foolish extravagances that they have become addicted to they will have abundance of means to pro pro- provide provide provide vide for themselves and their families and with all they will have health the destroyer shall pass them by they shall run and not be weary walk and not faint and they shall have 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