2

Are we, as parents, doing our duty
towards them? Are they trying to
qualify themselves and preparing
for the great destiny and work
which lie before them? I think
they are, to a certain extent. But
when I see any of these young men
going astray and going to these
saloons, drinking and smoking,
instead of going to Sabbath School
and to meeting to qualify them-
selves, I feel sorry. I would regret
to see any son or daughter of mine
or of my neighbors going astray,
because they would be losing great
glory, and depriving themselves of
the privilege of stepping forth and
taking the place of their fathers and
of the prophets and apostles of God,
and filling the different quorums of
the Church. They would be losing
that which they do not comprehend.
When, however, I hear a testimony
like that given here today concern-
ing our young people, it gives me
joy and consolation.

I feel that it is our duty to do all
that we can in behalf of these insti-
tutions in our midst. It is the duty
of the presidents, the superintend-
ents and the teachers to do all they
can to influence our sons and
daughters to unite together and to
qualify themselves by learning out
of good books. They should be
taught to seek for the Spirit of God
and to treasure up wisdom, and to
obtain those principles of power
which they will need in the day
when the judgments of God shall
descend upon the earth. I rejoice
when I see our young men and
maidens trying to do their duty.
The Lord is raising up young men
who are being clothed upon with the
Spirit and power of God. I rejoice
in this. I am satisfied that they
will increase; but I feel that they
should be taught and encouraged to
qualify themselves to take the
Kingdom of God and bear it off.

There is a great destiny awaiting
our young men. Therefore, they
ought to be temperate; not drink
whisky, not chew or smoke tobacco,
and not mingle with the drunken.
And it is the duty of those who are
not married to take these daughters
of Zion to wife, when they arrive at
a proper age. There are no better
women on the face of the earth than
those that dwell in these mountains
of Israel. If there is any virtue
anywhere, it exists among the
women that live in Zion. The same
with the men. Our young ladies
are virtuous; their mothers are
virtuous; and their fathers are
virtuous. There may be exceptions;
but the Lord has gathered together
a people who are virtuous. My feel-
ings are that every young man in
Israel should get married when he
arrives at a proper age. It does not
cost any man more to provide these
girls with food and clothing after they
are married than it does before. It
does not cost any more for your-
selves. But you are then prepared
to begin to gather some means
around you. Do not wait until you
have about ten thousand dollars and
have fine horses and carriages. You
will get them just as quickly after you
are married, and possibly quicker,
than you will before.

It is our duty to get married at
the proper time. It is the law of
God. Therefore, I would like to see
you young men take these daugh-
ters of Zion to wife. Look at the
posterity of Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob, and see how they spread
throughout the whole world. The
tribe of Judah has remained until
this day; but had they not been of
the seed of Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob, and had they not been
blessed by father Jacob, they would
doubtless have been destroyed long
before this. The Jews put to death
the Savior and His Apostles, and
had they not been of the chosen
seed they would never have been al-
lowed to remain on the earth; but
they have remained almost undi-
minished, in the midst of all the
persecution and tribulation which
they have had to suffer.

These are some of my feelings,
brethren and sisters, with regard to
our young men and maidens.
They occupy a position, as
I have often said, that
no previous generation ever occu-
pied. Many of these young men
and maidens that are here today
will, in my opinion, if they are
faithful, stand in the flesh when
Christ comes in the clouds of
heaven. These young people from
the Sabbath Schools and from the
Mutual Improvement Associations,
will stand in the flesh while the
judgments of the Almighty sweep
the nations of the earth as with a
besom of destruction, in fulfillment
of the revelations of God, and they
will be the very people whom God
will bless and sustain. Therefore, I
say, our young men cannot begin
too quickly to qualify themselves by
treasuring up wisdom and calling
upon God and getting the Holy
Priesthood; for they have got to
stand in holy places while these
judgments are poured out upon the
earth. The nations of the earth are
rejecting the testimony which we
bear; they are rejecting the Gospel
of Christ; and these judgments of
God, like a few drops of rain before
the shower, are beginning to de-
scend upon the earth. We hear of
floods, of fires, of earthquakes. These
are only the beginning of sorrows.
These judgments will increase, and
they will continue to increase until
all that has been predicted by the
prophets of God will come to pass
upon the earth.

Now, brethren and sisters, we are
trying to prepare ourselves for ex-
altation and eternal life. We have
received the Holy Priesthood.
There is no change to that Priest-
hood. It belongs to the Celestial
Kingdom of our God. It does not
belong to the terrestrial nor to the
telestial kingdom. If you and I
ever get into the celestial kingdom,
we have got to keep the law of that
kingdom. Show me the law that a
man keeps and I will tell you where
he is going. We, as Latter-day
Saints, have everything to encour-
age us. We have received the Gos-
pel of Christ and the blessings
thereof. What did we know in re-
gard to God and salvation until the
Lord revealed Himself? Who ever
knew, before the Lord revealed it
to us, that a man could have his
wives and his children with him in
the morning of the resurrection, in
the family organization, with him-
self at the head, to dwell together
for ever and ever? I have thought
many a time that if I labored until
I was as old as Methusaleh and by
that means could have my family
dwell with me in glory in the eter-
nal worlds, it would pay me for all
the pain and suffering I could en-
dure in this world. And this is
only one of the blessings that are
promised unto us.

Our young people should labor to
qualify themselves by reading the
revelations of God. There is no
time to waste in reading novels.
Read the Bible, the Book of Mor-
mon, the Doctrine and Covenants
and the records which the Lord has
given unto us, and treasure up these
revelations and see what the Lord
has promised unto us. We then
treasure up something of worth to
us. At one of our meetings a short
time ago President Cannon read the
revelation contained in the Doctrine
and Covenants with regard to what
the Lord said to Orson Hyde, Wm.
E. McLellin and other Elders going
out to preach. The Lord said, speak-
ing through Joseph Smith:

"And whatsoever they shall speak
when moved upon by the Holy
Ghost, shall be scripture, shall be
the will of the Lord, shall be the
mind of the Lord, shall be the word
of the Lord, shall be the voice of
the Lord, and the power of God un-
to salvation." [##Doctrine and Covenants 68:4##]

Why is this? Because the Holy
Ghost is one of the Godhead, and
consequently when a man speaks
by the Holy Ghost, it is the word
of the Lord. We should seek to ob-
tain this Spirit that it may be with
us all the time and become a princi-
ple of revelation to us. It is the
right of every man in the Church
to enjoy the presence of the Holy
Ghost.

Brethren and sisters, we are liv-
ing in a fast age, and we have no
time to waste. This is a time when
the Lord is going to cut His work
short in righteousness. I have a
desire that we, as a people, shall un-
derstand the position that we occu-
py before the Lord. In the ##Doctrine & Covenants 121|121st
section of the Doctrine and Cove-
nants##, the Lord, in speaking to
Joseph Smith while in Liberty
Jail, says:

"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 con-
trolled nor handled only upon the
principles of righteousness." [##Doctrine and Covenants 121:34-36##]

In Kirtland, a number of the
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
apostatized. Why did they aposta-
tize? Because they forsook the Lord,
they stopped praying, they wanted
to get rich, they sought for the
honors of men and for the riches of
the world; and notwithstanding