the same spirit that filled the room at that time burns in my bosom while I record this testimony, and the Prophet of God appointed no one else but the Twelve Apostles to stand at the head of the Church and direct its affairs.

From the time that he was baptized a member of the Church until his spirit took its flight from earth, he never wavered in his ad- vocacy and defense of the principles of righteousness. Under all the varied circumstances through which he and the people of God were called to pass, in the midst of the deepest trials and afflictions, his voice was always raised in tones of encouragement and hope; and when the storms were the fiercest, he rose to the occasion and always displayed undaunted courage and un- flinching devotion to the Zion of God

Intelligent obedience on the part of His Saints is desired by our Father in heaven. He has given us our agency to think and act for ourselves, on our own volition, to obtain a testimony for ourselves from Him concerning the truth of the principles which He teaches, and then be firm and unshaken in the performance of all which is necessary for salvation.

the original design in organizing Sunday Schools and Im- provement Societies among us was, that the children and youth of the Saints should be made wise in the principles of the Gospel and their faith be developed in the revelations of God

there are many persons who appear to take more delight in dwelling upon questions which are mysterious and cannot very well, in our present stae of knowl- edge, be answered than they do upon those subjects which are plain and simple and essential to present pro- gress. But the Lord has revealed so much that we can understand and that we ought to learn in order to be useful in the labors devolving upon us here, that we need not enter into discussions on subjects which [in] no way affect our happiness here or eter- nal salvation hereafter

In the energetic performance of their duty human sympathy and divine mercy are beautifully harmonized. In extending relief to the poor, the love of God and of our fellows is clearly manifest

words of the Apostle James: “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the father- less and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”

Experience has abundantly proved that those who are attentive to those and all other duties required by the Lord receieve His blessing. God does bless those who devote themselves with singleness of purpose to His work

it is not necessary to happiness in marriage to be in the possession of wealth

We should begin to understand that God's ways are innfinitely superior to our ways, and that His counsels, though they may seem to call for sacrifice, are always the best and the safest for us to adopt and carry out.

Nothing but the power of God could have brought forth the fullness of the Gos- pel, organized the Church, gathered His people to Zion in fulfillment of revelation and performed the work which has been accomplished. There- fore, as Latter-day Saints, we are obliged to acknowledge the hand of God in all the blessings we enjoy.

If our religion does not lead us to love our God and our fellow man and to deal justly and uprightly with all men, then our profession of it is vain.

our hearts are filled with glad- ness and we cannot refrain from prais- ing our God for His goodness unto His people in permitting them, notwith- standing the opposition and many dif- ficulties they have had to contend with, to erect such structures and to dedicate them, according to the pat- tern He has given for these sacred uses.

The Latter-day Saints are, in truth, a highly favored people, and praise to God should ascend from every heart and habitation in our land for the great mercy and goodness which He has shown unto us. He has made us promises of the most precious character, and he has fulfilled them up to the present time. We would be the most ungrateful and unworthy people that ever lived if, after receiving such wonderful manifestations of His good- ness, we slackened in our diligence or failed in our obedience and devotion to Him and His great cause.

Far better to work for low wages than not to work at all

We cannot refrain from expressing to you our own feelings of thankful- ness that we live in such an age, and that God has bestowed upon us His Holy Priesthood and has permitted us to take part in His great work. We are thankful that we are associated with this people called Latter-day Saints; that we live in a day when Prophets and Apostles have been raised up in the Church of Christ; and that God has stretched forth His hand to ful[f]ill His great and marvelous pur- poses

We testify in the name of our Lord and Master, Jesus, that this is the great work of which the prophets have spoken, that God is the founder of it, and that it will stand forever, and accomplish all that has been predicted concerning it. Zion is established and will be redeemed

The day is not far dis- tant when our Lord and Savior will be revealed from the heavens, and we should live in a constant expectation of this great event, and seek, with all the energy and power that we can exercise and obtain, to prepare ourseives, our households, and, as far as we have in- fluence, the inhabitants of the earth, for His glorious appearing.