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we can comprehend the powers of the Holy Priesthood and the relationship which we sustain to God. We certainly should humble ourselves before the Lord. We should labor with all our might to build up the kingdom of God in what little time we have to spend here in the flesh. Our aim is high. We aim at eternal life; we aim at immortal glory; we aim at a place in the celestial kingdom of our God, with God and Christ and those who have kept the celestial law. In order to get there, we have got to keep the same law that has exalted those who have gone before us. This is not our home. We were kept in the spirit world until this generation, and have been brought forth, through the loins of Joseph and Ephraim, to stand in the flesh and to bear off the kingdom, to hold the Holy Priesthood, to do the works of righteousness, to build temples, to redeem our dead, and to attend to those ordinances which the God of heaven has declared we shall perform. This is our work. We have a long eternity before us. But all of us will have to meet at the bar of God—the righteous and the wicked, those who are living and those who are dead.
This is the condition of the Latterday Saints. I hope that we may escape the power of the enemy. As was said here this forenoon, it matters but very little what may take place outside of Zion, or outside of the kingdom of God. The God of Israel holds the destiny of this nation; He holds the destiny of this people, and of all men on the face of the earth. They are at His command and in His power. He will hold this nation, as He did Jerusalem, responsible for the course they pursue with regard to the Latter-day Saints. We also will be held responsible for the course we pursue. The Lord has led this Church from its organization until the present day. He will lead it until the coming of the Son of Man. He is not going to desert His people nor His cause. But it is our duty to plead with the Lord, remember our prayers, keep our covenants, and walk perpetually before Him, that we may have His favor and blessing resting upon us.
I wish to say, with regard to the rising generation—the sons and daughters of the Latter-day Saints— that they should take the counsel of their fathers; they should honor their parents, and honor God, and receive such counsel as is given unto them by wise men. I think many times that our children do not comprehend the position they occupy. They do not comprehend what lies before them. Their fathers are passing away. Yet this kingdom has got to remain on the earth until the coming of the Son of Man. This work has got to follow their fathers; it has got to rest upon the sons and daughters of Zion. I have a great desire that the institutions which have been organized in Zion for their welfare may be blessed; that our sons and daughters may attend the Primaries, the Sabbath schools and Mutual Improvement Associations, and unite together in these societies, that they may receive the benefit of the same.
Brethren and sisters, God bless you. Let us labor with one heart and one mind, and make our wants known unto the Lord. Let our prayers ascend unto the ears of the Lord of Sabbaoth, and they will be heard and answered. I know that if we are blessed, if we are preserved, and if we are saved, it is and will be through the mercy and blessing of God. I know also that inasmuch as we will obey His commandments we will receive His protection and blessing. Zion will arise. Zion will be clothed with the glory of God. Zion will be redeemed. Zion will be prepared for the coming of the Son of Man. The Jews will be gathered home to Jerusalem. And the promises and prophecies concerning both the Jews and the Saints of God will all have their fulfillment in the earth. My prayer to God is that we may be true and faithful to the end of our days, and that we may magnify our calling as Apostles, Elders, and Saints while we dwell in the flesh. Amen.
God sometimes gives us friendship as the scaffolding of our lives, and when our character is built up He removes them.