Editor’s Table: Every-day Affairs

Editor's Table.

Every Day Affairs.

The following are the concluding remarks by President Joseph F. Smith at the late October conference: Now, my brethren and sisters, I want to thank you on behalf of myself and counselors, the council of the apostles, the seventies, the Patriarch and the presiding bishopric, who are the general authorities, for the unanimity that has been manifested here by the uplifted hands of this vast congregation, with reference to the matters that have been presented to you. I understand this as an evidence of good will, of faith and of fellowship, on the part of this vast congregation to all the authorities, both general and local, or auxiliary that have been presented before you, and that you will all abide the pledge you have given to the Lord, and to one another,

by the uplifted hand, that you all mean to uphold and sustain these officers in all these various organizations, from first to last; that you will not back-bite them, that you will not find fault with them without a cause, that you will not try to injure their influence or hinder their progress, or interfere with their legitimate work, but that, on the contrary, you will do everything you can to help them, to benefit them, bless them, and encourage them in the good work in which they are engaged. Now, may the Lord God Almighty bless and preserve his servants from evil works, from all error and mistakes. Oh, that the Lord God will guide his people, and not leave them to the guidance of man. I testify to you that no man has ever led the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in the sense that by his own wisdom and intelligence, and by his personal power and influence, he did it. I maintain and testify to you that it has been the power of God that has guided this people from the days of the Prophet Joseph down to the present moment. No man of himself is responsible for it. Therefore I pray that the Lord may bless his servants, that they may do nothing contrary to his will, that they may do nothing injurious to his work, that they may not lay any block or obstacle in the way of the progress of the kingdom of God, that

EDITOR'S TABU-: 371 they may do nothing to grieve or hurt the feelings of the faithful children of the Father, throughout all the Church. And I pray God to bless every organization of the Holy Priesthood that was revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith, from the deacon to the apostle, each in its place, and each man in his place, and that the Lord may help each one to perform his duty, whether that duty may be great or small. I pray God to bless the teachers, the men that are called by the bishops and sent out among the Latter-day Saints to teach them the principles of rightliving, the principles of the Gospel, the principles of unity, of harmony, of righteousness and of equality and justice, the principle of love and kindness between husband and wife, between parents and children, between neighbors, and in every way to teach the people righteousness, faith in God, in Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Spirit which proceeds from the Father and the Son, and bears witness of them to the children of men, faith in the Prophet Joseph Smith and in the divinity of his mission, faith in the intent and purpose and power of God to carry out his purposes and designs among the children of men, and faith in the destiny of God's work, in the destiny of his people, that we may not wander away nor be misled into error and doubt by those who are cunning and crafty, and who lay in wait to deceive and mislead the people of God, from their righteous ways. I pray God to bless all our auxiliary organizations, from the first to the last, that they may do their duty, that they may not sit idly down and neglect to work. The idler is not in favor before the Lord, and he that is idle is in danger of temptation, and of falling into the power of the adversary. We are only safe when we are doing, when we are at work, when we are in earnest, when we are engaged in the discharge of our dutv; and when this condition of God, exists with us, we are safe, for then we arc in the hands and not in the hand of the adversary. Oh God, bless the Holy Priesthood, these noble men, pure men, just men, men of honor, men of integrity, men who have earth lor the gathered out, many of them, from the nations of the love of the gospel, and many of them have been born under the bless you, covenant of the Holy Priesthood,—and I pray God to my brethren, with an abundance of his goodness, of his mercy and that you may prosper in the land, that you may loving kindness, be indeed truly Ins servants.

372 IMPROVEMENT ERA I pray you, and I pray God to help you, fathers and mothers, to teach your children the principles and precepts of the gospel of Jesus Christ, that they will grow up without sin unto salvation. I pray that God will help you to rear your children in the love of truth, in the love of virtue, free from the contaminating vices of the world, free from defilement, from drunkeness, from the use of tobacco, from strong drinks and narcotics, and vice of every description, that you will teach them to be pure in their lives, in their habits, that they may be holy temples in which the Spirit of the living God may dwell and find congenial habitation. It is your duty to do it, and it is my duty; it is the duty of every man living to teach his family these things, and bring them up in the way they should go. May the Lord bless our Presiding Bishopric, on whom rests so much responsibility of gathering and assisting in keeping the records, receiving and disbursing the tithes of the people for every purpose for which it is appropriated towards the building up of Zion, the building of temples and school houses, the compensation of teachers in our schools, the care of the poor, and the paying of other expenses. O may the Lord bless our Bishopric that they may be fathers and not masters, that they may be tender in their hearts towards God's poor, and wise and prudent with reference to the "poor devils" who would impose upon them and upon the Church, if they could. May the Lord bless them with wisdom, knowledge and understanding, that they may not be deceived, that they may not yield to any kind of temptation, but that they may be true and faithful before God, that they will be able to give a faithful account of their stewardship before all the people of the Church, and, when necessary, before the people of the world, but more especially before the great Judge of the quick and the dead, for it is to him that we will eventually have to answer for every work and every word that W6 have done and said in this life. For every man will be rewarded according to his works, whether they be good or evil. The Lord God bless Israel, not only all Israel, but the honest in heart in all the world. The Lord bless the Executive of this great Nation, the man that stands at the head, together with his Cabinet, that they also may be men of wisdom and of sound judgment, that they may be able to devise ways of peace and good will on earth, that there may be peace everywhere, that war may

EDITOR'S TABLE 373 cease, that strife, contention and oppression, of every description, may be checked and subdued by the wisdom of the great statesmen and capable, honest judges of our country. One of the greatest menaces to our country is that of the combination of men into irresponsible, reckless mobs, wild with prejudice and fanaticism, led by men of ambition, or passion, or hatred. There is no other thing in the world that I can conceive of so absolutely obnoxious to God and to good men as a combination of men and women filled with the spirit of ^mobocracy. Whenjmen combine together to , >

stop or shut off the food supply from the mouth of the honest laborer, to starve the man that is willing to work, and the wife and the children who are dependent upon him, because he is not willing to join a mob, that is one of the most infamous perils and menaces to the people of our country today. I do not care who they are,

or what name they go by. They are a menace to the peace of the world, and I hope and pray that President William H. Taft and his Cabinet and the Congress of the United States will be able to devise means and measures by which the constitutional laws of this government will be executed for the protection of the lives, the liberty and happiness of all its people, against mobocracy of every kind and description. Whether it be in the form of soulless corporations, monopolies, or other combinations, it matters not to me. Let the strong hand of the government put a stop to any thing that is tyrannical and unjust, anarchy and all else calculated to sow the seeds of destruction, poverty and ruin upon our land. Now I must quit, so that you can catch the train. The Lord bless all Israel. The Lord bless our government and make it great, and help those who are at the helm to increase its greatness, and that it may be sustained on the principles of eternal justice, righteousness and truth. all the I pray God to bless our choir; not only this choir, but other good choirs of the Latter-day Saints, and especially this, on this occasion, when they are about to start from here to visit New York and to sing for the world. I pray that the Lord will give them success, help them to win honor and laurels for the people of Utah, for the singers of Zion, and especially for the great Salt Lake their Tabernacle Choir. The Lord bless Brother Stephens, at that they head, and Brother McClellan and those assisting them, with may be true to their trust, honorable, and faithful, and carry only them the virtues and honor that men cannot bestow, and that exist in the souls of the righteous.