Joseph W. McMurrin – Gospel Study

Joseph W. McMurrin

First Council of the Seventy (October 5, 1897 – October 24, 1932)

General Conference Addresses

April 1931 General Conference
- Famine in the Land
  - “I am a witness that shortly after meeting them here I have met them in the mission field changed and improved. I would not want to convey the thought that they had suddenly become strong, educated, powerful men and women. No. But there had something come into their souls that had driven out fear; they had learned to know for themselves concerning the divine authority they possessed, that they had actually been called by the Lord God of heaven to represent him in the preaching of the holy Gospel, and that they were of a surety servants of the living God. Men may well tremble at the authority and power of God that has been given in this dispensation to mortal men.”
October 1930 General Conference
- We Need To Preach the Gospel
  - “I do not understand that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been relieved one whit from the carrying of the Gospel message to the inhabitants of the earth. Our Father in heaven declared, at the opening of this dispensation, that this message is to be taken to all the world. That is our responsibility, that we shall be found in the nations of the world, that we shall be crying repentance, that we shall be bearing witness to the restoration of the authority by which men minister in the name of the Son of God; for we are in the same condition as were the disciples of old.”
April 1930 General Conference
- Priesthood Restored
  - “I praise the name of my Maker, that in his loving kindness and providence, I myself, have been clothed with that precious authority, the authority of priesthood, the right to advocate the glorious doctrines that will bring men and women back into the presence of God, the right to administer those sacred and holy ordinances that have always been essential to salvation; they were essential in the meridian of time; essential in the days of our father Adam and through all dispensations. There has never been any other means by which men and women might be made citizens of the kingdom of God, and never will be worlds without end.”
  - “If the Gospel of the Son of God had disappeared from the earth, men could not bring it back. It could only be brought back by that Being who is the author of salvation, and in whom all power and authority center. The Catholic priest spoke better than he knew.”
October 1929 General Conference
- The Work in California
  - “I am glad, my brethren and sisters, that our faith in the work of God remains unshaken, and we feel from our experiences that we receive constantly renewed evidences confirming the truth as it has been revealed.”
April 1929 General Conference
- Testimonies
  - “The great scientist, or the commentator on his words, declared that the forming of new planets as suggested was new to science and new to all the world; and yet the great prophet of the latter times, not a scientist, made declaration through this vision that the very doctrine that is dawning upon the minds of men was revealed by the Lord God of heaven. Praise to his name!”
April 1928 General Conference
- Whisperings
  - “Thanks be to God for such whisperings. I want to say to you that God is no respecter of persons. Men who are educated, who humbly seek the Lord, receive” the revelations of the Lord and the testimony of his word; and men who are not educated receive by the same marvelous power the same convincing evidence.”
October 1927 General Conference
- The California Mission
  - “So, little by little we are obtaining better foothold, and I am happy to say that I feel in my soul that it is not a liability, in any sense of the word, in the California mission, to be known as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”
April 1926 General Conference
- Missionary Work
  - “Then there is another great responsibility that rests upon the missionaries. It is not to be gauged by the number of souls that we lead down into the waters of baptism. It has always been the decree of God and his manner of working with the inhabitants of the earth, to send forth his servants to warn mankind and bear witness concerning the judgments of the Almighty that are to overtake the inhabitants of the earth, and those judgments have not ceased, as the Lord God liveth.”
October 1925 General Conference
- Healing
  - “We are preparing a stereopticon lecture to deliver to the people in the California mission, and we will probably have the hardihood to give that lecture the title, “Utah, the Wonderland of America.” Some such title is necessary to carry over to the minds of people the thought that we have in our own minds that this is a choice, a marvelous, a wonderful section. We purpose to show the scenic beauties of Zion Canyon and other wonders. We ought to praise God that through his mercy and by his power and the inspiration of his Spirit the feet of our fathers were planted here and we ought to believe that “This is the place.””
April 1925 General Conference
- The California Mission
  - “God gave me my life in the days of my young manhood, and raised me up from a deathbed by his power, and I have covenanted with my Father in heaven upon many occasions that I would try to manifest appreciation for the marvelous power that was manifest in my own behalf when he raised me from that condition of death.”
October 1924 General Conference
- Preaching the Gospel
  - “While we find many people in the mission who profess to be believers in the law of God, and who apparently are quite sincere when they make such declarations, we discover that when we read from the law of the gospel and the doctrines that were taught by the Redeemer of the world and his apostles whom he commissioned to teach the inhabitants of the earth, that they do not believe, as they claim to believe, in the messages found in the holy scriptures.”
April 1924 General Conference
- Testimony
  - “They come into the mission field in fear and trembling. They ofttimes have some question in their own minds as to whether the gospel that has been taught them by their parents is in very deed the real truth of God. and the power of God unto salvation. Rut thank God, by giving attention to the responsibilities that have come to them through being called through the channels of the holy Priesthood to be preachers of righteousness, they make a full discovery of the truth that has been revealed, and their hearts are given to the Lord, and they labor zealously to discharge the duty that rests upon them as men holding divine authority.”
  - “We are sometimes found fault with in relation to the testimonies that we bear; men and women apparently entertain the thought that we ought not to be so sure in relation to the doctrines that we are teaching. They seem to entertain the thought that we are narrow in our views, because when we bear testimony to the things of God, and that we have knowledge concerning those things, it is an indication that other people do not possess that same knowledge.”
October 1923 General Conference
- The Restoration
  - “If it was not, they were powerless to create it. It takes a Christ, not a Luther, to create a Christianity.”
April 1923 General Conference
- The California Mission
  - “When his heart is in the work and when he is anxious to cry repentance among the people, it is greatly to be regretted that ofttimes fathers and mothers, even when I fear there is no very great necessity for such action, send word to their sons and daughters that the burden is more than they can bear and that because two years, forsooth, have passed away, they should now return from the mission field.”
October 1922 General Conference
- By What Authority?
  - “Every man must be under the direction and in the companionship of that Spirit, if he is to magnify his calling and Priesthood and discharge acceptably the duty and responsibility that rest upon him as a servant of God.”
  - “We try to impress upon the missionaries that it is the solemn obligation of every man and woman who has been called to be a preacher of righteousness to be an eloquent preacher in conduct.”
April 1922 General Conference
- Glad to Be A Missionary
  - “And so we might continue to speak of San Francisco, and to speak of Los Angeles, and to speak of San Diego, and to speak of sections of Nevada and Arizona where these young boys, in their weakness, and yet with joy in their hearts and with confidence in the call that they have received from the servants of God, are lifting up their voices according to their ability, calling men to repentance, and bearing witness, under the inspiration and power of the Holy Ghost, concerning the truth of the everlasting gospel?”
October 1921 General Conference
- The California Mission
  - “So that, God is in California, notwithstanding its pleasures, and the fact that there are tens of thousands of people who think little of him, and who are not seeking for religion. There are other men who love the Lord, who are willing to listen to the testimonies borne by his servants, who hearken to the doctrines that are expounded, who are going to believe by the power of God and the Holy Ghost that they come in contact with the truth, who have the courage, even in pleasure-seeking California, to cast their lot with the people of God.”
  - “I do not believe that it is the right or the prerogative of any father to write to the mission president demanding the release of his son or daughter. I believe the proper course to pursue is to confer with the authorities at home, those who know the conditions and circumstances, and if it be necessary for them to be called from the missionary field, let them be called because of recommendations that have been made by the bishops, or stake presidents, who are familiar with all the circumstances.”
April 1921 General Conference
- The California Mission
  - “I am happy to say that we continually find a few people who become pricked in their hearts, and who do investigate the message of the gospel, and who are brought to the waters of baptism and become numbered with the people of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We have been very greatly blessed in the California Mission in having occasional visits from the President of the Church, and from other prominent brethren, and they have always manifested a very ready willingness to go into the branches of the Church and to meet people face to face and bear testimony to them in relation to the truth.”
October 1920 General Conference
- The California Mission
  - “We are trying to impress upon men that they cannot be saved by simply declaring with their lips the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, but that they must do, as he has taught, as has been advocated in this conference. Men must not only be hearers of the word, but they must be doers also.”
  - “We are trying to bear record to the people that men cannot call themselves to preach the gospel, but that they must be called by the Almighty; they cannot assume to take this authority unto themselves, but they must be ordained by revelation, and by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands.”
April 1920 General Conference
- The Restoration
  - “Whenever men, in any dispensation, attempt to introduce new religions, that differ from the gospel of the Redeemer, they are not doing the things that God, our Father in heaven, would have them do.”
  - “If the plan of salvation was taken away from the earth, there was only one way by which it could be given to men again; and that is clearly set forth in the words I have read to you. The Redeemer holding all power was the only being who could bring back to earth the lost gospel, which ever has been the power of God unto salvation.”
October 1919 General Conference
- Bearing Testimony
  - “I bear record that God our Father in heaven and his son, the Lord Jesus Christ, appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith. I bear record that men who had ministered in the authority of the holy Priesthood, while dwelling here upon the earth, as greater beings in their resurrected bodies appeared to Joseph Smith and ministered unto him and conferred upon him the authority of the holy Priesthood and gave commandment that the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ again should be sounded in the ears of the inhabitants of the earth.”
June 1919 General Conference
- Joseph F. Smith
  - “I always felt in his presence that I was indeed in the presence of God’s anointed servant, and always rejoiced in knowing that he was a man filled with prophetic power; and, above all else, that he was a man who had consecrated to the very uttermost his time, and talents, to the upbuilding of the kingdom of God.”
  - “By good lives we can all honor our fathers.”
- Called On A Mission
  - “God be praised for the accomplishment of the promises that have been made by holy prophets both ancient and modern in regard to the work of the latter times. It seems to me that any man who desires to know, can know that God has introduced this work, his hand has been over the leaders of this people, and he has sustained them up to the present hour.”
October 1918 General Conference
- Authority from God
  - “We bear that testimony because we have tested the work, just as was taught by the Lord Jesus Christ when he stood upon the earth and when men looked upon him as an impostor.”
  - “When we come to the things of God. men seem not able to comprehend so readily the need of divine authority. Some feel that it is all right for men to say within themselves, that they are called to minister in the name of Jesus Christ, that revelation and ordination, or the conferring of authority is nonessential. But the doctrine of the gospel is, “Ye have not chosen me, [the precious words of Jesus Christ], but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring fruit, * * * that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.” Bible students, is not this the doctrine of the ancient apostles?”
October 1917 General Conference
- Honored By God
  - “We are not making any mistake when we honor the man that God has honored, and in whom he has reposed his authority, and to whom he has given the power of the holy Apostleship, and whom he upholds and sustains as his mouthpiece and seer.”
  - “The truth given of God for the salvation of men has always been the greatest thing in the world whenever it has been among the children of men.”
October 1916 General Conference
- Our Religion
  - “I thank God for a religion of this character, a religion of power and life, a religion that causes converts to labor for the uplift of humanity, and to feel that they are under obligation to give service to the work of God.”
  - “There cannot be found men or women who have received the truth understandingly and have been baptized by the Holy Spirit of intelligence, which Spirit takes the things of the Father and reveals them unto men, who do not feel within their souls that they are under obligation to lend a helping hand to forward the work of God.”
October 1914 General Conference
- Religious Education
  - “I wish to say to those who are engaged in the work that there cannot be anything that is of greater importance, or that can be more honorable in the labors with which men and women have to do, than the planting of a knowledge of the truth in the hearts of the rising generation.”
  - “I encourage with all my soul those who are engaged in this good organization to lend their very best efforts to the accomplishment of the work allotted to them, that the truth of God may be planted in the hearts of the children who are in the public schools. Oh how great is the need of that truth, for there is much in the schools of today that is in opposition to the things of God, much that undermines faith in the existence of our Father in heaven. We need to bring to the children in every possible manner those principles that will establish them in the faith, and that will prepare them for the responsibilities of the future.”
April 1914 General Conference
- Historical Parallels
  - “He does not demand anything of any one of us beyond our power, only that we shall, in a spirit of humility, with a feeling of proper anxiety in our souls, seek to know the truth, and give those things that He has revealed an honest, fair test.”
- The Priesthood
  - “I pray that the priesthood may feel this obligation more and more right here at home, and that there may not be found in any ward, or in any stake of Zion, any person not a member of the Church who can justly say, now or hereafter, that we have not appreciated our responsibility, and that we have not sought to magnify our calling in seeking after the souls of men in the fear of the Lord.”
October 1913 General Conference
- Being Faithful
  - “We ought not to be forgetful of the demands of the Lord in our prosperity. We have had reference made in regard to the principle of tithing, to honoring the requirement of our Father in relation to this great law.”
  - “Humiliation also must come to parents when they know the children have discovered that father and mother have not been true to the faith.”
  - “May our lives be fruitful in evidence that God has revealed to us the truth, and may our light and right living lead other men to an investigation of the message that has been committed to men in our own dispensation.”
April 1913 General Conference
- Gospel Education
  - “Young people should give attention to the opportunities that abound around them on every hand, and be determined to stand fully abreast of the time. There ought not to be any young men who have come to, say, twenty-five years of age, who do not have an understanding concerning the gospel.”
October 1912 General Conference
- Missionary Work at Home
  - “I hope, my brethren and sisters, that we are all anxious to recognize, and honor, and be guided by the inspiration of the Lord. The word and counsel of God will always be made manifest through the channels of the Holy Priesthood, for this is God’s way of working among the people.”
  - “We are expected to be preachers of the gospel continually; there is no period of time when we can lay off this responsibility. There is no time when we can hold our peace, and when- we can refrain from delivering the testimony that has been communicated to us by the power of God.”
April 1911 General Conference
- Testimony of an Infidel
  - “When one of the great intellectual men of the age sought for a parallel for the community that was established by the Lord Jesus Christ in the meridian of time, afar off in this western land, in these mountains that we inhabit, he found that people. I could not help but feel that like causes produce like effects; and because of the call of God and the authority that has been bestowed upon men in this dispensation, like unto the former dispensation, we have met with this opposition.”
October 1910 General Conference
- Religious Education
  - “When our children graduate from the public schools in secular learning they should be ready to graduate also in religious learning. As a result of proper attention to Religion Class work, faith in God would be established in our children, and they would love the truth as it has been revealed, and grow up to manhood and womanhood, honoring God, honoring the authority of His Priesthood, recognizing the fact that there are men called, in the age in which we live, to bear the authority of God.”
October 1909 General Conference
- Evidences of the Work
  - “This is not like what an imposter would write. Think of Joseph Smith who then stood alone, and without any following. Joseph Smith, the youth, in his loneliness and ostracism, and in his lack of training and power of leadership, from a human point of view, telling the inhabitants of the earth to “fear and tremble.” My brethren and sisters, it was not Joseph Smith it was the Lord of heaven, crying to the people to hearken to His voice, and to His proclamation.”
April 1909 General Conference
- Preaching the Gospel
  - “Many of us have learned, by our own experiences, that the Lord is perfectly able, under every circumstance, and in every condition, whether it be at home or abroad, to give that help, succor, and strength that is necessary for the accomplishment of His purposes.”
- Distinction in Mormonism
  - “My experiences as a member of the Church have brought joy, and peace, and very great contentment to my soul. This joy has been particularly strong when I have carried out the counsels that have been given to me, and have most energetically endeavored to live in harmony with the principles of life and salvation, as revealed in these latter times. I feel, when joy is produced in the soul of man by the doing of things claimed to be revealed from the Lord, it is an evidence that the thing is right.”
  - “Mormonism, as I understand it, is distinct and peculiar in this regard, it stands for this one doctrine, we do not believe that man can find salvation in any way that he may elect to find it. We believe the Lord of glory has pointed out the way, and that He came for that purpose.”
April 1908 General Conference
- Gratitude for the Gospel
  - “We are not being fed with husks, but we are being fed with the kernel of the Gospel; and we have come to feel, in the testimonies of these men who stand as presiding authorities of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, that they have in very deed the word of life to give to the people. Are we prepared to receive it? Are we acquainted with the inspiration of the Spirit of the Lord? Do we recognize the voice of the Good Shepherd? Do we know, by the Spirit that is in us, that we have been taught as the Lord would have us taught, and not according to the wisdom of men alone?”
October 1907 General Conference
- Inspiration
  - “There is, or should be, a responsive key or spirit within our own souls that should be in perfect accord with that that is divine. I believe in this doctrine with all my soul. I do not only believe that the manifestations of the power of God and the inspiration of His Spirit has rested upon those who have occupied prominent and presiding positions in the Church, but that it has been with the people of the Lord generally.”
April 1907 General Conference
- Testimony of Truth
  - “I believe there is a feeling, a conscientious disposition on the part of the young men and women of “Mormondom,” to hesitate in saying that they have knowledge concerning the truth of the Gospel, until every doubt has been swept away by the power of the Holy Ghost, and the knowledge has been given to them by the inspiration that comes from our Father in heaven. This revelation of truth to the individual is the secret of the strength of “Mormonism.” It is not, as has been supposed and ofttimes intimated, that the ignorant of the world have been gathered together, and that presiding over them are a few men of great intelligence, who have had power to control the people, and to keep them in ignorance. Who are the men, my brethren and sisters, who preside in the midst of the Latter-day Saints today? I cannot help but think and remember that in my life time—and when I consider my age in comparison with the age of President John R. Winder, I feel that I am only a boy in my recollection every man who occupies a prominent position in the counsels of the presiding authorities of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints today, has been brought up from the ranks of the people since I attained my majority, with the exception of President Joseph F. Smith alone. They have not come to the positions they occupy through any royal road, or because of any special preference for them or the names they bear, but because of the duties and labors they have faithfully accomplished in assisting to build up and bring to pass the work of our God.”
  - “Our hearts, and the hearts of our sainted parents before us, have been pricked by the power of God, we have all been made to know—father and mother, son and daughter—in the same marvelous manner, that this is the truth, the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
October 1906 General Conference
- Truth Will Prevail
  - “You who may have doubt concerning the power of God in His protection of the Latter-day Saints and their wonderful preservation, or concerning His hand dealings with the early Christians, what answer can be given to the query. Why were not those early Christians destroyed? Why was not the Church planted by the Redeemer Himself uprooted in the days of its infancy? And the same question concerning the Latter-day Saints, why do we live? How is it that, long before this present day, “Mormonism” has not been destroyed from the earth root and branch? If we will study over the matter, the answer will be made clear to us, by the power and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, because God has organized this Church; because He is fulfilling the promises that have been made through the mouths of ancient Prophets, that a work should be established among men in the latter days that never would be overthrown, nor be given to another people.”
  - “We ought to thank God every day that in our own hearts we know, if we are living in the light, that this hatred and evil speaking against us is without a just cause.”
  - “Thank God, truth will always live and never can be destroyed.”
April 1906 General Conference
- The Restoration
  - “No man, or combination of men, have the intelligence or authority to create that Gospel which is the power of God unto salvation. I thought how glorious is the foundation upon which “Mormonism” is built; and well might we sing, as we have this morning, “How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith in His excellent word.” No division, contention, or quarreling brought into existence the glorious principles we have espoused. Joseph Smith approached our Father in heaven for information concerning his soul’s salvation, and I have never come in contact with any person opposed to “Mormonism” who could find any fault with the statement that Joseph Smith approached our Father in heaven and pleaded with him for information concerning the Gospel of His Son. What better source could he have gone to than the source of light?”
  - “Where can we go to find peace, and comfort, and hope, if we turn from the truth? Nowhere.”
- Modern Prophets
  - “We are the only people, practically, who believe in living Prophets, and it is evident from the words that are spoken, and from the testimonies, that are so frequently delivered, that we are very earnest believers in the necessity of prophets to receive the word of the Lord today.”
  - “I take it, that when the Redeemer of the World, in His teaching to the children of men, gave warning against false prophets, He indicated by those very words, that there ought to be among men true prophets, else He would have said, Beware of prophets.”
October 1905 General Conference
- The Church Will Prevail
  - “It has been written in the Old Scriptures that where there is no vision the people perish. When the Lord does not reveal His will to the inhabitants of the earth they are in a perishing condition.”
  - “The mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith and his fellow laborers is a mission of peace, glad tidings of good things, the preaching of the Gospel of the Redeemer of the world. There is no spirit in connection with the preaching of this gospel that will do injury to any man that lives.”
April 1905 General Conference
- The Church is in Good Hands
  - “There seems to be great anxiety among those who are not of us, lest this people are being led astray. The enthusiasm and unanimity of the thousands in attendance at this Conference does not bear out such a theory, but it proves that there never has been more confidence in the servants of God than exists now in the hearts of the people.”
  - “God has given to this people individually the testimony of the Gospel, and through that they have been led here, and are united in the truth, and know they have the truth, and are not led astray. This same spirit rests upon the people today, and it will always be the case. God has manifested to this people where His authority is, and they will never lose this testimony.”
April 1904 General Conference
- Testimony
  - “We ought to be able, through the training we have received in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to know the voice of the good shepherd and to follow him, and not be carried away by strange voices or by strange doctrines, by the ideas that are presented to us, from time to time, by those who are not of us.”
  - “Every man who bears a testimony, understandingly and truthfully, of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, knows that the knowledge he is in possession of has come to him by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, that it has been given by the revelations of the Father, and that he is not dependent upon man for a continuation of that knowledge. We depend, my brethren and sisters, upon the continuation of a knowledge of the Gospel, that we are in possession of, through keeping the commandments of God. Through keeping these commandments we can also depend upon the fulfilment of the promises made pertaining to the future.”
  - “We have received the message of truth, and it is our mission to bear record to the divine will of our Father in heaven and preach the Gospel, that men may be saved. Our Father revealed in the very beginning of this work, as men became anxious to know the will of God concerning themselves, that the most important thing men could do was to cry repentance to the people, to teach the doctrines of the Gospel, and that if they labored through their entire lives and saved but one soul, great should be their reward and their joy in the kingdom of our Father.”
- Setting a Good Example
  - “I believe it is the decree of the Almighty that this condition shall continue to prevail in the midst of His people, and that there will always be found in the Church the seed of the founders, and of others who have been valiant for the testimony of Jesus—children who will properly represent their parents before the people and before the Lord; and that it is not the intention for this work to be taken from them and given to another people.”
  - “Let us take to heart the counsels that have been imparted unto us. Let us set gtoodly examples before our offspring. Let us live the religion we have espoused, and let our light shine among men. Let them see that we feel the responsibility which rests upon us in the revelation of the Gospel; that we propose, not only to send missionaries abroad to preach the Gospel, but that we propose to live our religion at home just as well as our representatives do abroad; and men and women who come into our borders, as has often been the case already, will be so impressed with our sobriety, our industry, our good example and the godly lives we lead that they will be constrained to bear record that there is a splendid people in the midst of these mountains—a people who fear God and keep His commandments.”
October 1903 General Conference
- Evidences of the Truth
  - “We are not only fulfilling the predictions of the prophets in relation to our location, but there is abundant evidence in the doctrines that are advocated, that were revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith, to establish the fact that we have not been organized by the wisdom of men, and we are very thankful for it. It has not been in the power of man, in any age of the world, to give the children of men an organization such as we have today. There is nothing like it recorded in history from the beginning of time down to the present day. There can never be anything like it, unless it be revealed from God; it is above and beyond the wisdom and power of men.”
  - “Every child, it matters not of what parentage, whether white or black, bond or free, Christian or pagan, through the atonement wrought by the Redeemer of men, is made innocent before our Father in heaven.”
  - “God never created His children to damn them, without giving them an opportunity to hear and understand His precious word.”
April 1903 General Conference
- Living Well
  - “Our condition today, my brethren and sisters, is but a fulfilment of the promise that has been made unto us by our Father in heaven through the mouth of the Prophet Joseph; for the Prophet declared a long time ago that these very things which we witness at the present time were to come to pass, and I desire to read to you a word or two concerning this promise that our Father made in the very inception of this work in reference to the future of the work and the men who were to be called from time to time to represent Him in the preaching of the Gospel among the inhabitants of the earth.”
  - “The Gospel has done everything for me; God help me and my children after me, from generation to greneration, to be true to It; for it is the power of God unto salvation.”
April 1902 General Conference
- Missionary Work
  - “I prize the testimony that the Lord has given me concerning this work above all else in the world. I pray with all my heart that God will help me to retain that testimony, and to labor in the midst of the people, whether it be at home or abroad, as I may be directed by those who preside over me, so that I may fill up the measure of my days in the way that He desires.”
- Consecration and Religion Classes
  - “We should all be in this work with all that we possess. It is a very great mistake to become associated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and be possessed of anything that is not in the work of the Lord that we do not hold in readiness to be used for the establishment of the purposes of our Father.”
  - “There should be no questioning of the wisdom of the counsel that is imparted by the servants of the Lord; but, rather, we should look back over the history of this people and endeavor to understand what has been accomplished under the direction of this authority, and when we comprehend the marvelous character of that history, we will feel in our hearts to trust the God of heaven, and in trusting our Father in heaven, we honor His Priesthood on earth, and faithfully strive to carry out the counsel of that Priesthood.”
  - “Let us educate our children in art, science and literature, but above all else in a knowledge of God.”
October 1901 General Conference
- Manifestations of Divine Favor, etc.
  - “It is written in the revelations that our Father will hold us responsible for ihe education that we give to our children; and He has given us a commandment that we should not only seek wisdom from good books, but also by faith. We must have faith in the acquiring of information. But faith to a very large extent has been shut out from the public school system.”
  - “The Latter-day Saints have nothing to fear from proper education. God Almighty has commanded us to seek for wisdom by faith and by study. If we desire to honor God and keep His commandments, the more education we obtain, the greater will be the glory that we will bring to our Father in heaven. We ought to be an educated people. It is the decree of God that we shall be.”
October 1900 General Conference
- The Danger of Becoming Rusty
  - “It is a glorious thing to have the feeling in our hearts that we are in accord with the authority of the Lord and to feel, inasmuch as we have put our hands to the plow and have entered into covenant with the Lord to serve Him and to keep His commandments, that the keeping of His commandments is the greatest desire that we have, and that we have no other God before the Lord, our God; that we have not set our affections upon any other thing, but that we have an eye. single to the keeping of the commandments of the Lord and a determination to sustain and uphold His Priesthood.”
  - “The rights, independence and liberty of no man can be infringed upon in the keeping of the commandments of God.”
  - “I feel when I meet a young Elder returning from abroad that the gravest period of his life stands before him when he returns, when there is fear that he may become a little careless, that he may have a disposition to seek after the rest that many have sought after, and in seeking after that rest they have found not only rest but rust. They are becoming rusty in the service of the Lord, and they are not willing to labor at home as they did abroad.”
  - “We cannot sustain the Priesthood by the mere lifting of our hands. The man who sustains the Priesthood is the man who responds to the appointments that are given him, the man who says “yes” to the Bishop, and to the president of the Stake, the man who responds in his quorum. The man who is always working willingly and dutifully, is the man who sustains the authority of God. There is no other way to sustain that authority.”
October 1899 General Conference
- Young Men Should be Prepared for the Ministry
  - “The responsibility of preaching this glorious Gospel, which has been revealed by our Father in Heaven, rests upon this people, particularly upon those who bear the authority of the Holy Priesthood. When we think of the vast field that opens up before us, of the millions of people who know nothing concerning the glad news that God has sent to His children on the earth, we should be anxious to qualify ourselves for these duties and responsibilities.”

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