John Wells

Second Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric (July 18, 1918 – April 6, 1938)

General Conference Addresses

  • October 1937 General Conference
    • Loving our Neighbors
      • “We can show our love one to another by brotherly kindness, neighborliness, service in both spiritual and temporal things, and by the spirit of benevolence and forgiveness. We manifest our love for one another by our righteous precepts and by our good example, that others knowing our teachings and feeling the influence of our good example, may be induced to follow in paths of rectitude.”
      • “My brethren and sisters, let us get back to simple methods of living—of helpfulness, each Latter-day Saint doing his share in the community, cooperating in all useful efforts and for the good of all.”
  • October 1936 General Conference
    • The Sacrament
      • “Every individual who has complied with the ordinances of the Gospel and has become a member of the Church is expected and required to attend the sacramental service on the Lord’s day and there partake of this holy ordinance. It is a privilege to be counted worthy to partake of this sacrament.”
      • “When partaken of often and in the proper spirit, it is a safeguard against evil, and we shall develop an intimate fellowship with God and with one another. It will give us a richness of spirit, and it will uplift, ennoble and develop an active, living faith within us.”
  • April 1936 General Conference
    • The Indifferent
      • “With tact and understanding, can we help these indifferent members to see themselves as others see them and through our earnest efforts and kindliness bring them back into service in the Church?”
      • “Whether it be friend, neighbor or relative, by long-suffering, meekness and patience, win their respect and love and help them to again see the beauties of the Gospel. Bring them back into the fold that they might again enjoy the blessings of the Gospel and be numbered actively with the Church of Christ.”
  • October 1935 General Conference
  • April 1935 General Conference
    • Gratitude
      • “We are living in the most important age of the world’s history—the dispensation of the fulness of times—a day of the restitution of all things spoken by the mouths of holy prophets since the world began. Prophets of old have looked forward to this. day and have longed to see it. Is it not a privilege to live in this day when great world movements preparatory to the coming of the Son of God are in progress?”
      • “No matter what our surroundings and circumstances may be, let us hold fast to our living faith. Let not our ideals be wrested from us. Let us contemplate often our blessings and hold fast to the enduring things of life, that which will bring us riches of soul—the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
      • “May we cultivate gratitude. The spirit of gratitude always brings happiness.”
  • October 1934 General Conference
    • Service to Others
      • “To love God means that we will not only keep his commandments, but that we will qualify ourselves for the duties and responsibilities required of all who accept the Gospel to proclaim the restored Gospel and the divine mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith.”
      • “Fortunate are we if we have learned the great truth that happiness is not determined by how much we get out of life, but what we put into life in the way of helpfulness and service for others.”
      • “The happiest people on earth are those who contribute to the welfare of their neighbors and friends.”
  • April 1934 General Conference
    • Tithing
      • “While we may be poor in the things of the world, after all we still have with us the most worthwhile things of life—the Gospel, our testimonies of its divinity, our loved ones, and our associations in the Church. We have much to be thankful for.”
      • “To be a tithepayer will strengthen the child’s faith in God, for faith grows by works. It will increase his interest in the Gospel. He will feel a partnership in this great Latter-day work when he contributes of his means for the purpose of supporting the Church. It will develop in the child honesty, integrity, loyalty, and an appreciation of his parents and of the Gospel, and from this training there will come happier and better and more devoted men and women.”
  • October 1933 General Conference
    • Spiritual Balances Sheets
      • “A man who never takes an inventory and balance sheet of himself will run the risk of intellectual and spiritual bankruptcy.”
      • “My brethren and sisters, let us see that our spiritual assets are increasing and that our spiritual liabilities are decreasing; that in spite of poverty, disappointments and financial reverses, we do increase in faith, keeping always in mind the saying of the Master, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” We can show our love for the Master by keeping his commandments.”
  • April 1932 General Conference
    • The Sabbath Day
      • “No person can disregard the Lord’s day without suffering serious spiritual consequences. If we neglect to observe it, we shall become sick spiritually. The Sabbath-breaker will lose faith in this great work, for faith can only be developed by service and obedience to the commandments of the Lord. The Lord is not pleased with Latter-day Saints who attend Sunday shows, Sunday ball games, who play golf on Sunday, go on canyon trips, or visit places of amusement; nor is he pleased with those who do unnecessary labor on the Lord’s day.”
  • October 1931 General Conference
    • Fast Offerings
      • “Every bishop should see that no member of his ward suffers because of the lack of the necessities of life. He should call to his aid the Relief Society of his ward and they, at his request, should investigate cases of want and suffering and recommend to the bishop what, in their judgment, would be the proper course to pursue in each individual case or family.”
      • “If we would win eternal life we cannot afford to neglect our duty to our fellow men.”
  • April 1931 General Conference
    • Thinking Straight
      • “We should train ourselves to think straight, and when we think straight we shall be in harmony with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
  • October 1930 General Conference
    • The European Missions
      • “Some of the countries of Europe are still unsettled politically, as well as economically, and it is probable that during the next few years there will be serious changes in their forms of government.”
  • April 1930 General Conference
    • A Short Testimony
      • “We speak of the great events that have transpired in this Church, the restoration of the Gospel through the medium of the Prophet Joseph Smith. I never tire of hearing it. It is always music to me. It is the greatest subject of this last dispensation. We should constantly teach to our children and to others the story of the Prophet’s first vision, the coming of the Angel Moroni, the delivery of the plates, the translation of the book, the testimony of the Three Witnesses, and the organization of the Church. We should also teach the mission of John the Baptist, and the travels, labors, and miracles of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
  • October 1929 General Conference
    • Employment
      • “The Lord has not blessed all with the same power and ability to acquire wealth. Let us have sympathy for our unfortunate brethren. The unemployment problem would not be a serious one if the members of this great Church of ours would all lend a helping hand and make every effort to retain in the wards not only elderly persons and widows, but the young men and women who frequently leave the community to seek employment and who are so badly needed in the communities where they were reared.”
  • October 1928 General Conference
    • Tithing
      • “Tithe paying will never impoverish anyone.”
      • “Tithing is a debt, not a gift to the Lord.”
  • October 1927 General Conference
    • The Sabbath
      • “Not Latter-day Saint can feel in full fellowship with the Holy Spirit who uses the Lord’s day for recreation and pleasure, who visits pleasure resorts, picture shows and theatres, who goes to baseball or football games, who goes on picnics, fishing or hunting trips, or on railway excursions on the Lord’s day, or who uses that day in automobile riding for pleasure.”
      • “Experience has shown that those who remember the Lord’s day and keep it holy are in harmony with the spirit of the gospel. The keeping of this law will affect our ‘lives for good, and, if we disobey it it will affect our lives for evil. The Lord has designed this day so that we may rest from our labors, attend to our religious duties in a spirit of thankfulness and appreciation for the gospel, and obtain spiritual comfort and spiritual food. I am wondering if, in the rush and whirl of life, we are overlooking some of the fundamentals of the gospel. Are we making this, day a day of rest and devotion or a day of recreation and pleasure? I hope the Latter-day Saints will follow the word of the Lord given to us in these latter days and that we shall strictly observe the day of rest.”
  • April 1927 General Conference
    • The Life of the Savior
      • “It is our duty to pray to the Father for this testimony. It is our privilege to receive it, and no Latter-day Saint of years of discretion need be without this testimony. In view of the great problems that are arising in the world, I appeal to my brethren and sisters to see that there is taught to their children in the homes the story of the life and mission of Jesus Christ; also the story of the Prophet Joseph, and the restoration of the gospel through his instrumentality, that there may grow into their hearts faith in the living God and a love for their fellow-men, that our young people will grow mighty in testimony and power to carry on this great work.”
  • October 1926 General Conference
    • The Sacrament
      • “It is the privilege of every Latter-day Saint to know that Jesus is the Christ, the Redeemer of the world, and that the Prophet Joseph Smith was divinely appointed and ordained for the great work which he performed in his brief ministry in these latter days. No Latter-day Saint should be satisfied until these testimonies burn within him.”
      • “No Latter-day Saint can keep alive in his heart the testimony of Jesus Christ and live the gospel unless he partakes of the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper frequently, with clean hands and a pure heart, remembering the purpose of this Sacrament is to remind us of the death and sufferings of our Lord and Master until he comes again. We Latter-day Saints should go to our meetingplaces regularly and in the most solemn manner center our thoughts upon the great sacrifice made by our Lord and Savior; and we should not partake of the bread and the water unthinkingly or carelessly.”
  • April 1926 General Conference
    • Tithing
      • “Every person is happy when he fulfills the law of the gospel.”
      • “He recommended that fathers and mothers encourage boys and girls to tithe even their spending money, not because it has not already been tithed, but to develop the habit of paying tithes and offerings as children, so that when these children become grown the habit will have been formed.”
  • October 1925 General Conference
    • Preaching the Gospel
      • “This work has been done by the bearers of the gospel thousands of times. Men will say to themselves and to one another: What shall we do? They will hear the message through the servants of the Lord, and some few will accept it and become valiant defenders of the truth in their own communities. They will receive the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, and this will drive out of their minds, if they will but permit it, all sectarianism and dogmatism from which the world is suffering today.”
  • April 1925 General Conference
    • Rigors of Service
      • “I have often thought of what a weeding-out process this great movement proved to be, for if there were any weak-kneed people, if there were any whose hearts were not filled with a testimony, they could not help but be thinned from the ranks of the Latter-day Saints.”
  • October 1924 General Conference
    • Greatest Responsibility
      • “I have been thinking concerning our personal salvation, the development of our spiritual life, increased devotion to duty in our wards and stakes, the higher and better family life; for after all family life is the basis of all the development of this Church. We are an aggregate of families organized into branches and wards and stakes and missions, and we need development in the home, the basis of all our growth and improvement. I would like to see scripture reading in the homes, and family prayers carefully attended to, that the spirit and idealism of the Gospel of Jesus Christ might be instilled into us in the home, for that is where we will save ourselves and our children. In this Church the Lord has i)laced the priesthood to act as his agents, that whatever they perform, in righteousness and under the proper direction, will be binding on this earth and in the heavens. This priesthood has been graded into various orders, each with very specific and well-defined duties, and the Lord called and appointed two of the orders of this priesthood for the very purpose of looking after the home life of the community.”
      • “It is plain that the Lord has placed some responsibility upon every Latter-day Saint holding the Priesthood, and one of the greatest of these responsibilities I have just mentioned, that of developing the spiritual life of the Latter-day Saints.”
      • “I believe that the development of this Church in the stakes and wards will evolve largely around the home.”
  • April 1924 General Conference
    • Tithing
      • “Let us not rest up with the idea that because father has already paid a tithe, the child need not pay tithing. The child, if allowed to pay its tithing, even though it be small, will develop a good habit, and it will stay with him. This is another duty of fathers and mothers, to teach their children the observance of this law.”
  • October 1923 General Conference
    • This Great Work
      • “There is something unique about this great work. It was not split off from any sect or party like nearly all the sects of the day have been, but it came direct from our Father in heaven when the set time had come to establish his great work in the latter days, and the message of the gospel appealed to the honest in heart ; to those who were sweet in their lives and habits. Wherever the gospel went, they picked up these rugged, frugal, honest, God-fearing people, and under the influence of the Spirit of the Lord they accepted the gospel and upon them came the spirit of gathering. This gathering came to them as a part of the power and gift of this great work, and will come upon all those who accept the gospel in foreign lands.”
      • “The Lord never intended his people to be in bondage to any community or to any person. We can only keep out of bondage by keeping out of debt.”
  • April 1923 General Conference
    • Preaching the Gospel
      • “It is not necessary that the Latter-day Saints should measure their success in the world by the numbers who embrace the gospel, although it is always gratifying to know that others have received with glad hearts the message of the gospel that has come to us. But the Father, when he appeared to the Prophet Joseph, thought one man was enough to show himself to, that he might be a new witness for God.”
  • October 1922 General Conference
    • Remedy for the Conditions of the World
      • “It is the mission of the Latter-day Saints and the purpose of the gospel to make the world better. The only remedy for the conditions now prevailing in the world, is the acceptance and application of the gospel of Jesus Christ in the lives of the people of the world. Such principles as love, sympathy, kindness, mutual helpfulness and respect for the lives of others, all make for the betterment of mankind, and all are incorporated in the gospel.”
      • “We should not be tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine, whether it be social, political, financial or otherwise, because the Lord has revealed to us his purposes, and we should train our hearts to be willing to carry them out.”
      • “As the home fails, so will the community fail.”
  • April 1922 General Conference
    • Service and Selfishness
      • “What a glorious blessing it is to feel the power and influence of the Holy Spirit, under which we make new resolves and determinations to better serve the Lord. There is something in “Mormonism,” commonly so-called, or the gospel of Jesus Christ, that forces every one of us, when under its influence, to think better, to act better and to make new resolves.”
      • “No one can perform a good act or a service for the Lord but what he rids himself of some selfishness.”
      • “The more we love God, and the more we try to serve Hi-m, the more we shall love our fellow men; and the more we shall desire to labor for our Master. We cannot separate our religion into two parts, to be forgotten in worldly affairs and to be remembered on the Sabbath day only. Every Latter-day Saint who has in his heart a desire to love God and to keep His commandments, must, at the same time, love his fellow men, and this great body of Latter-day Saints demonstrate, as no other people on this earth have done, the force and power behind the great commandment of our Lord and Master, and the sacrifice and labors of the Latter-day Saints for the love of their fellow men. This is almost beyond comprehension.”
  • October 1921 General Conference
    • Cooperation
      • “We cooperate wonderfully in spiritual things. Our system of organization, and the operation of the stakes, wards and missions, are the admiration of all unbiased investigators. In all the affairs of the wards and stakes, cooperation is the basic idea. But when it comes to business, we are actuated purely by the spirit of competition. That competition is for the profit of individuals or groups of individuals, and not in the interest of the community. Under our present competitive system of living, you will find in the small communities a number of people in commercial pursuits, supplying our needs for the purpose of making profit for themselves. Why not develop the spirit by which the community owns these institutions? Why not develop cooperative purchasing as we are now developing cooperative selling? This cooperative spirit could be developed in the cultivation of large tracts of land, in flocks and herds, merchandising, banking, canals and water problems, and in many other ways, some of which have already been developed in the older states and in the countries of Europe.”
  • April 1920 General Conference
    • Building the Kingdom of God
      • “I thank my heavenly Father that I belong to a Church that has placed upon me the duty of working out my own salvation; where I can labor in the cause of the Master; where I can be one of the ministry, serving him and assisting to bring about his purposes on the earth.”
      • “If we want to see temples dotting this land of Zion, this choice land above all other lands, let us remember that it can be done by the payment of our tithes and offerings. If we want beautiful houses of worship, let us pay our tithes and offerings. If we want to be content in this land that it shall be a land of Zion unto us, let us pay our tithes and offerings.”
  • October 1919 General Conference
    • The Sabbath Day
      • “I see before me Latter-day Saints who have felt in their hearts the power and influence of the gospel and who, in their daily lives, are striving with all their human weaknesses to serve the Lord and to keep his commandments.”
      • “Some of us go to meeting because it is a habit (and it is an excellent habit too). I would not decry nor speak against any habit that is a good one. Do we enter the sacrament meeting as if it were a commonplace affair?”
      • “There is something more important in this sacrament meeting than going to listen to speaking. The Lord has commanded us that as often as we shall meet together and partake of the sacrament in remembrance of his sufferings that we shall worship him in spirit and in truth. We should enter our meetinghouses with a spirit of reverence to God and to his servants, reverence for the house of worship and for the sacrifice made by our Lord and Savior, for he has promised us that if we will partake of the sacrament worthily and renew our covenants before him, he will grant unto us his holy Spirit. We should, therefore, enter the house of worship with the Spirit of the Lord in our hearts. Peace and order should prevail in that building and throughout the whole of the service.”
      • “We should set the example and teach our young people that when we enter the house of the Lord, we should do so with the spirit of devotion in our hearts, and partake of the sacrament of the Lord’s supper, remembering his death and sufferings. Whatever we do should be done in the spirit of devotion and worship. We should not partake of the sacrament mechanically, we should repeat mentally the sacramental prayer. Our eyes should be closed and our thoughts concentrated on the sacred duty we are performing when we partake of the sacrament of the Lord’s supper.”
  • June 1919 General Conference
    • Remembrances of Pres. Smith
      • “That same night, as the train was moving across the plains of Wyoming, President Smith stood at the back of the car taking a rest from a long, tedious day’s journey. Any of you who have traveled day after day in a railway train know what relief it is to stand up or move around for awhile. I tell you this incident to show you how President Smith was susceptible to the Still Small Voice. While standing at the back of the train he heard a voice telling him to go into the car, and he did so. Later he was walking up and down the corridor and was told by the same Voice to sit down. He did so. A few moments later the engine ran off the track and tilted the train on an angle which scared us all. Had President Smith been in the back of the train or walking in the corridor he might have been very seriously injured, but the Lord had regard for him and he was prompted by a Voice which he understood so well, and he acted accordingly.”

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