PERSONAL TESTIMONIES AND BLESSINGS
A TESTIMONY. I declare unto you in all candor, and in all earnestness of soul, that I believe with all my heart in the divine mission of Joseph Smith, the Prophet, that I am convinced in every fiber of my being that God raised him up to restore to the earth the gospel of Christ, which is indeed the power of God unto salvation. I testify to you that Joseph Smith was instrumental in the hand of the Lord in restoring God's truth to the world, and also the holy priesthood, which is his authority delegated unto man. I know this is true, and I testify of it to you. To me it is all-in-all; it is my life, it is my light; it is my hope, and my joy; it gives me the only assurance that I have for exaltation, for my resurrection from death, with those whom I have loved and cherished in this life, and with whom my lot has been cast in this world—honorable men, pure, humble men, who were obedient unto God and his commands, who were not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, nor of their convictions or knowledge of the truth of the gospel; men who were made of the stuff of which martyrs are made, and who were willing at any moment to lay down their lives for Christ's sake, and for the gospel, if need be, which they had received with the testimony of the Holy Spirit in their hearts. I want to be reunited with these men when I shall have finished my course here. When my mission is done here, I hope to go beyond into the spirit world where they dwell, and be reunited with them. It is this gospel of the Son of God that gives me the hope that I have of this consummation, and of the realization of my desire in this direction. I have staked all on this gospel, and I have not done it in vain. I knowin whom I trust. I know that my Redeemer lives, and that he shall stand upon the earth in the latter days, and, as Job has expressed it, "Though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God."—Oct. C. R.,1907, pp. 4, 5.
THIS IS GOD'S WORK—A TESTIMONY. My brethren and sisters, I desire to bear my testimony to you; for I have received an assurance which has taken possession of my whole being. It has sunk deep into my heart; it fills every fiber of my soul; so that I feel to say before this people, and would be pleased to have the privilege of saying it before the whole world, that God has revealed unto me that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, the Redeemer of the world; that Joseph Smith is, was, and always will be a prophet of God, ordained and chosen to stand at the head of the dispensation of the fulness of times, the keys of which were given to him, and he will hold them until the winding up scene—keys which will unlock the door into the kingdom of God to every man who is worthy to enter and which will close that door against every soul that will not obey the law of God. I know, as I live, that this is true, and I bear my testimony to its truth. If it were the last word I should ever say on earth, I would glory before God my Father that I possess this knowledge in my soul, which I declare unto you as I would the simplest truths of heaven. I know that this is the kingdom of God, and that God is at the helm. He presides over his people. He presides over the president of this Church, and has done so from the Prophet Joseph down to the Prophet Lorenzo, and he will continue to preside over the leaders of this Church until the winding—up scene. He will not suffer it to be given to another people, nor to be left to men. He will hold the reins in his own hands; for he has stretched out his arm to do this work, and he will do it, and have the honor of it. At the same time God will honor and magnify his servants in the sight of the people. He will sustain them in righteousness. He willlift them on high, exalt them into his presence, and they will partake of his glory forever and ever.
It is the Lord's work, and I plead with you not to forget it. I implore you not to disbelieve it; for it is true. All that the Lord said concerning this latter-day work will come to pass. The world cannot prevent it. The blind that will not see, the deaf that will not hear, cannot prevent the work from going on. They may throw blocks before the wheels, they may ridicule, they may malign, they may stir up the spirit of persecution and bitterness against the Saints, they may do all in their power to deceive the people and lead them astray; but God is at the helm, and he will lead his people to victory. Men and women may be deceived by the craftiness of the adversary and by the spirit of darkness that is in the world; they may be deceived with Christian Science, with hypnotism, with animal magnetism, with mesmerism, with spiritualism, and with all the other man-made and demon-stimulated isms which exist in the world; but the elect of God shall see and know the truth. They will not be blind, because they will see; they will not be deaf, because they will hear; and they will walk in the light, as God is in the light, that they may have fellowship with Jesus Christ and that his blood may cleanse them from all their sins.
May God help us to realize this. May he deliver us from secret combinations, and from the snares that are set to entrap our feet and to win our affections from the kingdom of God. I repeat what I have said scores of times, the kingdom of God is good enough for me. This organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints meets all my wants, and I have no need to fly to organizations that are gotten up by men for the purpose of making money. I pray God that his kingdom may be sufficient for you, that you may abide in the truth, and not be led awayby those deceptive spirits that have gone forth in the world to lead men astray.
Spiritualism started in the United States about the time that Joseph Smith received his visions from the heavens. What more natural than that Lucifer should begin revealing himself to men in his cunning way, in order to deceive them and to distract their minds from the truth that God was revealing? And he has kept it up pretty well ever since. May God bless Israel, and preserve us in the truth. May he bless our president, prolong his years, and continue unto him the strength of body and mind that he possesses this day, and even more vigor as the years roll by. May the Lord have mercy upon our beloved brother, President Cannon, who is absent from us, and return him once more to his home, and to the bosom of the Church, if he has not willed otherwise. This is my humble prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.—Apr. C. R.,1901, pp. 72,73.
A TESTIMONY. There is no salvation but in the way God has pointed out. There is no hope of everlasting life but through obedience to the law that has been affixed by the Father of life, "with whom there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning;" and there is no other way by which we may obtain that light and exaltation. Those matters are beyond peradventure, beyond all doubt in my mind; I know them to be true. Therefore, I bear my testimony to you, my brethren and sisters, that the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth, that he lives and that his Son lives, even he who died for the sins of the world, and that he arose from the dead; that he sits upon the right hand of the Father; that all power is given unto him; that we are directed to call upon God in the name of Jesus Christ. We are told that we should remember him in our homes, keep his holy name fresh in our minds, and revere him in our hearts; we should call upon him from time to time, from day to day; and, in fact, every moment of our lives we should live so that the desiresof our hearts will be a prayer unto God for righteousness, for truth, and for the salvation of the human family. Let us guard ourselves so that there may not come into our souls a single drop of bitterness, by which our whole being might be corroded and poisoned with anger, with hatred, envy and malice, or any sort of evil. We should be free from all these evil things, that we may be filled with the love of God, the love of truth, the love of our fellowmen, that we may seek to do good unto all men all the days of our lives, and above all things be true to our covenants in the gospel of Jesus Christ.—Apr. C. R.,1909, p. 6.
THE PLEDGE OF MY LIFE. I feel happy, this morning, in having the privilege to say to you that in the days of my childhood and early youth, I made a pledge with God and with his people that I would be true to them. In looking over the experiences of my life, I cannot now discern, and do not remember a circumstance, since the beginning of my experience in the world, where I have felt, for a moment, to slacken or relax in the pledge and promise that I made to God and to the Latter-day Saints, in my youth. And if there is a man, or a woman, in the world that can point out to me an instance, in all my life, where I have been untrue to my pledge, or promise, or covenant, I shall be glad to receive that information from that man or woman. As an elder in Israel I tried to be true to that calling; I tried to my utmost to honor and magnify that calling. When I became a seventy, I felt in my heart to be true to that calling, and I strove, with all the intelligence and fervor of my soul, to be true to it. I have no knowledge nor recollection of any act of mine, or any circumstance in my life where I proved untrue or unfaithful to these callings in the priesthood of the Son of God. Later in my life, when I was called to act as an apostle, and was ordained an apostle, and set apart to be one of the Twelve, I strove to honor that calling, to be true to it, and to my brethren, to the household of faith, and tothe covenants and obligations involved in receiving this holy priesthood which is after the order of the Son of God. I am not aware that I ever violated one of my obligations or pledges in these callings to which I have been called. I have sought to be true and faithful to all these things. I have endeavored to be true to my family; and if ever I have violated one pledge or promise, or neglected one obligation that rests upon me in these relationships, I do not know it. And when I have made pledges to the people of God, or to the world, if ever I have violated those pledges I do not know it. Furthermore, I do not believe there is a man living who does know it, who can truthfully testify that I ever did violate those pledges.
I stand before you today, my brethren and sisters and friends, on the ground that I have tried to be true to God, to the utmost of my knowledge and ability; that I have tried to be true to my people, to the utmost of my knowledge and ability; and I have been true to the world in every pledge and promise that I have made to the world, notwithstanding there have been men who have shown a disposition to make it appear that I was a hypocrite, that I was two-faced; that I was one thing to the world and another thing in secret. I want it distinctly understood that those who have conveyed such an idea as this to mankind have been wilfully injuring me, wronging me, and falsifying me and my character before the people, and I want it distinctly understood those things must stop. They must stop at least among men who profess to be members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I can endure to be maligned and persecuted by my enemies, who are also enemies of the Kingdom of God, but I do not want to be maligned and belied by men who profess to be members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, neither intentionally nor otherwise. Now, I trust that you understand clearly what I mean. I do not know how I can make it much plainer or clearer, with the knowledgethat I have of language. Then, I repeat, as the Lord has helped me in the past to be true to my covenants, that I have entered into with him and with you, with my brethren, and with, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, so by his help and by his blessing I propose to be true throughout the future of my life, whether I am permitted to live long or short; it matters not to me. While I live, I hope to be a true man, an honest man, a man who can face all mankind and, at last, who can stand before God, the judge of the quick and the dead, and not quail for what I have done in the world.—Oct. C. R.,1910, pp. 2,3.
A BLESSING. I bless you with all my soul, because you love the truth, and you manifest it. There is nothing in God's world that draws men and women so near to my heart as that they love the truth and that they love God, that they love the cause of Zion and are devoted to the interests of the Church. This endears men and women to my heart; I love them when they love this work and when they show their interest in it. It lifts my soul to heaven and fills it with joy unspeakable.—Oct. C. R.,1908, p. 97.
A TESTIMONY. My brethren and sisters, I know that my Redeemer lives. I know, as I know I live, that in person he has visited man in our time and day, and that we are not now dependent alone on the history of the past for the knowledge that we possess, of which record is borne by the Spirit of God, shed abroad in the hearts of all who enter into the covenant of the gospel of Christ. But we have the renewed and later witness and manifestation of heavenly visions and of the visitation of God the Father and Christ the Son to this their footstool; and they have in person declared their entity, their being, and they have manifested their glory. They have stretched forth their hands to accomplish their work—the work of God, and not the work of man—and while those who have been faithful shall be crowned with glory and honor in the presence of God, thehonor and the glory, the credit and the praise, for the continuance and for the advancement and growth of the kingdom of God in the earth, will be due to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, whose power and whose agency, whose influence and purpose, have been behind the work of God every moment since it was first given to man. It is by his power that it has grown and continued, and has become what it is, and it will continue to grow and spread, until it shall fill the earth with the glory of God, and with the knowledge of the Father and of the Son, whom to know is life eternal. This is my testimony to you, my brethren and sisters, and I bear witness of it in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.—Improvement Era,Vol. 12, September, 1909, p. 914.
I KNOW THAT MY REDEEMER LIVES. I know that my Redeemer lives. We have all the testimony and all the evidence of this great and glorious truth that the world has, that is, all that the so-called Christian world possesses; and in addition to all that they have, we have the testimony of the inhabitants of this western continent, to whom the Savior appeared and delivered his gospel, the same as he delivered it to the Jews. In addition to all this new testimony, and the testimony of the holy scriptures from the Jews, we have the testimony of the modern prophet, Joseph Smith, who saw the Father and the Son, and who has borne record of them to the world, whose testimony was sealed with his blood and is in force upon the world today. We have the testimony of others, who witnessed the presence of the Son of God in the Kirtland temple, when he appeared to them there, and the testimony of Joseph, and of Sidney Rigdon, who declared that they were the last witnesses of Jesus Christ. Therefore I say again, I know that my Redeemer lives; for in the mouths of these witnesses this truth has been established in my mind.
Besides these testimonies, I have received the witnessof the Spirit of God in my own heart, which exceeds all other evidences, for it bears record to me, to my very soul, of the existence of my Redeemer, Jesus Christ. I know that he lives, and that in the last day he shall stand upon the earth, that he shall come to the people who shall be prepared for him, as a bride is prepared for the Bridegroom when he shall come. I believe in the divine mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith, and I have every evidence that I need—at least enough to convince me, of the divinity of his mission.
I am proud to say that I have accepted, and have tried to keep and honor, every word that has proceeded from the mouth of God through him. As it is written, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God," no one will dare to accuse me of side-tracking from or refusing to obey any doctrine taught by or revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith.—Improvement Era,Vol. 14, 1910, p. 73.
TESTIMONY. Now, there are many other things, but I cannot tell them all to you. I begin to feel that I am getting to be an old man, or rather a young man in an old body. I think I am just about as young as I ever was in my life in spirit. I love the truth today more than I ever did before, because I see it more clearly, I understand it better from day to day by the promptings and inspiration of the Spirit of the Lord that is vouchsafed to me; but my body gets tired, and I want to tell you, sometimes my poor old heart quivers considerably.—Oct. C. R.,1917, pp. 6, 7.
AN APPRECIATION
President Joseph Fielding Smith, sixth and beloved President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has without question seen longer service in the Church than has any other living man. For sixty-five years he has been in the active ministry, under a great variety of callings; for fifty-one years he has held the apostolic calling; since 1867 he has been one of the general authorities of the Church; during seventeen years he has been President of the Church. No other man is so beloved in the Church. To advertise that President Smith will be at a meeting is to warn the people that standing room will be at a premium. His words are accepted as of inspired authority; his acts as of an honest man, tried long and severely in the crucible of life.
The confidence of the people in their President, Prophet, Seer and Revelator, has not come alone from the exalted positions he has so long occupied. The Latter-day Saints have been gathered from all comers of the earth, and from all walks, after they had become convinced that the gospel as restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith is of certain truth. Intelligence rules in the earthly Zion. The leaders of the people are subjected to searching consideration by the people, and the confidence given them is in proportion to their deserts. It is, therefore, a noble tribute to the worthiness of the man Joseph F. Smith that he is the synonym for all that the people respect and hold dear.
Surely, this man who presides over the Church, andwhose life is an open book, has been prepared for his labor. If weakness were in him he would have had ample opportunity to fall. From his birth, the spirit of the great latter-day work has hovered over him; and with every passing year he has been immersed in the history of the Church.
When he was born, in Far West, on November 13, 1838, apostasy, jealousy, persecution and the beckoning hands of untruth were shaking the Church. The Church did not fall, but the hearts of the faithful were sorely tried, and even the baby, Joseph F., must have assimilated some of the solemnity of those days when the Church was being purified for its future work It was a preparation of noble extent to sit, in those early years, on the knees of his patriarch father or of his prophet uncle, even though the wide import of their conversation was not understood by the boy. It was a training in steely strength, even for the child, to witness the homecoming of the bodies of his murdered father and uncle. For such robbery of the dearest in life the human breast naturally and instinctively clamors for revenge. Yet, the whole life of the boy, grown to manhood, has been that of forgiving and loving, so that all may be made to see the truth. Who knows at what cost the man within has been conquered? The Church has suffered such unjust yet persistent opposition from the beginning that one wonders that it retains its gentle love for all the children of men.
It was splendid preparation for the man who was to be in God's harness all the years of a long life to witness the exodus of Nauvoo. Home and lands, household property and trinkets of sentiment—all had to be left behind. The driven people were in the desert with their God, and lo! their faith waxed strong. It was during the exodus that President Smith learned lessons of faith that never have been forgotten. Their cattle were lost and their hope was gone, but the praying mother, in communion with the Source of Truth, arose and went directly to the place where theoxen had strayed. Though only eight years old, the boy drove an ox team across Iowa.
"In 1848, when nine years old, I drove a four-ox team across the plains to Salt Lake City," writes President Smith, in an album of a friend. That was training for the boy! From the days of that blistering, dusty journey there was no relapse to a longing for the easy things of life. After the arrival in the valley came the toilsome conquest of Widow Smith's farm. The father was gone and the children were young. Our President, from his own life, can understand the lot of the widow and the fatherless.
Then the mother died. The strong spirit and wise mind could no longer guide the boy. The father had been murdered in cold blood because he was fearless in the cause of truth; the mother had died from the strain and sorrow of a life tossed in the furious storm of those days; no material wealth was his. Thus stood the fourteen-year-old boy who was to become the leader of his people. Men are shorn of earthly support that they may grow strong in Godly ways!
The training had been severe, but of infinite value. When the boy was only fifteen years old he was called to go on a mission to the Sandwich Islands. By the labor of his hands he worked his way to California; by more labor, earned his passage to the islands. To object or to question was not possible for one who had survived his training. During that first mission the spirit of the work came upon him. In sermon, by visit, through his quiet influence, he led men and women into the way of everlasting truth. By the power of the priesthood he held, he healed the sick, drove out evil spirits, and brought peace to the souls of those who were heavy laden.
After nearly five years he was allowed to return home. Again he had to work his way. At last he was again with the body of his people in Salt Lake City, but penniless. The Lord does not always reward in gold and silver. He was notpermitted to remain home long, for mission succeeded mission. From the Sandwich Islands he was called to England for three years; then from England again to the Sandwich Islands. To preach the gospel without purse and scrip became the order of his life.
Joseph F. Smith's ceaseless devotion to the gospel did not escape the notice of the watchful, keen-eyed leader, Brigham Young, who loved with a mighty love the memory of the martyrs Joseph and Hyrum Smith. It was a joy to the Prophet Brigham Young to find one of the blood of the martyrs giving himself to the cause for which they died. In various ways did President Young test the materials of which Joseph F. Smith was made. However, the long and hard training of boyhood and the insistent discipline in the mission field had not been in vain. President Young found him loyal to his family, his country, his Church and his God. Not even his bitterest enemy will deny that President Smith is loyal.
After some years, on July 1, 1866, a beautiful and solemn day, President Brigham Young ordained Joseph F. Smith to the apostleship. A year later, in October, 1867, he was admitted to the quorum of the Twelve. If there can be any talk in the Church of Christ of earning a position, Joseph F. Smith had earned his place in the apostolic quorum, by his purity, his intelligence, his integrity and his activity in behalf of the Church. Moreover, the people of the Church delight to honor the blood of the Prophet who was God's instrument in the mighty work of the restoration of the gospel. Welcome was he, when he entered upon his work as one of the general authorities of the Church.
As a member of the quorum of the Twelve, Joseph F. Smith showed the same activity that had so emphatically characterized his former labors. From settlement to settlement he traveled, to counsel, to preach and to take active part in the building of the West, which was yet in its swaddlingclothes of conquest. Vigorous were his words wherever he went. Without doubt was his faith. His testimony of the gospel was as the highest knowledge. He was then as now a fearless champion of truth.
At the time Apostle Smith assumed a place among the general authorities of the Church, Utah conditions were rapidly changing. Many non-members of the Church, who had come in to share in the bounties of the desert made to blossom by the Saints, could not content themselves with their rich material harvest, but must needs take up arms against the Church. When the leaders of the Church were charged with disloyalty to the country, when their motives were painted as those of devils, when the whole system of "Mormon" faith was branded as the rottenest immorality, the people who remembered the days of Carthage and Nauvoo had difficulty to keep down the cry of vengeance. Across the weary desert they had trailed, leaving many by the way; in the sweat of their brows they had won the wilderness to their use, and all this that they might serve unmolested their holy God, in a worship founded on purity and truth. It was then that the clear-visioned, clear-thinking leaders raised their voices in protest against further injustice. Apostle Smith, a man of deep affections, had fought away from himself the desire for revenge for the beastly murder of his manly father; but, being a man of strength, he could not submit indifferently to the new injustice that was proposed. The Fighting Apostle they called him, as he hurled back the untruths about "Mormonism," and his relentless watchfulness became a deterrent power among those who planned evil for a good and peaceful people.
A fighting apostle he has always been—fighting for the cause of truth. Yet, Joseph F. Smith is temperamentally a man of peace. Gentle and kind are his ways. A gentleman, is the instinctive appellation bestowed upon him by all who meet him. In character, voice and manner he isthe dignified peace maker. Nevertheless, his loyalty is such, and his convictions are so firmly established, that evil may not be spoken about truth without arousing the lion within him. To measure the ground; to give the foe full place and warning, to try strength according to the laws of decency, but never to give quarter to evil or untruth or injustice—that is the method of Joseph F. Smith.
In time, the years of toil wore upon President Brigham Young, who asked that more counselors, to act as assistants, be given him. Among those whom he chose for this purpose was Joseph F. Smith. This indicated that during his apostolic career he had not forfeited the confidence of the president which he had won earlier in his life. When, at length, the great founder of Utah passed away, and the first presidency was again reorganized, the abilities and character of Apostle Smith made him, under God's inspiration, a counselor to President John Taylor. Under the administrations of Presidents Taylor, Woodruff, and Snow, for twenty-one years, President Smith remained as a counselor in the first presidency, until at length, in the providence of God, he became the president of the Church.
The vast gathering in the great Tabernacle, November 10, 1901, will ever be remembered by those present. The priesthood of the Church were seated according to their offices in the priesthood. One by one the quorums arose, elders, seventies, high priests and the others, and voted to sustain the appointment of Joseph Fielding Smith to the Presidency. In his vigorous, later manhood, his eye clear, his voice distinct, his spirit compelling, he was vividly the greatest among the thousands of able men, the flower of a vigorous people, who had assembled there that day.
The day was the fulfilment of prophecy, for, many years before, his attainment of the exalted position of the Presidency had been predicted with the voice of authority.
Of the administration of the affairs of the Church underJoseph F. Smith's presidency nothing need be said—for we live in it and know its eloquent message. The stakes at home, the missions in Europe and in the islands of the sea, have been visited by the President in his official capacity. Prosperity, good will, spiritual power and growth, overshadow the Church. The stakes of Zion have been increased, the wards multiplied, hundreds of beautiful meeting-houses have been constructed, the priesthood has risen to a fuller recognition of its place in the Church, the temples have become crowded, new temples are being built, new converts have been added in mighty numbers, and in a thousand other ways has the Church prospered; and above all, in the face of a most bitter persecution, which has been heralded throughout the world, the faith of the people has increased until it is nigh unto impregnable. If any doubt all this, let him journey over the Church then visit one of the general conferences of the Church. There is faith in Israel!
Not only long but varied has been the experience of this great man who presides over the Church. True to the genius of "Mormonism," he has been closely identified with all the affairs of the community in which he has lived. For seven successive terms he was a member of the Utah legislature. When the Johnston army pantomime was in progress, President Smith joined the militia and assisted in making preparations to protect the homes of the people. He has helped to locate settlements and to find ways for bringing water upon the thirsting land. He has encouraged all legitimate business and, as far as time has permitted, has taken part in it. From his earliest life he has managed his farm, and even today, with his sons, has built one of the most modern livestock farms in the West, as an example to others.
Education, guided in schools, was largely denied him, but educated is President Smith. He has read widely, spoken with many men of many minds, and has thought deeply.Of broad and generous sympathies with everything that is noble and good, he has acquired a culture, which none dares question. Schools, the public press, the theater, music and the fine arts have been encouraged by him. As a most illuminating sidelight upon his wisdom is the fact that if not all of a family can be educated, he insists that the girls must be given the first chance, for they are the mothers and makers of men.
To those who do not know President Smith, it must seem strange that the honors that have almost overwhelmed him have all come unsought. President Smith is a modest man. Like all truly great men he is not immersed in thoughts of his own greatness. Rather does he admiringly place the power he observes in other men above his own. Nevertheless, and most naturally, position after position involving trust has come to him, though he has never sought one. Those who must find flaws in the Church point out that President Smith is officially connected with many business enterprises. Yet, those who find fault with this condition will not realize that men who can be absolutely trusted to guard the affairs of others as they would their own, are everywhere sought after. President Smith's demonstrated integrity has brought many offices which no doubt he would gladly relinquish to others. But "Mormon," Jew, and Gentile know that as far as President Smith can control things, only honor and justice and simple honesty will prevail wherever he is found.
During the Smoot investigations it seemed as if the whole United States was arrayed against the relatively few people who, during half a century, had given themselves to the conquest of the Great American Desert. The charges filed against this people, if sustained, would make the "Mormon" people unfit to dwell in the "land of the free and the home of the brave." To face the investigating Committee on Privileges and Elections, composed of the best minds of the Senate and House ofRepresentatives of the United States Congress, many were subpoenaed. The first witness was President Smith. Fortunately, the hearing is preserved and printed so that all may read it. Matching mind and will and heart and sense against the great ones of the land, President Smith was easily their compeer. Read it. Who has ever heard of that hearing used as a campaign document against "Mormons"? When Joseph F. Smith's history is written, his mighty contest with the most authoritative body in the land will make his figure stand out in noble relief. Among the men of earth, high or low, President Smith is never at a disadvantage.
Those who had even slight acquaintance with President Smith were not surprised at the evidence of his power among men. In all his public work he is masterful. He is endowed with high physical attractiveness, his musical voice is compelling, his language chaste and correct, and his thoughts appeal to the intellect as well as to the emotions. Those who have seen him before the ten thousand, at the great Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, have no fear that he may not be measured with the men he meets.
Perhaps the best evidence of the high intellect of President Smith is shown in his clear understanding and explanation of the principles of the gospel. Men often sink to oblivion in quagmires of theological vagueness. In matters of theological doctrine the President is lucid as the noon-day light. Some few years ago, certain men, loving to conjecture the improbable, insisted on knowing what would happen if all the men holding the priesthood were to die, save one elder. At one of the great conferences (general), before ten thousand assembled Saints, President Smith, in one-half dozen sentences cleared up the whole subject. It would be the privilege and duty of the one remaining elder to organize again the whole Church with apostles, prophets, etc., according to the revelation. The powers and purpose and duty of the priesthood were thus driven into the understandingsof the people, as they never had been before. His sermons abound in such clarifying statements, backed by a simple, unfailing faith that looks for simplicity rather than mystery in the things of God.
Perhaps enough has been said. The man of whom we write is tender and gentle, and withal does not love much praise. To him and his families many children have been born. To them he is loyal with all his power, for he well knows that loyalty, with all other virtues, begins at home. Over his families he watches with tender solicitude. They in turn love him with an invariable love. It is common knowledge that when the children were young, his rest was not easy if he had not seen the little ones properly tucked away for the night. The same father-heart beats for the people whose accepted leader he is. The hearts of the people ache over the long hours he spends in the office working out the affairs of the Church, especially now that he is no longer as young as he once was. But, he is not to be dissuaded. He must see his people tucked away for the night, before his heart will be at peace. So works love! and who shall say him nay, whose care from boyhood has been the welfare of his people?
"Has this man no faults?" asks the green-eyed critic. To be sure he has, for he is mortal. But, this writing is not to show his faults; and indeed, the writer does not know them, any more than he knows the full virtue of this man who for eighty long years has lived his life openly among his people, and who is the freest from adverse criticism in his community. Men are not measured by their faults, but by their worthy deeds and qualities. In the scales of eternal justice the main requirement is that our virtues outweigh our failings. Curiously enough, the only current criticism of President Smith, among those who oppose him, is that he is too loyal to his people, his friends, his convictions. Is not that the eternal cry of the enemy who reaches out for deserters?In every manly quality, friend and foe agree that he reaches above the majority of men.
Sure is our President of his reward. For him God will richly provide. Our question may rather be, has he had during the earth's journey, his full measure of reward? Have we done our full duty? For the cause of the Church he was bereft of father and mother. In the service of the Church he has been unable to use his splendid talents for the gathering of wealth—in our day he might justly be called a poor man. The ease of life has been denied him, for almost daily he has been "under orders." Above all, as a leader in Israel, the calumny and hatred of the Church have been heaped upon him. Only a few years ago, when past his prime, the most heartless persecution to which any member of the Church has been submitted was his. For several years an influential newspaper, standing at that time for the persecution of the Church, by means fair or foul, printed daily vile cartoons of President Smith and equally vile editorials about him and his work. Every indignity conceivable to the human mind was offered him because he was the embodiment of the Church.
Should the question be put to him, he would answer that he has had a rich reward. Perhaps he feels, let it be hoped he does, the outpouring of loving thoughts from the people whenever his name is mentioned. He has been blessed to serve. That is also a great reward for effort. His life has been crowned with the assurance, from all, that his work has been well done. That is the most satisfying reward.
May his health be preserved and his life be lengthened out. There is much work yet to be done, and men do not frequently rise to the fulness of his measure! At the beginning of his eighty-first year, the people give loving greetings and good wishes and heartfelt gratitude to Joseph F. Smith, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.—Dr. John A. Widtsoe,1918; also inImprovement Era,Vol. 18, November, 1914, pp. 38-45.
TheErahas asked me to write a few remembrances of incidents connected with my personal association with the late President Joseph F. Smith, while they are yet fresh in memory, and it is a pleasure to comply.
The first time I ever remember seeing Joseph F. Smith was in the then little village of Wellsville, in the year 1867. He was twenty-eight years of age, and had recently been chosen one of the twelve apostles. President Brigham Young and company were making a tour of the northern settlements, and the new apostle, Joseph F. Smith, was among the number. I heard him preach in the old meetinghouse at Wellsville, and I remarked at the time what a fine specimen of young manhood he was—strong, powerful, with a beautiful voice, so full of sympathy and affection, so appealing in its tone, that he impressed me, although I was a youth of but eighteen. He was a handsome man.
At that time I was clerking in a little store owned by Father Ira Ames, one of the old Kirtland veterans of the Church. Apostle George A. Smith was one of that company and he was entertained at Brother Ames' home, where I also lived. I recall that at the dinner table, Father Ames asked George A. who of the Smiths this young man Joseph F. was.
George A. replied that he was Hyrum's son; his mother, Mary Fielding Smith.
Brother Ames remarked that he looked like a likely young fellow, and George A. replied in about these words:
"Yes, I think he will be all right. His father and mother left him when he was a child, and we have been looking after him to try and help him along. We first sent him to school, but it was not long before he licked theschoolmaster, and could not go to school. Then we sent him on a mission, and he did pretty well at that. I think he will make good as an apostle."
Some years ago I related this incident to President Smith, and he told me that the reason he had trouble with the schoolmaster was that the schoolmaster had a leather strap with which he used to chastise the children. He was a rather hard-hearted schoolmaster, one of the olden type that believed in inflicting bodily punishment.
President Smith said: "My little sister was called up (Aunt Martha, now living in Provo) to be punished. I saw the schoolmaster bring out the leather strap, and he told the child to hold out her hand. I could not stand for that. I just spoke up loudly and said, 'Don't whip her with that,' and at that he came at me and was going to whip me, and instead of him whipping me, I licked him good and plenty."
At the time of this incident, Joseph F. (for, by that name he was affectionately called) was about fifteen years of age. But he was a strong, powerful youth, and his big heart could not tolerate such punishment, especially if it bordered on the cruel, to be inflicted upon a little child.
Another incident which I have heard him relate which shows his courage and integrity, occurred when he was returning from his mission to the Sandwich Islands, in the fall of 1857. He came home by way of Los Angeles, by what was called the Southern Route. In that year Johnston's Army was on the move for Utah, and naturally enough there was much excitement and bitterness of feeling concerning the "Mormons." In southern California, just after the little train of wagons had traveled only a short distance and made their camp, several anti-"Mormon" toughs rode into the camp on horseback, cursing and swearing and threatening what they would do to the "Mormons." Joseph F. was a little distance from the camp gathering wood for the fire, but he saw that the few members of his own party hadcautiously gone into the brush down the creek, out of sight. When he saw that, he told me, the thought came into his mind, "Shall I run from these fellows? Why should I fear them?" With that he marched up with his arm full of wood to the campfire where one of the ruffians, still with his pistol in his band, shouting and cursing about the "Mormons," in a loud voice said to Joseph F.:
"Are you a 'Mormon'?"
And the answer came straight, "Yes, siree; dyed in the wool; true blue, through and through."
At that the ruffian grasped him by the hand and said:
"Well, you are the —— —— pleasantest man I ever met! Shake, young fellow, I am glad to see a man that stands up for his convictions."
These incidents show the inherent bravery, courage, integrity of the man, and also tenderness and pity for the little helpless sister. These are the qualities upon which great men are builded.
In the spring of 1877, I was called to accompany President Smith on a mission to Europe. I was called by him to labor in the business affairs of the Liverpool office, and from that time until the day of his death, I think I have enjoyed his personal confidence more than any man living. When I look back on it all now, I can see what a treasure, a blessing, a favor from the Almighty it has been to me.
During the last eleven years, especially, I have traveled with him almost constantly whenever he has gone from home. I have been with him on three different trips to Europe, including the first missionary trip above mentioned, and on four trips to the Sandwich Islands. Everywhere, on all occasions, I have found him the same great, brave, true-hearted, noble and magnificent leader, so simple and unaffected, so entirely democratic and unassuming.
He was always careful with his expenditures, too. He abhorred debt, and no man have I ever known who wasso prompt to pay an obligation to the last penny. He could not rest until the Church was out of debt, and though hundreds of schemes, and many of them extra good schemes, too, were presented to him, which no doubt would have meant an increase of wealth for the Church, yet he resolutely set his face against debt; and would not, under any conditions or circumstances, involve the Church in that way. Neither would he himself become involved in debt in his own individual affairs, but he stuck persistently to the old motto, "Pay as you go."
Many of the older people now alive can recall that forty years ago, or even less, he was considered a radical, and many a one of that time shook his head and said, "What will become of things if that fiery radical ever becomes president of the Church?" But from the time he was made president of the Church, and even before that time, he became one of the most tolerant of men, tolerant of others' opinions; and while he would denounce sin with such righteous wrath as you would seldom see in any man, yet for the poor sinner he had compassion and pity, and even forgiveness, if sincere repentance were shown. None more ready than he to forgive and forget.
One touching little incident I recall which occurred on our first trip to the Sandwich Islands. As we landed at the wharf in Honolulu, the native Saints were out in great numbers with their wreaths of leis, beautiful flowers of every variety and hue. We were loaded with them, he, of course, more than anyone else. The noted Hawaiian band was there playing welcome, as it often does to incoming steamship companies. But on this occasion the band had been instructed by the Mayor to go up to the "Mormon" meetinghouse and there play selections during the festivities which the natives had arranged for. It was a beautiful sight to see the deep-seated love, the even tearful affection, that these people had for him. In the midst of it all I noticed apoor old blind woman, tottering under the weight of about ninety years, being led in. She had a few choice bananas in her hand. It was her all—her offering. She was calling, "Iosepa, Iosepa." Instantly, when he saw her, he ran to her and clasped her in his arms, hugged her, and kissed her over and over again, patting her on the head saying, "Mama, Mama, my dear old Mama."
And with tears streaming down his cheeks he turned to me and said, "Charlie, she nursed me when I was a boy, sick and without anyone to care for me. She took me in and was a mother to me."
Oh, it was touching—it was pathetic. It was beautiful to see the great, noble soul in loving, tender remembrance of kindness extended to him, more than fifty years before; and the poor old soul who had brought her love offering—a few bananas—it was all she had—to put into the hand of her loved Iosepa!
On these ocean trips there was much spare time, and we often whiled away an hour or two playing checkers. He could play a good game of checkers, much better than I. In fact, he could beat me four times out of five, but once in a while, when I played more cautiously, and no doubt when he was more careless, I could beat him. If he was beating me right along and I made an awkward move, and could see instantly that I had moved the wrong checker, he would allow me to draw it back if I noticed it immediately; but on the other band, if I had beaten him for a game or two and should put my finger on a checker to draw it back, even though it were on the instant, he would call out with force enough, and that positive way of his, "No you don't, you leave it right there." It is in these little incidents that we show the human side of our natures.
He loved sport—manly sport. He was a natural athlete; and in his youth at foot-racing, jumping, wrestling, which were among the primitive sports of primitive days, hewas a match for anyone. In later years I had induced him to take up with the ancient and royal Scottish game of golf. He got so that he could play a very good game, excellent indeed for a man of his years. But on one occasion, down at Santa Monica, when we were playing, we were up within about one hundred feet of the flag at the hole we were making for. A light stroke should have driven the ball nearer the flag, but the inclination to look up as one tries to hit the ball got the best of him, and the consequence was he topped the ball and it rolled only a couple of feet or so. He bent over for the next stroke, and the one thing which all golfers most fear, and the hardest to overcome, is that habit of looking up or taking the eye off the ball just as you go to strike. This he did, the second time, when he topped it again and it moved but a few feet further. The third time he went up to it and hit it a whack that sent it rolling one hundred feet beyond the flag. His son, Wesley, who was playing with us, called out, "Why, papa, what did you do that for? You knew it would roll away down there in the ditch!" The President straightened up and said, with a smile, "Well, I was mad at it!" I have laughed hundreds of times at that, "I was mad at it."
Of course, we agreed well together, otherwise we would not have been companionable during all these years. But sometimes I could not fully agree with him on some matters that we discussed. I recall one night we were on shipboard returning from Europe, in 1906. It was a bright, moonlight night, and we stood there leaning over the railing enjoying the smooth sea and balmy summer night air. The Smoot investigation, which had just occurred a little while before and which had stirred up so much controversy throughout the land, was fresh in our minds, and we were talking of it. I took the position that it would be unwise for Reed Smoot to be re-elected to the United States Senate. I was conscientious in my objection, and I had marshaledall the facts, arguments, and logic that I could; and I was well informed, I thought, on the subject, and had presented them to him in as clear and yet in as adroit a manner as I possibly could. It would take too much space here to go over the arguments, but it seemed to me that I had the best of it. I could see he began to listen with some little impatience, and yet he let me have my say, but he answered in tones and in a way that I shall never forget. Bringing his fist down with some force on the railing between us, he said, in the most forceful and positive manner:
"If ever the Spirit of the Lord has manifested to me anything clear and plain and positive, it is this, that Reed Smoot should remain in the United States Senate. He can do more good there than he can anywhere else."
Of course, I did not contend further with him, but accepted from that hour his view of the case and made it mine, too. Twelve years have passed since that time, and looking back on it now, I cannot help but think how marvelously and splendidly the inspiration of the Almighty has been vindicated, while my arguments, facts and logic have all fallen to the ground.
During the last six or eight years, hundreds of prominent people, Democrats as well as Republicans, passing through Salt Lake City, even Secretary McAdoo, himself, among them, have stated to President Smith that Utah had a great big man in the United States Senate in the person of Senator Reed Smoot. President Smith's judgment, or rather his inspiration in this matter, has been vindicated to the last degree.
As a preacher of righteousness, who could compare with him? He was the greatest that I ever heard—strong, powerful, clear, appealing. It was marvelous how the words of living light and fire flowed from him. He was a born preacher, and yet he did not set himself up to be such. He never thought highly of his own good qualities. Rather, hewas simple, plain and unaffected to the last degree; and yet, there was dignity with it all which enabled anyone and everyone to say: "He is a man among men!" I ask, as preacher, leader, teacher, husband, father, citizen and man, who among our mighty ones can be likened unto him?
He loved a good story and a good joke. There was a good laugh in him always. He had no patience with vile stories, but there was a fine vein of humor in him, and could relate incidents of his early life and entertain the crowd about him as few men ever could.
He was the most methodical in all his work of any person I ever knew. Every letter that he received had to be indorsed by him with the date and any other information, and all carefully filed away. He could not stand for disorder. Everything in connection with his work was orderly. He could pack his suitcase or a trunk and line out and smooth every piece of clothing in it so it would bold more and be better packed than if anybody else had done it. His clothes, too, were always clean. Most men as they grow old are likely to have their clothes more or less spotted through dropping food on their clothing. But not so with him. To his last day his clothes were as clean and as well taken care of as if he had been a young man of thirty.
He was a most strenuous worker and never considered saving himself at all. You could go up to his little office in the Beehive most any night when he was well, and find him writing letters or attending to some other work. Perhaps some dear old soul had written him a personal letter, and he would work into the night answering it with his own hand. Indeed, he over-worked himself and no doubt injured his strong constitution.
He was careless about eating—careless as to what he ate and when he ate. His living was exceedingly simple and plain. He rarely got to bed before midnight, and the consequence was he did not get sufficient sleep and rest.
He was very fond of music and loved to sing the songs of Zion.
His love for little children was unbounded. During the trip we took last year down through the southern settlements to St. George and return, when the troops of little children were paraded before him, it was beautiful to see how he adored these little ones. It was my duty to try and get the company started, to make time to the next settlement where the crowds would be waiting for us, but it was a difficult task to pull him away from the little children. He wanted to shake hands with and talk to every one of them.
Once in a while someone would come up to him and say, "President Smith, I believe I am a kinsman of yours."
I knew then that we were good for another ten minutes' delay, for that great heart of his, that went out to every kinsman as well as to the little children, could not be torn away quickly from anyone claiming kinship with him.
I have visited at his home when one of his children was down sick. I have seen him come home from his work at night tired, as he naturally would be, and yet he would walk the floor for hours with that little one in his arms, petting it and loving it, encouraging it in every way with such tenderness and such a soul of pity and love as not one mother in a thousand would show.
While he was a hard-headed, successful business man, yet very few in this dispensation have been more gifted with spiritual insight than he. As we were returning from an eastern trip, some years ago, on the train just east of Green River, I saw him go out to the end of the car on the platform, and immediately return and hesitate a moment, and then sit down in the seat just ahead of me. He had just taken his seat when something went wrong with the train. A broken rail had been the means of ditching the engine and had thrown most of the cars off the track. In the sleeper we were shaken up pretty badly, but our car remained on the track.
The President immediately said to me that he had gone on the platform when he heard a voice saying, "Go in and sit down."
He came in, and I noticed him stand a moment and he seemed to hesitate, but he sat down.
He said further that as he came in and stood in the aisle he thought, "Oh, pshaw, perhaps it is only my imagination;" when he heard the voice again, "Sit down," and he immediately took his seat, and the result was as I have stated.
He, no doubt, would have been very seriously injured had he remained on the platform of that car, as the cars were all jammed up together pretty badly. He said, "I have heard that voice a good many times in my life, and I have always profited by obeying it."
On another occasion, at a function which was held in the palatial home of Mr. and Mrs. A. W. McCune, he made an extended talk to the gathering. He then said that when a certain brother who had been called to a responsible position in the Church was chosen for that position, he himself had never heard this spiritual voice more plainly and more clearly telling him what to do, than in this naming of the individual who was to be called for that certain office.
He lived in close communion with the Spirit of the Lord, and his life was so exemplary and chaste that the Lord could easily manifest himself to his servant. Truly he could say, "Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth." Not every servant can hear when He speaks. But the heart of President Smith was attuned to the Celestial melodies—he could hear, and did hear.
What shall I say of the grand and glorious work that he has done in rearing the large and splendid family that he leaves behind? What a noble work for any man! Indeed no man without great nobility of soul could have accomplished it. Is not this bringing up a good family, and a largefamily of good citizens, good men and women, good for the Church, for the State, and for the Nation? Is not this, I say, about the most God-like piece of work that a man can do in this world? The thinking mind, who goes into this question deep enough, will see that here is the work, not only of a man, of a great man, but of a God in embryo. The whole Church can take pride in the vindication of this great principle which he had so successfully wrought out. No ordinary man could accomplish that. Happy the wife who can call him husband. Happy and blessed indeed the children who call him father. Never was man more moral and chaste and virtuous to the last fiber of his being than he. Against all forms or thoughts of licentiousness, he was set, and as immovable as a mountain. "Blessed are the pure in heart," and as he was the very purest—he shall see God.
It is written that a truly great man is known by the number of beings he loves and blesses, and by the number of beings who love and bless him. Judged by that standard alone, where is his equal to be found in all this world!
I can say of Joseph F. Smith as Carlyle said of Luther, that he was truly a great man, "great in intellect, in courage, in affection, and in integrity. Great, not as a hewn obelisk, but as an Alpine mountain." No heart ever beat truer to every principle of manhood and righteousness and justice and mercy than his; that great heart, encased in his magnificent frame, made him the biggest, the bravest, the tenderest, the purest and best of all men who walked the earth in his time!
"His life was gentle, and the elementsSo mix'd in him, that Nature might stand upAnd say to all the world, 'This was a Man!'"
"His life was gentle, and the elementsSo mix'd in him, that Nature might stand upAnd say to all the world, 'This was a Man!'"
—Charles W. Nibley,Presiding Bishop of the Church,Improvement Era,Vol. 22, January, 1919, pp. 191-198.