Editors' Table: Only Life Worth While

Only Life Worth While*

By President Joseph F. Smith

Our meeting is open. We have met here this morning for

the purpose of giving any of the brethren and sisters who desire

to express their feelings, thoughts, joy, or satisfaction for the

goodness and mercy of the Lord toward them, the privilege of

doing so, as far as the time will permit. I am pleased to see the

number that are assembled this morning, and in my heart I feel

to say: The Lord bless my brethren and sisters who are here,

who have come here because of the reverence and love they feel

for the House of the Lord; and out of the respect they also have

for that principle which has been established in the Church

by which we give one day of our substance, which we need for

ourselves, and which we generally use for ourselves, for the good

of our poor brethren and sisters.

It is a fast day — a day of fasting and prayer, or in other

words a day of rejoicing and prayer, — a day to entice the pres-

ence and influence of the Spirit of the living God into our hearts,

instead of filling our stomachs to excess with the material things

of life. It is good, sometimes, to leave room in our systems, or

our bodies, for the presence and influence of the Spirit of the

Lord, instead of feeling that we are glutted with the richness of

his bounties to us, which we enjoy from day to day.

I say to you that I love the truth and the work in which we

are engaged, more and more. It seems to me, the force of the

truth that the Lord has revealed, through the instrumentality

of the Prophet Joseph Smith, presses upon my mind, and should

rest upon the minds of the people who have embraced the gos-

pel. Surely the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth. Surely we, his

children, are most dependent upon him. There is no good

thing, indeed there is nothing in this world, that can in the least

degree contribute to the happiness, prosperity, joy, well-being,

or satisfaction of the children of God that the Lord has not

provided for us — the air we breathe, the substance that grows

out of the elements of the earth by the light of the sun, and

the moistures that fall upon the surface of the earth, and the

soil itself — all are God-given, and belong to the Lord. The

light of heaven is his — the light which shines upon all, even the

'Remarks at the January Temple fast meeting.

EDITORS' TABLE 449

evil as well as the good. The earth has been prepared by the

Almighty for the sustenance of his children, so that the very

food that we eat, our very breath, the air that we breathe, the

very sunlight of heaven that shines upon the earth, are all from

God, and we are indebted to him for them. Our existence here

could not continue more than a few moments, at the extreme,

were it not for his merciful providences in our behalf. So,

when I think of my dependence upon the Lord for all the good

that I enjoy, for life itself, and for the power and principles

of existence in mortality, I feel to say: Father, I thank thee

for thy mercies unto me.

I am grateful for life, because life is much to me. There

is nothing but life that is worth while. Blessed, indeed, is he

that hath the gift of eternal life, which is the greatest gift of

God to the children of men, for it not only means endless life

but endless increase. Without life there is no existence. With

life there is all the intelligence, the power, the joys and all the

blessings that can possibly be. These things come through life;

therefore, life is a precious thing, and we ought to preserve it.

We ought to take care of it the best we can. We ought not to

oppose it; we ought not to do anything that would

limit our existence in the world; but we should do everything

to prolong life and to adapt ourselves to the accomplishment of

the greatest possible good that our lives and our abilities will

enable us to perform.

Now, the Lord bless you. I did not expect to say much, or

anything, in fact, and I shall not make any further remarks

during this meeting. I want the brethren and sisters to feel free

to express themselves, as the Spirit of the Lord leads them; not

to any very great length, but use wisdom with respect to the time

which you may occupy. Let the Spirit of the Lord pervade

your minds and give expression to your thoughts. God bless you,

is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

President Charles W. Penrose