Charles W. Penrose

“ Not only through the living oracles in a Church capacity, but as individual members of the Church we can come near unto the Lord, so that there will be no barrier between us and him, and so that his Spirit can come upon us freely, and the light of God can illuminate our souls and so direct us that we may have the life and strength of this eternal priesthood. For this priesthood is a reality and not a mere name; it is not a mere calling in word, but an office which confers upon us power and influence that comes from the Almighty. ”

“ For there is an ample sphere of labor for every man, and also for every woman, in this Church. Every man in this house, this morning, whether bishop, teacher, or missionary to preach the Gospel, can find something to do for the exercise of the powers with which he is endowed, magnifying his office or calling in the priesthood —for we nearly all have some portion of the priesthood. If we seek for the spirit of that calling, we shall find plenty of opportunity for the exercise of its duties. But the great difficulty is, many of us are content simply to be ordained to the priesthood. ”

“ Let girls be brought up by a mother who is full of kindness and love and charity—which are much more beautiful adornments than the glittering show of jewelry; earthly jewels are nothing in comparison to those precious jewels of eternity, and all the finery that woman could put on is nothing to the adornment of the mind which peculiarly shines out in the mothers and daughters of Israel —let a mother be embued [imbued] with this good, kind, teachable spirit and she can surround her children with it, she can have that spirit in the home where she resides. ”

“ Every mother has a field of usefulness at home among her own children; this is her peculiar sphere. Do not let me be understood to mean that woman should be a fixture in the house, to be tied up to a table leg, or to a wash-tub. I think many of our sisters stay at home too much. If they would make it their business to take more out-door exercise they would find it a relief to the monotony of household work. I do not believe that women should be tied up at home; but I say that home is woman's peculiar sphere. ”

“ We must have different motives from the world, we must not have the same desires as the Gentiles, for their hearts are set upon the things of this life. They worship the wealth of the world. I hope to see the time when every Latter-day Saint will have plenty, and the time will come when God will give unto his people all the wealth they desire, but that will be when they know how to use it aright, and when their hearts are right and set upon the law of the Lord and upon the counsel of his will, and when they will be willing to use it for his glory and the blessing of their race. ”

“ It is our privilege if we live aright, each one for himself to receive direct from the fountain of life, intelligence, wisdom and knowledge for our individual guidance, inspiration to direct us in all things that we are called upon to perform. The father of a family has a right to receive the inspiration of the Holy Ghost to direct him in all things pertaining to his house-hold, to give words of wisdom and counsel to his wives and his children and all within the sphere of his authority and influence. ”

“ The Lord will give honor unto such people. And their sons will go to nations afar off and the earth will tremble under their voice, and evil spirits that are deceiving the sons of men will flee before them, for the power of the priesthood will be with them. And they will search out the seed of Israel wherever they preach to them the Gospel in their own tongue by the power of the Almighty for this the gift of tongues was designed—and they will gather in the seed of Israel to the Zion of our God. ”

“ And the sisters, too, have also a good, wide sphere. I was pleased to see that the presidency of the Relief Society was presented and sustained at this Conference. The sisters are one with the brethren in their labors, and have duties peculiar to themselves, in carrying on the work which God has given them to do. It has been well said, that "Man is not without the woman, nor the woman without the man, in the Lord." And we shall find that through all eternity the sexes go together, and that the female portion of God's children have a part and a lot in this matter as well as the male. ”

“ Nevertheless the Lord may see fit to impart to us something not placed on record, and we should be ready and willing to receive every word of counsel, or instruction, or command, or rebuke that he may see fit to impart. It is necessary also that we should show to our brethren who are called to these various offices that we are willing to sustain them. For they have not called themselves, neither do they run for office; we are not office-seekers in this Church. It is very generally the case that a man who seeks an office is not a fit and proper person to occupy it. ”

“ It is our privilege in these public gatherings appointed for the worship of God, to have the presence of these holy ones in our midst, and to have the power of the Almighty to rest upon both speaker and hearer, that we may be fed and nourished by the bread of life that comes down from heaven, and that when we part and go to our respective callings and places of abode we may each carry with us "a live coal from the altar." ”

“ It is the privilege of every mother to have the spirit of the Lord to direct her in the course she shall take with her children. And it is the privilege of every boy and girl, who has been baptized into the Church, to receive the Holy Ghost for their guidance, so that the whole Church may be quickened, bodily and spiritually, with that life that comes from above ”

“ If he is not called to minister abroad in the world, he can be a minister of peace and righteousness at home; he can strengthen the weak hands and confirm the feeble knees, and drive away doubt from the sceptical mind bear testimony to the truth which he has received and understands and wherever he goes he can carry the Spirit and blessing of God that will build the people together, and thus help to build up the kingdom of God. ”

“ It is designed that this Church shall be alive in its parts; that every individual particle shall be influenced by the spirit thereof When the human body is in a healthy condition, the spirit that dwells therein animates every portion; but when the body gets into an unhealthy condition, there are parts of it through which the spirit does not circulate. So with the Church that the Lord has established upon the earth. There are plenty of dead forms in the world; religious institutions that are not alive, but are forms without the power. ”

“ At the same time we have men presiding over us in this Church through whom the word of the Lord will come in our present circumstances for our guidance and for the guidance of the whole Church in its onward march, as the exigencies of the case may require. And when we lift up our hands to heaven to sustain them, we manifest that we hold ourselves in readiness to receive the word of the Lord whenever he sees fit to impart it to us. ”

“ And we are not required to train them up by word and precept alone, but by example. If we do not want our children to use strong drink, it will not do for us to use it. Try therefore to set our children examples which we would feel perfectly willing that they should imitate. Our sisters can work in this way both by precept and example, and above all things by the spirit they carry; they can impress the minds of the young and rising generation so that they may grow up with a natural tendency to that which is holy. ”

“ We meet here to-day to manifest that we are willing to sustain the brethren appointed of God in their several callings and offices of the holy priesthood. It may seem rather a dry and formal matter to some of the people to come together and lift up their hands to sustain the authorities of the Church, but it is a necessary duty and, if we look at it properly, we shall take pleasure therein. ”

“ It is not supposed that when we come together as we do this morning, that we wish to be treated to the views and opinions of men. The Lord has instructed his servants to speak as they are moved upon by the Holy Ghost, and it has been shown to us that it is our privilege when we assemble on such occasions to receive instructions, not in the enticing words of man's wisdom, but in the demonstration and power of the Holy Ghost ”

“ The powers of the Aaronic priesthood reach out a great way, for we are told that that priesthood holds the keys of the ministration of angels. I wonder how many there are who obtain such a blessing as this? I do not know whether we are fit for communion with the higher powers, the beings sent forth to "minister unto the heirs of salvation." ”

“ But our brethren do not thrust themselves forward to seek for position. Somebody else calls them, and we, to-day, manifest our willingness to sustain them in those callings, and to give them the benefit of our faith and prayers, and to assure them that so far as we are placed under their counsel we will accept it and act upon it. So this is a good work we do. It does not take a great deal of time or labor and it is a fitting duty for Latter-day Saints to perform, and I feel that we are privileged in so doing. ”

“ And he will not spread contention or encourage any spirit which would prompt men to speak evil of each other; he will not encourage anything that savors of contention and strife and disunion, but, on the contrary, will encourage all that tends to unite the people together. And any man holding the priesthood has power to do that much in the sphere which he is called to occupy. And also of speaking a word in due season, and of standing in his calling and of being a representative of the Most High God. ”

“ And the time will come when the Lord shall have established his Church perfectly upon the earth, and all things move in their proper course, that God will find a place adapted to every person, in which each will have more joy than in any other place and be able to do more good to the community than in any other. ”

“ The time will come when the servants of the living God will purify themselves before him until they will be fit to receive these blessings. When that holy temple is built in Zion God will take away the veil from the eyes of his servants ”

“ Women should make their homes as comfortable as they can, with the means at their command, that the husband, the children and all that belong to the family may be glad to come home to enjoy the society of the family circle. ”

“ Fathers should take all the time they can in instructing their children but the mothers are with them so much more and have so much greater influence over them in a certain direction, and therefore they should seek to exercise their powers by training up their children in the way they should go. ”

“ We have a great deal of principle and doctrine given to us through the means of the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, etc., with which we ought to make ourselves thoroughly familiar. ”

“ For this work does not rest altogether upon those required to act in official positions, but upon every individual called by the name of Latter-day Saint. Some people think that the sphere of labor they are called to occupy, is not a great one, that if they were called to occupy some office in the Church they could accomplish more good and have something more to live for. ”

“ But by sustaining these brethren in our customary way, we manifest to God and the powers behind the vail, who work with the brethren in the flesh that we are willing to receive any revelation that the higher powers may see fit to communicate through them in that capacity. ”

“ Though all nations oppose, this work will, roll onward to completion; for the power of God will be in our midst and we shall be able to accomplish with greater ease and facility everything we are directed to do. ”