Anthon H. Lund – Gospel Study

Anthon H. Lund

First Counselor in the First Presidency (April 7, 1910 – March 2, 1921)

President of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles (November 23, 1918 – March 2, 1921)

Second Counselor in the First Presidency (October 17, 1901 – April 7, 1910)

Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (October 7, 1889 – March 2, 1921)

General Conference Addresses

October 1920 General Conference
- Charity and Love
  - “Let us not entertain hatred against anyone, whether he is connected with the Church or not. That feeling ought not to be harbored in our breasts.”
  - “Let us learn to have charity for one another, and carry it out in our every-day lives, and we will make life happy to ourselves and to our neighbors and our path will be much smoother.”
April 1920 General Conference
- Stay True to the Church
  - “Let no one deceive you, let no one draw you away from the pale of the Church; for within it there are the servants of the Lord who have been authorized to administer unto you and to perform the ordinances of the gospel. You will not find that authority outside of the Church.”
  - “We believe many things that we have not seen, many things that have come to us by the Spirit of God, and they have been made as plain to us as knowledge obtained by our five senses could be. We have received, by the Spirit witnessing to our spirit, the truth of these heavenly things that have been given to us.”
October 1919 General Conference
- Apostasy and Other Matters
  - “One of the first apostates came into the Church by seeing a wonderful healing, but if that was the only reason for his joining, it would have taken miracles every day, nearly, to have kept him there; he apostatized and left the Church. Those of us, brethren and sisters, who have joined the Church, and have had the Spirit of God conferred upon us by the laying on of hands, and have Deceived the assurance that we have the truth, and that in going down into the waters of baptism we fulfilled the Lord’s command to us, without having seen miracles, are just as strong in our testimony as those who have had ocular manifestations, because what you see with your eyes and hear with your ears is brought to the spirit through the different channels of your bodily senses, while those who receive a testimony through the Spirit of the Lord acting upon their spirits receive as strong a conviction of the truth as those who get it through their bodily senses.”
  - “If we neglect our duties, if we do things contrary to the will of the Lord, we can become dark. We can see in this hall at night when it is lighted up, but going out where it is dark we may remember what we have seen in the lighted hall, remember the light that lightened it ; but outside, when we go into the land of the enemy, we cannot see our way, and we may even kick against the pricks; we may do that which we once knew to be wrong. Hence, let none ot us forget how precious is the testimony of the Holy Spirit, to know that God lives, that his Son lives, and that his Son is coming again and will restore his kingdom upon the earth.”
June 1919 General Conference
- Tribute to Joseph F. Smith
  - “President Smith was a spiritual-minded man, and he was well versed in all things pertaining to the priesthood, to temple work and to the different activities of the Church.”
October 1918 General Conference
- Missionary Work
  - “Don’t feel that you can get along just as well without as with attendance at these meetings. It is a great loss to those who stay away. You go there to worship God, to be instructed in his ways, and to renew your covenants with him. In partaking of the sacrament you make the promise that you will take upon you the name of the Son of God, that you will always remember him and keep his commandments which he has given you, and then the promise is that you will have his Spirit to be with you. You cannot progress spiritually if you do not partake of these holy things, and doing it will strengthen and inspire you during the week days; and, therefore, let us all feel that it is our duty to attend sacrament meetings and thereby help to build up one another in our holy faith.”
April 1918 General Conference
- Raising Children
  - “I do not want to shake the confidence of the parents in their children. I know that God has given us that blessed love for our children that we can hardly see any faults in them, but remember that all are liable to have faults, and hence they must be trained aright.”
  - “We want our children to be reared in a firm belief in God and that he is the author of their being, and is their Father. We should teach them that without him they could not even breathe or have life here, for he is the Author of life.”
October 1917 General Conference
- Buildings and History
  - “want to bear my testimony to the truth of the gospel. I can say yes and amen to the testimonies borne by our President. Joseph Smith was sent of God to establish his work, and the gospel that we believe in is the gospel of salvation. Let no one shake your faith in it, but be steadfast, brethren and sisters, that you may obtain the blessings that the gospel promises.”
April 1917 General Conference
- Serve God
  - “We are a people of peace. We do not love war, but in order to defend our homes we have been obliged to go to war.”
October 1916 General Conference
- Sabbath Meetings
  - “I fear that the Sabbath is no1< held sacred enough among us as a people, who ought, indeed, to pay attention” to this day and make it a day of rest and worship.”
October 1915 General Conference
- True Religion
  - “Why have you and I joined a people so despised by the world? Our answer is, We joined this Church because we were convinced that it was the Church of Jesus Christ.”
  - “Remember that if we shall obtain our salvation we must work it out in fear and trembling. Every day has its duties. It is not the one who enters through the door that shall be saved, but it is he who endures to the end, and enduring and overcoming are the lessons which we must learn. If we overcome ourselves, and everything that is contrary to the word of God, if we endure affliction, trials and persecution for the Master’s sake, then we shall realize the promises made to the faithful.”
  - “Don’t be afraid that you shall lose your reward for the good that you do; records are kept both on earth and in heaven, and every good act you have performed will be remembered, and rewarded. On the other hand we are told by one who had authority to say so, that we shall give account of every idle word spoken, and if we shall be accountable for every idle word, what about evil acts and evil doings? They certainly will stand against us.”
  - “The one who has lost his faith has lost more than the world can give; hence the necessity of our valuing at its true worth what the Lord has done for us.”
  - “If we stay away or avoid partaking of the sacrament, we are cutting ourselves short of the blessings we could enjoy; in fact such a course will cause spiritual starvation.”
April 1915 General Conference
- The Resurrection
  - “This doctrine gives a satisfactory explanation of the justice of God. If it be true, what many in the world believe, that only the few that hear the doctrine of Christ and receive it should be saved, and that all the other myriads who come upon the earth should be condemned, because they had not heard His name, then it looks very unjust. But when we remember what Peter says, that the dead should hear the Gospel, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, we begin to understand the justice of God.”
  - “How broad is the platform of salvation! The Lord is just to all, and no one coming before His judgment seat shall be able to say that he has not been dealt with justly.”
October 1914 General Conference
- Pray for Peace
  - “He taught His disciples to pray. He did not want them to make many repetitions, He did not want them to pray to be considered of men, but He wanted them to come as children to their Father, and ask for the things they stood in need of.”
  - “We should seek His kingdom first of all, for its possession is far better than riches. When we imagine conditions existing in heaven, we feel convinced that there is no such thing as disobedience found among the happy throngs that dwell there, and this is not because they are forced to do His will, but because they know it is right and most productive of happiness.”
  - “We should use our influence that His will may be done here on earth as it is done in heaven. We should use our free agency to serve the Lord and always choose to do His will; it will bring us the greatest happiness.”
  - “His commandments to His children are not arbitrary like those of a tyrant, but they are measured for the benefit and blessing of all who live upon earth. So we can heartily pray also that His will may be done here upon the earth as it is done in heaven.”
October 1913 General Conference
- Preaching the Gospel
  - “I hope that we will be strong in our determination to keep the Word of Wisdom and to do it not only to please our Heavenly Father, but because we know that what He says to us is for our own good. We will not lose any pleasure by it. There may be a little self-denial to those who have gotten into the habit of using things that are forbidden, but even self-denial gives joy and pleasure.”
April 1913 General Conference
- Church Government
  - “The Lord in comforting the Saints told them that if they would listen to his counsel, the gates of hell should not have power over them, and this promise is the same to you and to me in as much as we listen to the counsels of inspired men.”
October 1912 General Conference
- Scripture
  - “I want to say that although there is so much restlessness, and so many hope that a change will be for the better, it will be well for all people, and especially the Latter-day Saints, to well consider any measure that is proposed to them, and weigh it well before they adopt it, that they may be sure it will be a change for the better.”
April 1912 General Conference
- Prayer and the Atonement
  - “In going to our Heavenly Father in prayer, let us go as children to their Father, knowing that He loves us, and is willing and able to bestow upon us that which is necessary for us to receive.”
  - “Let our prayers ascend in faith, not as an experiment, not in words spoken by rote, but let our words be the heartfelt supplications for that which we stand in need of, and desire to receive; and if our prayers be answered, let us not forget to thank the Giver.”
  - “When anyone offends us, brethren and sisters, let us remember the example given us, let us not take offense at every little thing that may appear offensive to us, for in the great majority of cases, when we investigate the matter, we find that no intentional offense was meant, but only thoughtlessness was the cause.”
October 1911 General Conference
- Immigrants
  - “Young man, don’t be satisfied to spend your young life in day wage earning. Of course, there are many that must do this, many are adapted for it, and it is perhaps the life that they like most and would make them the happiest; but to our young men generally, who have initiative of their own, I would say, strike out for yourselves, and though it means hard labor, and in many cases deprivation of things you could have in the city, yet by and by, what you are doing will come back to you with more than interest, and you will be thankful that you have started for yourselves. This is a week day, and we can talk about temporal affairs, I suppose.”
April 1911 General Conference
- Health and Happiness
  - “All that has been given to us by revelation has been for our blessing and for our good, and we should not feel to violate the Lord’s will in regard to this matter, even if we should say to ourselves, It is not a commandment,but a word of wisdom. Let us make it the resolve of our hearts that we will follow the advice given therein, and then we will be blest, not alone physically but also spiritually.”
  - “Divorces should not be known amongst us. It is too solemn a thing to enter into the marriage relation and then have it dissolved. So we would say to the young people, begin marriage right, and then try to make marriage bring unto you happiness and blessings. Avoid everything that tends to make that bond galling and the relation unhappy.”
October 1910 General Conference
- To Regain our Heavenly Father’s Presence
  - “Whatever men may do, I feel that nothing can be done to stop the progress of the work of the Lord. This is the gospel, restored unto the earth, and it must be preached to all nations.”
  - “We want them taught practical religion. We want them taught how to pray, how to walk uprightly before God, how to learn to exercise charity to the neighbor, to do good to those who are in need, and to remember the sick.”
April 1910 General Conference
- Prosperity of the Church
  - “A sound body is necessary for a sound mind. In order that the Spirit of the Lord may do the most good for a person he must keep himself clean and pure in spirit and abstain from that which undermines his health—and all the things forbidden in the word of wisdom tend to undermine health.”
October 1909 General Conference
- Children
  - “Good children are among the greatest blessings; but we must remember that every blessing that God bestows upon us brings also responsibility, and the responsibility of raising our children aright, of guarding them against evil influences, is a great one.”
April 1909 General Conference
- Zealous in God’s Work
  - “Our own business is to support the kingdom of God and build it up. The Lord did not give us life and being here upon the earth just to accumulate worldly things.”
October 1908 General Conference
- Word of Wisdom
  - “Do not hanker after mysteries. There is enough in our standard works for texts upon which to speak unto the people.”
  - “What blessing would it be to receive the word of the Lord in greater abundance than we do at present, if we do not obey His commandments unto us?”
- Church Organization
  - “I thought I would draw your minds to these points, showing that the quorums were organized as the Church needed them, and it was not by men suggesting that now it would be good to have such and such a quorum.”
April 1908 General Conference
- The Gathering
  - “Where men want information concerning what we believe, we are always ready to give it unto them; but if they only want to contend with us, and they have a quarrelsome spirit, we do not want to encourage argument with such.”
  - “All those who came here with an eye single to the glory of God, have found Zion. Those who did not come with an eye single to the glory of God, but whose aim was to build up self, make means, and so forth, have not found Zion, but have been ready to find fault with it.”
October 1907 General Conference
- Faithfulness and Zeal
  - “When one is attacked for his religion, he feels strong to resist the attack, and stands up for his belief at any cost, but when it comes to every-day duties, and there is something for the Latter-day Saint to do every day—some become lukewarm and indifferent. It requires much zeal and endurance to attend to our duties in the Church under these ordinary conditions. The feeling should be uppermost in our hearts that, under all circumstances, we will faithfully do our duty. It is not he that just begins and then stops who is promised salvation, but he who endures to the end.”
  - “We have duties that we owe to ourselves, to our fellow men, and to God; let us not neglect any of them. There are also duties that we owe to our children; we must not neglect them, they are of the utmost importance.”
  - “Let us be careful that our conduct be such that it will not give offense to our conscience, and that it may be a correct pattern to our children and others.”
April 1907 General Conference
- Keep the Sabbath
  - “It is our duty to go to the table of the Lord and partake of the emblems of His body and blood, but this must be done in the right way. We must not go there with hard feelings towards our brethren and sisters.”
  - “Let us go to our meetings; let us worship the Lord; let us not feel satisfied to stay at home; but always feel that it is a duty to go to the Lord’s house and there with the Saints partake of the blessings which He has promised.”
October 1906 General Conference
- Mission of Joseph Smith
  - “This work is bound to triumph in the earth, because the Lord has established it, and He has promised that it shall not be given to another people.”
April 1906 General Conference
- The Ethics of Mormonism
  - “It would be well for us all to examine ourselves and see if our faith is increasing, or if we are setting indifferent and our faith decreasing. We should do this thoroughly; let our criticism of self be severe so that we may see ourselves in the true light.”
  - “We do not want the mind trained alone, but also the hands. We desire that the education we give our children shall be most useful to them.”
  - “We cannot overestimate the value of giving our children an opportunity to study under teachers who will teach them the way of life and salvation.”
October 1905 General Conference
- Willingness and Diligence of Missionaries
  - “It is indeed pleasing to us to see the progress that the work is making in the different parts of the earth, and I hope to see this progress accelerated and the benign influences of the Gospel he felt more and more among the people. At home, we feel that the Saints in the different Stakes are progressing In all good works. The quarterly conferences that have been held in all of the 55 Stakes have been times of rejoicing, and spiritual feasts unto all present, and we believe that the Saints are growing in grace with God.”
April 1905 General Conference
- Tithing
  - “Our Church schools have an object which can not be reached in the state institutions. We want our young men and young women instructed in the principles of salvation. We want them brought under the influence of the Spirit of the Gospel. Hence we have these schools established in our midst. Of course, it costs much to keep these schools; but we feel the cost is far outweighed by the good which is accomplished in them.”
  - “In conferring the Priesthood upon Joseph and Oliver they were not ordained to any particular office, but the Priesthood itself was conferred upon them. They were instructed, however, that when the Church was organized they should ordain each other to the office of Elder.”
October 1904 General Conference
- Character of the Priesthood
  - “Take the men in our midst who have made the greatest sacrifices, and you will generally find the men who have been the most greatly blessed. From the beginning of the Church the Lord has called upon His people to do something.”
  - “The children may be taught the secular branches by the most polished teachers, but if they are not taught morality and faith their education will be deficient and they will not know how to reach the object for which they have comes upon the earth.”
April 1904 General Conference
- The Resurrection
  - “We desire to live so that when this event shall come, whether we be on the earth or in the grave, that this sound may be heard by us—that we may come forth and join that happy throng.”
October 1903 General Conference
- Obedience to Truth
  - “The man who abstains from sin and from indulgence in sinful pleasures is not a servant or slave; he is a free man.”
  - “Be not afraid of what others may say; but be afraid of what He who knows the inmost thoughts of your hearts shall think and judge of you.”
  - “We should examine ourselves, and find out whether the truth has made us free, or whether we be still slaves to those influences that we know are not of God.”
- Comprehensive Redemption
  - “Yet the Christian world today does not constitute a third of the whole population of the globe. The other two-thirds do not believe in Christ, and when they die, according to some, their chance of salvation is gone. We believe that the Gospel is much broader than this. We believe that the plan of salvation, formulated before this earth rolled into existence, was framed by heavenly beings who could see the future, and who understood what would take place, and were able to provide for the salvation of all who should inhabit this earth. They did so.”
April 1903 General Conference
- Zion Progressing
  - “If he does not Pay his tithing, he shows there is something wrong with him. He cannot have the faith which he professes to have; for if he did he would not be delinquent in this matter.”
  - “We believe that those who can handle means rightly can do much to bless their fellows. But he who is ruled by the love of money is tempted to commit sin.”
  - “The question, how much good can we do with our means? should be before the question, how can we double our means?”
October 1902 General Conference
- The God We Worship
  - “We do not go out to win battles as debaters; but we go out to teach men that which we have received, and which we know is true.”
  - “Contention is not our custom, and we advise our missionaries not to contend, but simply go out and teach the principles of the Gospel.”
April 1902 General Conference
- The Work of God
  - “Notwithstanding all that the Lord had done for him he was a humble man. Yet he was by nature an able man, and when the Lord endowed him with the Holy Spirit and gave him revelations from on high, he became a great man—the one chosen to usher in the dispensation of the fulness of times, and by the help of our Heavenly Father he laid the foundation broad and wide.”
October 1901 General Conference
- Conferences a Blessing
  - “Professing to be Latter-day Saints does not make us Latter-day Saints. It takes watching and praying, a continual examination of ourselves, to live the lives of Saints.”
  - “We want to make ourselves familiar with the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, and prepare ourselves to receive more of the word of God. Whenever the Lord has had a dispensation upon the earth, He has always favored His people with His word and win. He has not let His people wander in the dark, but has revealed himself unto them.”
- A Perfect Organization
  - “I rejoice that we live in a day when the Lord has revealed His will unto men and has given us His Priesthood. He has also given us many promises, which we know will be fulfilled. It is for us to live so as to show the Lord that we appreciate what He has done for us; to do the best we can in the places which God has called us to occupy, and to make ourselves better men and women.”
April 1901 General Conference
- Humility
  - “Remember that the Lord withstands the proud; and purse-pride I think is meaner than any other pride.”
  - “Do not think that humility is opposed to greatness. On the contrary, no man ever became great who was not humble.”
October 1900 General Conference
- Temple Work
  - “Peter tells us that He preached to the spirits in prison—those that Job speaks of when he says that they should be brought forth out of the pit and out of their prison. Jesus went and opened their prison doors; He led captivity captive; He brought joy to the many millions that were waiting in prison, for His coming, who were there because at one time they had rejected the Gospel.”
April 1900 General Conference
- Spiritual Gifts
  - “Now, if Joseph Smith had not been an inspired man; if the Book of Mormon was not the word of God, but written by man, how careful such a man would have been not to furnish the world- with a test like this whereby they could at once detect whether it was the Church of Christ or not. A man who should fraudulently give himself out to be an inspired man, would be careful that such words should not be given to the world. But these were not the words of Joseph; they were the words of a prophet that lived some fourteen hundred years before, and one who understood the Church of Christ.”
October 1899 General Conference
- Obedience
  - “Obedience to the Father’s will is a principle that we must all learn. He has not left us in the dark in regard to what He wants us to do. I believe the Latter-day Saints have more faith and a stronger testimony than any other people. They received this strong testimony when the hands of the servants of God were laid upon their heads. They received the Holy Ghost, which leads into all truth and makes known the Father’s will. So that, while we have inspired men in our midst to give us the word of the Lord, we are not dependent upon that alone. The Lord has given unto us His Holy Spirit to witness unto our spirits whether that which is given us is right or not.”
  - “This iron rod, it was explained, is the word of God. By taking hold of that we need not go astray. Although we may have to look forward with the eye of faith, holding to the iron rod we will be just as safe as if there were no mist.”
  - “When the servants of God give us His word, let us cling to it; let us obey His will, and we will have no cause for regrets.”
April 1899 General Conference
- The Poor
  - “They may not be able to find the kind of work they have been used to do, and we may not be able to provide that for them, but we should try to give them an opportunity to earn their livelihood. We do not want to make paupers of them. We want to study ways and devise means whereby they can earn their living in our midst. Our missionaries who return should continue to take the same lively interest in the Saints after they gather as they did when they were laboring in their midst in the different fields abroad. Sometimes they feel hurt when they come here and no notice is taken of them. The missionaries who are acquainted with them should take some interest in them and try to do something for them.”
  - “The hoarding up of means, trying to get riches for riches’ sake, will not make a man happy.”
October 1898 General Conference
- Missionary Work in the Orient
  - “Wherever the Gospel has been introduced it has always met with opposition. The Turkish mayor of Aintab said to me, when I asked him to look after our people, that they should not suffer any wrong at the hands of their enemies, “Wherever a message of truth is sent, those bearing it will suffer persecution.” I knew the sentiment was true, but it sounded curious to hear it from his lips. He promised to protect the Saints, and I learn from them that he has fined some of the mobocrats.”
October 1897 General Conference
- Missionary Work
  - “There is this difference between the work of God and the work of man—the work of God has a perfect Author, what He commands is not an experimental thing, but is something that was seen beforehand. The consequences were known before the law was given. By studying the word of God as given through His prophets, we find that He knew as well thousands of years ago what was for the best good of His people as today, and that when the prophets spoke of Zion they saw it, understood how it should be built, and could foretell the Lord’s dealings with His people.”
  - “We want to be laborers in Zion, and work for the cause of Zion, and not for other objects—that is, not to make them the only objects of our lives. It is not forbidden us to work for money. We have to do this, to make our living; but the Prophet meant that we must not make it the sole aim of our lives, to enrich ourselves and gain wealth. The love of money is the root of all evil, has been said, and said truly. Not the money itself; for rightly used, I believe it is a blessing. But I am afraid that many are not willing to use this blessing aright.”

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