--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Grant, Heber J. collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 23 number: 1 published: 1919-11 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'Grant, Heber J., "Blessings from Sacrifice and Service," *Improvement Era* 23, no. 1 (November 1919): 1–15.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera2301unse transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers. identifier: improvementera2301unse start_page: 1 end_page: 15 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1919-11) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera2301unse publication_year: 1919 note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1919, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # Blessings from Sacrifice and Service Blessings from Sacrifice and Service* By President Heber J. Grant I rejoice again at having the opportunity of meeting with the Saints in general conference. It was a source of great re- gret to all of us that we could not hold our April conference be- cause of health conditions throughout the state. I am gratified, seeing that our postponed conference was only last June, that we have as large an attendance as we have here today. Dependence Upon the Lord In standing before you today I feel my weakness and my dependence upon the Lord, and I pray for the faith, sympathy and good will of all who are here assembled, that what I may say shall be for their benefit as well as for my own. I can hardly realize that I am standing here as your representative, at the head of the Church. When I think of the men who have occu- pied this position, from President Brigham Young to President Joseph F. Smith, I indeed feel weak, but my faith and my knowl- edge regarding the divinity of the work in which we are engaged are so perfect that I have no doubt whatever that the Lord will give to me, with the aid of my counselors and the Council of the Twelve, with whom I meet in council every week, the in- spiration to guide and direct the affairs of the Church in a way and manner which will be pleasing and acceptable to him. I have the same faith as that expressed by Nephi of old; namely, that the Lord requires no labor or work at the hands of man but what he will prepare a way whereby that labor can be accomplished. If I know my own heart, it is set abso- lutely upon seeking for the mind and the will of the Lord, and *Opening address at the October, 1919, general semi-annual conference of the Church, reported by F. W. Otterstrom. 2 IMPROVEMENT ERA then laboring, to the full extent of the ability with which I ain endowed, to accomplish his purposes. The Hymn, Come, Come, Ye Saints Yesterday, or the day before, when I received a list of the songs that would be sung during this conference, I read them over without any particular thought as to their meaning or inspiration, but this morning while lying in bed thinking of this conference, I remembered that the first hymn thata we were to sing here today, was "Come, come, ye Saints, no toil nor labor fear." I concluded to make that my text for my opening remarks, and then speak as I might be led during the remainder of the time I should occupy. To me this is a won- derful hymn, and the circumstances under which it was written, as I have been informed, give it an additional interest to me. I understand that when the pioneers were about to start across the trackless wilderness, to go a thousand miles to a place they knew not where, a place that President Brigam Young had seen in vision, he said to Elder William Clayton, "William, go and write a hymn that the Saints may sing at their camp fires, that shall be an inspiration and an encouragement to them in their journey across the plains," and Brother Clayton withdrew and returned in a couple of hours with this great pioneer hymn that we have just sung. I was asked in Liverpool, by President Ly- man, the day I arrived there to preside over the European mis- sion, which of all the hymns was favorite, and he said, "We my will sing it tonight!" I told him I had none, that there were many of the hymns I loved dearly, but I had never selected any one as special favorite. He said, "My favorite is 'School thy my feelings, oh, brother, Train thy warm impulsive soul:' Presi- my dent Snow's favorite was 'Zion stands with hills surrounded; * * All her foes shall be confounded;' John Henry Smith's was, 'Up, awake, ye defenders of Zion;' President Wilford Woodruff's was, 'God moves in a mysterious way his wonders to perform;' and President Lyman said that President Brigham Young's was "Oh, ye mountains high;" but I have since been told by one of his daughters that this is a mistake, that his favorite was Brother William Clayton's hymn, "When first the glorious light of truth, burst forth in this last age, how few there were with heart and soul, to obey it did engage." President Daniel H. Wells' favorite was "Oh, ye mountains high." I said, "Brother Lyman, will pick mine inside of a you don't need to go any farther, I minute. I will take, "Come, come, ye saints,' as my favorite. I believe that William Clayton was inspired of the Lord when he wrote this hymn, and also the other hymn that was President Young's favorite. It was a wonderful trip the Pioneers : — — BLESSINGS FROM SACRIFICE AND SERVICE 3 were about to take. I can never think of it but I have admiration for the courage, the faith, and the will power of our fathers and our mothers who started out in the wilderness, not knowing where they were going, but singing Come, come, ye Saints, no toil nor labor fear, But with joy wend your way. I have talked with hundreds of those who crossed the plains and they had real joy and happiness in wending their way to this country. Though hard to you this journey may appear, Grace shall be as your day. Certainly God did give them grace as their day. 'Tis better far for us to strive, Our useless cares from us to drive. Do this, and joy your hearts will swell— All is well, all is well! And not only was that good advice to people traveling across the plains, but it is good advice to each and to all of us every day of our lives. A cheerful, happy spirit, a spirit or serenity, is pleasing to our heavenly Father. The capacity and the ability to believe and accept the scripture that teaches us to acknowl- edge the hand of God in all things is pleasing to our heavenly Father. Why should we mourn or think our lot is hard? 'Tis not so; all is right! Why should we think to earn a great reward, If we now shun the fight? The trouble with a great many people is, they are not will- ing to pay the price; they are not willing to make the fight for success in the battle of life. They are much like the people of whom I read in Brother N. L. Nelson's book on preaching which I happened to open one day, and I read about people taking literally the instructions to take no thought of what one should say; and Brother Nelson wrote that many of those who took no thought at all never said much, as they were going contrary to the teaching, that we were to prepare ourselves; and he says, regarding the people who take no thought, that when they speak they ought to say, "Oh, Lord, here I am. I have a mouth and a pair of lungs that I will loan thee for a brief sea- son; fill me with wisdom that I may edify the people," which he seldom does. Why should we think to earn a great reward, If we now shun the fight? Gird up your loins, fresh courage take, Our God will never us forsake; And soon we'll have this tale to tell All is well! all is well! — — ; 4 IMPROVEMENT ERA This magnificent audience here, our beautiful temple, our Church office building, and the temples from Canada to South- ern Utah, and in the Hawaiian Islands, bear witness to all the world that God has never forsaken his people. We'll find the place which God for us prepared, Far away in the West; Where none shall come to hurt or make afraid There the Saints will be blest. I believe there is no true Latter-day Saint who does not be- lieve that God did prepare this land for his people. Brigham Young stood on the hill, beyond Fort Douglas, and, looking over this valley, said: "This is the place." God had shown him this place in vision, before he ever came here. Men tried to persuade him to go to California, to that rich country, but this was the place which God had prepared, and we stopped here, and no mistake was made. We'll make the air with musi^ ring, Shout praises to our God and King; Above the rest these words we'll tell All is well! All is well! And should we die before our journey's through, Happy day! All is well! We then are free from toil and sorrow too, With the just we shall dwell. — What sublime faith! that all is well; even should you die in the wilderness, and be buried in an unknown grave, so to speak; and yet that was their faith; and they could sing these words, night after night, with their hearts in what they sang. They were verily praying to the Lord. They had full faith in the revelation given to the wife of the Prophet Joseph Smith, wherein it is written: "The song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads." Also: "My soul delighteth in the song of the heart." A Touching Incident of the Plains And should we die before our journey's through, Happy day! All is well! We then are free from toil and sorrow too, With the just we shall dwell. But if our lives are spared again To see the Saints their rest obtain, how we'll make this chorus swell All is well, all is well! — — BLESSINGS FROM SACRIFICE AND SERVICE 5 I remember upon one occasion, and I have often spoken of — may have mentioned it, I it here, —that my father-in-law, the late Oscar Winters, said: "Heber, I believe that the young peo- ple of Zion do not thoroughly appreciate what Brother Clay- ton's hymn meant to us, as we sang it, night after night, crossing the plains ; and I believe that choir leaders do not appreciate it, or they would not stop after singing only three verses. I have listened in vain," as I remember it, he said, "for between twenty- five and thirty years, to hear the last verse of that song sung by a choir, and I have never heard it." We are beginning to sing it now, because in almost every stake of Zion I have asked the people and the leaders of choirs, that if they only wished to sing three verses, please not to do it when I was present—tut to sing the other verse also." Brother Winters further said, "I want to tell you an incident that happened as I was coming to the valley. One of our com- pany was delayed in coming to camp. We got some volunteers, and were about to go back and see if anything had happened, if he had had trouble with Indians, or what was the matter, when we saw him coming in the distance. When he arrived, we unyoked his cattle and helped him to get his supper. He had been quite sick and had to lie down by the road, a time or two. After supper he sat down on a large rock, by the camp fire, and sang the hymn, Come, come, ye Saints. It was the rule in the camp that whenever anybody started to sing that hymn, we would all join with him; but for some reason, no one joined with this brother. His voice was quite weak and feeble; and when he had finished, I glanced around, and I don't believe there were any of the people sitting there whose eyes were tear- less. He sang the hymn very beautifully, but with a weak and plaintive voice, and yet with the spirit and inspiration of the hymn. The next morning we discovered that he was not hitch- ing up his oxen; we went to his wagon, and we found that he had died during the night! We dug a shallow grave and laid his body in it. We then thought of the stone on which he had been sitting the night before when he sang, And should we die before our journey's through, Happy day! All is well! We then are free from toil and sorrow too, With the just we shall dwell. "We then rolled that stone over in place as a head-stone for his grave." I noticed tears in Brother Winter's eyes. He started, as if he was about to tell me something more, but he hesitated and did not. I subsequently learned that after he had been in the 6 IMPROVEMENT ERA valley for some time he came from his home in the country to Salt Lake to meet his mother, only to learn that she, too, had died before her journey was through. Along the "Mormon" Trail Some years ago as the Burlington Railroad was building through Nebraska and Wyoming the engineers found a piece of wagon tire, sticking in the ground, on which was chiseled the word, "Winters." They wrote to Salt Lake City, telling of this discovery, and they returned several miles and kindly changed the line, of the road so as to miss that spot, knowing that it was the grave of some Utah pioneer. We have since erected, there, a little monument to the memory of Grandma Winters; and, on one side of that little monument, built of temple granite, we have had chiseled the words in the last verse of, "Come, come, ye Saints." Never can I hear this song sung, never can I read it, but my heart goes out in gratitude to my father and to my mother, and to thousands of those noble men and women who journeyed over the plains. Many of them, time and time again, crossed the plains to help others, enduring the hardships cheer- fully, carrying out, in very deed, the teachings of this inspired hymn! I can never think of them but I am full of admiration and gratitude, and utter a prayer to the Lord to help me, as one of the descendants of that noble band, to be loyal, to be true, to be faithful as they were! In very deed, they were a band of men and women who, as the years come and go, will command greater and greater admiration and respect from the people of the world. Reasons for the People's Coming They came here, for what? Because of the burning and living testimony in their souls regarding the divine mission of our Lord and Master Jesus Christ. Thev came here because they had an abiding knowledge that God lives, that he hears the Redeemer of the world, and answers prayers, that Jesus is and that Joseph Smith is his prophet. God had given them that and of the pros- knowledge! When I think of this land today, north to perity and peace that reign here, from Canada on the Arizona on the south, I indeed marvel and thank God. When I think that there is, perhaps, no other part of the United States more peaceful, more free from mob violence, and from those evils which disturb the serenitv of people and cause them and to bear great unrest and anxiety, I am indeed grateful, feel witness to the inspiration, of William Clayton, under a direct from Brigham Young, the prophet of the Lord, to appointment — BLESSINGS FROM SACRIFICE AND SERVICE 7 write a hymn that should so cheer the Saints. I acknowledge the inspiration expressed in the words that they would find the place that God had prepared far away in the West! When I think of the awful devastation that swept over the country, from which the Latter-day Saints were driven in Missouri and Illinois and other places during the Rebellion I am grateful that the Latter-day Saints escaped that awful state of affairs, and I feel to acknowledge the hand of the Lord. They came here for what? For the express purpose to serve God, to do right, as slated in the next hymn that we sang. I think this other hymn is worthy to be counted as a battle hymn: Do what is right; the day-dawn is breaking, Hailing a future of freedom and light; Angels above us are silent notes taking Of every action; do what is right! Do what is right: the shackles are falling; Chains of the bondsmen no longer are bright; Lighten' d by hope, soon they'll cease to be galling; Truth goeth onward: do what is right! Do what is right; be faithful and fearless; Onward, press onward, the goal is in sight; Eyes that are wet now, ere long will be tearless: Blessings await you in doing what's right. Do what is right: let the consequence follow; Battle for freedom in spirit and might; And with stout hearts look ye forth till tomorrow, God will protect you: do what is right! That is what our fathers and mothers came here for. Our late beloved President Joseph F. Smith, from the time he was the a child, ten years of age, when he crossed the plains, driving team for his beloved mother, until the day of his death, labored seventy long years, in season and out of season, doing what was right, on all occasions, and under all circumstances. I asked him one day, which was his favorite hymn, and he said he did I said, "Well, Brother Lyman told me I ought not have any. wish you would select one." "Well," he said, "I to have one. I think I would hardly care to, but perhaps I am partial to the hymn by that heroic little soul, Sister Emily Hill Woodmansee, entitled, "Uphold the Right:" Uphold the right, tho' fierce the fight, And pow'rful is the foe; As freedom's friend, her cause defend, Nor fear nor favor show. No coward can be called a man No friend will friends betray; Who would be free alert must be; Indifference will not pay. — 8 IMPROVEMENT ERA Note how they toil whose aim is spoil, Who plundering plots devise; Yet time will teach, that fools o'erreach The mark, and lose the prize. Can justice tjv* «^n^r°l good. Nor basely yield, nor quit the field Important is the fray; Scorn to recede, 'h' re. ie no need To give our rights away. Left-handed f- — ^7 "* W 'h'??" applaud Who v/ould by fraud prevail; In freedom's n?me contebt their claim, Use no such word as foil; Honor we rorst each S"»crcd trust, And righ*fnl z°al display; V r rv»rt fulfil, fh°n. come what will, High heaven will clear the way. Why We Are Under Obligations to Serve God Certainly President Smith's life was an example of courage and willingness to do the right, without fear to announce himself on any proposition for the good of mankind. As I think of the wonderful prosperity of the Latter-day Saints, of what they have accomplished, of what they are accom- plishing, and of the reepect that is being shown them today in comparison with the contempt that was shown to them years ago, I certainly feel to thank the Lord for all of his mercies and blessings to us, and to beg, entreat, and implore every Latter- day Saint to go order his or her life that they will in very deed do that which is right, let the con?ecraence follow. With all the power that I possess, I would urge upon the Latter-day Saints the keeping of the commandments of the Lord. There is noth- ing truer than the statement that obedience is better than sacri- fice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. The man or the woman who obeys the commandments of the Lord grows and in- creases in light, in knowledge, in intelligence; and above all, they grow in the testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ. When I think of all that we have accomplished and of our being here in fulfil- ment of the prediction of Joseph Smith that the Latter-day Saints should come to the c e Rocky Mountains and become a great and a mi : — BLESSINGS FROM SACRIFICE AND SERVICE 9 ings and expulsions from Missouri and Illinois, and I feel to say, truly God has preserved and blessed us in this land, and we are under obligations to him to serve him, so that those who know not the truth, may see the honesty, the integrity, the devotion of our lives, that these may inspire them to investigate the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are told in a revelation from the Lord that we should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and that we should bring to pass much righteousness of our own free will and choice, for we are agents unto ourselves; and wherein we do good, we shall in no wise lose our reward. I am always thankful when I read in the Doctrine and Covenants that there is a law irrev- ocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of the world, upon which all blessings are predicated, and that when we ob- tain any blessing it is by obedience to the law upon which it is predicated. When I go into a house to administer to those who are afflicted, if I know that they have observed what is known as the Word of Wisdom, if I know they have fulfilled the law whereby they are entitled to the blessings of the Lord, I can ad- minister to people of that kind with faith, knowing that if it is not the will of the Lord for them to pass away, he will hear and answer the prayer of faith and they will be restored. GooVs Answer to a Prayer of Joseph the Prophet When I stop to think of the condition our people was in years ago and that some of the great and important revelations that have come to this Church, came to us from prison cells today I say what a wonderful contrast! Certainly God has been good to this people. I think one of the greatest of all the rev- elations that we have is the one that came to us in answer to a prayer from the Prophet Joseph Smith when he was in Lib- erty Jail, in Clay county, Missouri, on the 20th day of March, 1839. He prayed to the Lord: "O God! where art thou? And where is the pavilion that covereth thy hiding place? How long shall thy hand be stayed, and thine eye, yea thy pure eye, behold from the eternal heavens, the wrongs of thy people, and of thy servants, and thine ear be penetrated with their cries?" etc. In answer to this, the Lord states, among other important items '"How long can rolling waters remain impure? What power shall stay the heavens? As well might man stretch forth his puny arm to stop the Missouri river in its decreed course, or to turn it up stream, as to hinder the Almighty from pouring down knowledge from heaven, upon the heads of the Latter-day Saints. — 10 IMPROVEMENT ERA "Behold, there are many called, but few are chosen. And why are they not chosen? "Because their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world, and aspire to the honors of men, that they do not learn this one lesson "That the rights of the Priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and that the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness. "That they may be conferred upon us, it is true; but when we under- take to cover our sins, or to gratify our pride, our vain ambition, or to exer- cise control, or dominion or compulsion, upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold, the heavens withdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the Priesthood, or the authority of that man. "Behold ere he is aware, he is left unto himself, to kick against the pricks; to persecute the saints, and to fight against God. "We have learned, by sad experience, that it is the nature and disposi- tion of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion. "Hence many are called, but few are chosen. "No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the Priesthood, only by persuasion, by long suffering, by gentleness, and meek- ness, and by love unfeigned; "By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile, "Reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost, and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy. "That he may know that thy faithfulness is stronger than the cords of death; "Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly, then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God, and the doctrine of the Priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven. "The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy sceptre an unchanging sceptre of righteousness and truth, and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee for ever and ever." Placing the Prophet in a jail did not stop communication between God, our heavenly Father, and his chosen instrument here upon the earth. One of the greatest of all the great lessons that has come to us who hold the Priesthood, was given while — he was in jail, "No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the Priesthood, only by persuasion, by long suffering, by gentleness, and meekness, and by love un- feigned; by kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hyprocrisy," and so on. The Lord being my helper, standing at the head of this great Church, I shall endeavor to exercise the Priesthood that I hold, in con- formity with this revelation from the living God to the Prophet BLESSINGS FROM SACRIFICE AND SERVICE 11 of theLord who was used as his instrument in founding the Church of Christ again upon the earth. Gratitude to God I thank the Lord for all his manifold blessings to us as a people. The Saints are prosperous, they are in good health now. We are meeting with blessings on all hands. I rejoice in this and feel grateful to the Lord. I pray that while we are together that we may be abundantly blessed by those that shall speak to us. I Position on the Question of the League of Nations I did think of making some remarks similar to those I made here two weeks ago today, but I believe that I will do as the congressmen do. Instead of referring to my position upon the League of Nations and other matters, as I did two weeks ago, I will simply have printed in the conference proceedings the sermon that I then delivered, and you can read it at your leisure. It was printed in the Deseret News, I believe, a week ago last Tuesday. I will not take the time to repeat what I said. I read there a manifesto sent to the Senate of the United States begging them to pass the Peace Treaty, and I will simply have my sermon incorporated in our conference proceedings so that any of the Saints who want to read it can do so. and I will ask Brother Edward H. Anderson, the editor of the Era, also to print my sermon in the Era, so that those of you who take that maga- zine will have the privilege of reading it. If there is any home in all the Church that does not have the Era, it simply shows that the people there are lacking in faith, that they think more of two dollars than they do of getting communications from the authorities of the Church, and important sermons, which are of more value than the things of this world. You know there are a great many people who hold up copper cents in front of their eyes and hide dollars, and there are a great many who keep two dollars in their pockets and hide hundreds of dol- lars of inspiration and knowledge of great value to them through all time, and which would be of value to them in the great eternity to come. Uphold the Law As Latter-day Saints we have what is known as The Arti- cles of Faith, and one of them reads: "We believe in being sub- ject to kings, presidents, rulers and magistrates, in obeying, 12 IMPROVEMENT ERA honoring, and sustaining the law," and no Latter-day Saint can in very deed be a Latter-day Saint if he does not honor and sustain and uphold the law. Nearly all over the world, at the present time there is a spirit of lawlessness, a spirit of ridicule, and one lacking respect for the men who hold positions. One of the most terrible crimes that I have read of in years was enacted in Omaha, a few days ago, where a mob of citizens, because the policemen were trying to fulfil — their duty as sworn servants of the law had the officers in a building that was burning and said: "Let them burn," Let — them burn why ? Because they would not deliver a prisoner to the mob, but kept that prisoner so that he could have a fair trial under the law. When I was in Los Angeles a short time ago, they were selling whiskey all over the city, and I was told that the officials of the city said, "You can sell it if you want to, we do not ob- ject, but you will have to take your chances with Uncle Sam." What kind of public servants are they? Elected to enfore laws, they defy the laws of their own country, and allow people to sell whiskey and to break the law! No wonder mob violence comes, when some of the leaders themselves break the law. No wonder they had this great war in Europe when the leaders of nations broke treaties and treated them as scraps of paper! No man can do that which is dishonest, or break laws of his country and be a true Latter-day Saint. No nation and no leaders of nations can do wrong, and break their obligations, but what they are just as much under condemnation before God and man as the other individual who does wrong. Truth will prevail. "Uphold the right, though fierce the fight," should be the motto of every Latter-day Saint, as it was the motto of our beloved leader who recently passed away. On Labor Unions i want to say that I am perfectly willing that men shall I join labor unions, that they shall band together for the pur- pose of protecting their rights, provided they do not in- terfere with the rights of other people. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness belong to all people in these United States according to the laws of our country, and should, upon all the face of the earth, and I say that, to my mind, a provision in a labor union is all wrong that favors boycotting and the laying down of tools or the quitting of employment because a non-union man obtains employment while exercising his God-given right to stay out of a union. Men who have that kind of a rule have a BLESSINGS FROM SACRIFICE AND SERVICE 13 rule that is in direct opposition to the laws of God. There waa a — battle fought in heaven for what? To give to man his individual liberty.An attempt to take the agency of man away is made when he does not see fit to join a union, when men in that union, without any complaint, or grievance, strike, because a non-union man is employed. Now, I'd better not say any more perhaps on this question, or I may offend somebody. I may hurt somebody's feelings; but it is the God-given right of men to earn their livelihood. The Savior said it was the first great law or commandment to love the Lord with all our hearts, and that the second was like unto it, to love thy neighbor as thyself. That is the doctrine for every true Latter-day Saint. How much love is there in starving your neighbor because he will not surrender his man- hood and his individuality and allow a labor union to direct his labor? Mighty little love, mighty little of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ in any such a rule! I hope to see the day when no Latter-day Saint will join a union unless the union eliminate that clause from their rules. I am not going to ask them to leave their union, I am not going to lay it down that they must, that it is the mind and the will of the Lord for them to leave a union. I want, as I said here two weeks ago, to give every man his free agency, to give every man the right to act as he thinks proper, but I cannot see how a Latter-day Saint who is a member of such a union can get down on his knees and pray for God to inspire and bless him, to bless the Saints and to protect them, and then be a party to allowing one of his own brethren to go year after year without employment, be- cause that brother will not surrender his manhood and join a union with him. There is none of the spirit of the Lord in that, to my mind. That is exactly the way I see it. I will quote again what I quoted here two weeks ago: Should you feel inclined to censure Faults you may in others view, Ask your own heart, ere you venture, If that has not failings too. Let not friendly vows be broken; Rather strive a friend to gain; Many a word in anger spoken Finds its passage home again. Do not then in idle pleasure Trifle with a brother's fame, Guard it as a valued treasure, Sacred as your own good name. ; 14 IMPROVEMENT ERA Do not form opinions blindly; Hastiness to trouble tends. Those of whom we thought unkindly Oft become our warmest friends. Also this poem: Let each man learn to know himself; To gain that knowledge, let him labor, Improve those failings in himself, Which he condemned so in his neighbor. How lenient our own faults we view, And conscience' voice adeptly smother But oh! how harshly we review The self-same errors in another. And if you meet an erring one, Whose deeds are blameable or thoughtless, Consider, ere you cast the stone, If you yourself be pure and faultless. Oh! list to that small voice within, Whose whisperings oft make men confounded, And trumpet not another's sin, You'd blush deep if your own were sounded. And in self -judgment, if you find Your deeds to others are superior; To you has Providence been kind, As you should be to those inferior; Example sheds a genial ray Of light, which men are apt to borrow; So first, improve yourself today, And then improve your friends tomorrow. Closing Testimony I thank the Lord that I am ahle to bear witness to you here today that I know that God lives, that he hears and answers our prayers; that I know that Jesus is the Christ, the Redeemer of the world, the savior of mankind. I hear my witness to you here today that Joseph Smith was a prophet of the true and the living God, that he was the instrument in the hands of God of establishing again upon the earth the plan of life and sal- vation, not only for the living but for the dead, and that this gospel, commonly called "Mormouism," by the people of the world, is in very deed the nlan of life and salvation, the gospel of the Lord Je s us Christ, that the little stone has been cut out of the mountain, and that it shall roll forth until it fills the whole earth. We believe in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; we believe in the literal gathering of Israel, and we believe that Zion shall be built upon this, th<° American continent, and that Christ shall reipn personally upon the earth. May God help ! BLESSINGS FROM SACRIFICE AND SERVICE 15 us who have a testimony of the gospel to so live that if we are upon the earth when he comes to reign, we will be worthy to be welcomed by him; and if we go beyond before he comes to reign, that we shall receive the plaudit, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant; enter into the joy of thy Lord," is my prayer, and I ask it in the name of Jesus. Amen.