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Standing before the great congregation of people in this great tabernacle, and standing before a greater congregation, perhaps, the people that may be listening in over the radio, I feel the responsibility of my position. The thought that was in my mind, and the prayer that was in my heart when I was called by President Grant to appear before you, was this: O Lord, help me to glorify thy name, through faith, in my utterances this morning.
As I was coming into the tabernacle yesterday forenoon a brother said to me: "President Clawson, will you be a speaker this morning?" I said to him: "My dear brother, the Council of the Twelve and other authorities of the Church have no notice whatever, at these general conferences, as to whether they will be called upon to speak or not; and furthermore in speaking, they are not told just what to say. They are expected, of course, to depend upon the Spirit of the Lord to inspire them." Now, if I shall speak to you this morning by the Spirit of the Lord, you will, be edified, but if I shall speak to you by some other spirit there will be no instruction. So I invoke His Spirit, and pray that it may be upon me and upon this congregation.
We are here as a worshiping assembly. The God that we worship, my brethren and sisters and friends, is a God of love, a God of mercy, and a God of power. The God that we worship is the God of the Bible, as set forth in King James' translation; he is the God of Adam and Eve, who were in the Garden of Eden; the God of the three great patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; the God of Moses; the God of Elijah and of Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Jeremiah; the God of Jesus Christ who came in the meridian of time; and the God of his apostles. Furthermore, the God that we worship is the God of Joseph Smith, the modern prophet.
This Holy Being that I speak of is a God of body, parts and passions, as clearly and definitely described in holy writ, because we are told that man is in the image and likeness of God, hence God is in the image and likeness of man. Joseph Smith so declared him to be, for he saw him in a great vision. This God is comprehensible. He falls under the senses. There is something substantial about him, something that you can easily realize; but a God without body, parts and passions, I take it, cannot be comprehended.
God is a God of love. Listen to these words by St. John:
"Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
"He that loveth not, knoweth not God; for God is love."
Now, isn't that a wonderful statement, that we cannot even know God without exercising this tremendous principle of love? He is love, and if we shall come to understand him and comprehend him, it must be in part through this glorious attribute.
Jesus said to his disciples:
"Love one another, and if you love me ye will keep my commandments. If you love not one another you are not my disciples."
So that love exercised a mighty influence in the life and work of the Savior and in that of his disciples.
The greatest manifestation of the love of God, I take it, relates to the atonement, for we are told, in the gospel of St. John:
"God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
"For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved."
It seems to me this was a very wonderful expression of God's love for the children of men.
We understand, from the scriptures, that Jesus Christ is our elder brother. If that be the case then we are Iris younger brothers and younger sisters; we belonged to a great family before we came into the world. It was the family of God, for Jesus said: "When you pray, say our Father which art in heaven." Our Father is there, and we believe that we have a mother there. That thought was beautifully expressed in the hymn that the choir sang this morning. I think you will agree with me that it is a very wonderful thought indeed. At least itis interesting and worthy of profound consideration.
"I had learned to call thee Father,
Through thy spirit from on high,
But until the key of knowledge
Was restored, I knew not why.
"In the heavens are parents single?
No, the thought makes reason stare.
Truth is reason. Truth eternal
Tells me I've a mother there."
To say the least, if we are led to believe that we have a Father in heaven, I think we are justified in believing that we have a Mother there. Who ever heard of a father where there was no mother?
All this means that in heaven from whence we came we were the children of our Father, his children in spirit. This was prior to the time we came down to the earth and took upon ourselves these mortal bodies. Think of it, my brethren and sisters and friends!
Surely it was a tremendous sacrifice the Lord in heaven made, when he gave his only begotten Son to die for the sins of the world, that you and I might be redeemed, that all the world who would receive the truth might be saved in the presence of God.
Abraham was called upon to make a similar offering, in a lesser degree, when he was told to offer up his son Isaac as a sacrifice unto God. It must have been a most terrific ordeal. How could he bear it? Well, we don't know just how he could bear it, but we know that he did bear it, and we know that he was obedient and answered the commandment and undertook to carry it out because the Lord had demanded it of him. The evident purpose of it was to test his faith, to try his very soul.
God is a God of mercy. We are told in the Book of Exodus:
"And the Lord passed by before Moses, and proclaimed, The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth."
Then in a psalm:
"The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy."
Then again:
"But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children;
"To such as keep his covenants, and to those who remember his commandments to do them."
Have you remarked, as I read this scripture, that the principle of mercy that is in God, our Creator, is everlasting in its character? It is a great attribute of his character. It was so before the world was organized and projected into existence. It is a great and glorious virtue m every man and woman who exercises it, and it will ever continue to be so in worlds without end. I repeat God is merciful, slow to anger, plenteous in mercy.
How is it with us, brethren and sisters? Are we merciful? Are we slow to anger, or do we give way sometimes to our feelings, and speak words of bitterness and words of anger, that we repent of later?
It seems to me if we are to become like our Heavenly Father--and that is most desirable--then we must exercise these glorious virtues,--the power of love, the power of mercy.
Now remember also that the God we worship is a God of power. There are many examples of this. We have seen it in our own lives. We have become cognizant of it in our own experiences. There are many examples in holy writ. Let me give you one briefly.
The Holy Bible tells us that upon one occasion in ancient times Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, came up against Hezekiah, the king of Judah. He came up with his captains and a great army. His purpose was to take possession of the fenced cities of Judah, and to war against the children of Israel. Now, mark you, the difference between this heathen king and Hezekiah, the king of Judah, a servant of the Lord.
Sennacherib came in the pride of his heart and in an arrogant boastful manner. He notified Hezekiah that he was coming, and warned him to be ready to surrender.
What was the attitude of Hezekiah, a man of God, a man of faith? Did he sit down and cross his hands and wait for the Lord to come and deliver him and his people? No, he didn't. He believed the Lord could do it. He believed the Lord would do it, but he at once instituted proceedings of defense. He gathered his people together. The record says he strengthened himself. He built up all the walls that were broken down and raised them up to the towers, and repaired Millo in the city of David, and made darts and shields in abundance; and he set captains of war over the people, and gathered them together to him in the street of the gate of the city, and spoke comfortably to them, saying:
"Be strong and courageous. Be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him:
"With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God to help us, and to fight our battles."
And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah, king of Judah. Mark it. The people were composed, and their feelings were calmed and they rested upon the words of Hezekiah, after preparing for defense. Hezekiah realized that faith without works is dead, being alone.
Soon after came the great heathen king. He made light of the God of Hezekiah, held him up to ridicule, reviled him, and said, in substance, to Hezekiah:
"Thinkest thou that thy God will deliver thee from my power? Why, all the gods of the heathens in the land with whom I have warred have submitted to my rule and to my authority, and think not that the God of Israel, or your God, will deliver you."
And his servants spake yet more against the Lord God, and against his servant Hezekiah. He also wrote letters to rail on the Lord God of Israel and to speak against him, saying:
"As the gods of the nations of other lands have not delivered their people out of mine hand, so shall not the god of Hezekiah deliver his people out of mine hand."
Then they cried with a loud voice to the people of Jerusalem that were on the walls, to afright them and to trouble them, that they might take the city.
Now, brethren and sisters, under those distressing circumstances what did Hezekiah do? After he had prepared to defend his country and his liberty he prayed to the Lord, and "for this cause Hezekiah, the king, and the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amos, prayed and cried to heaven." Don't you think, after he had taken every means to defend himself and his people, that that was the proper time and a good time to cry unto the Lord, and to cry unto him in faith? What was the answer? Well, this is what it was:
"Thus saith the Lord concerning the king of Assyria. He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a bank against it.
"By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the Lord.
"For I will defend this city, to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.
"And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the Lord went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand."
Think of it--one hundred and eighty-five thousand--slain by the Angel of God in one night.
"So Sennacherib, king of Assyria, departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh."
Now, brethren and sisters, in conclusion let me say to you, with this wonderful example before us, and other things that we are familiar with, if we will keep the commandments of God and serve him, as Hezekiah served him, he will reach forth his powerful arm and lift us up and strengthen us and deliver us from our enemies, just as he has done up to this very moment. Never, in all the history of this people, covering a hundred years, were the Latter-day Saints more powerful, more influential and more numerous than they are today. I say to you great is their faith, and there is power in faith.
God bless you, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
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