Young men, do not say that you are not naturally religious, and so make that an excuse for evil deeds and forbidden acts, and for not identifying yourselves with the organizations of the Church, and by such course perhaps smothering the Spirit of God within you, possessed as a birthright, or received through the servants of the Lord by the imposition of hands. Be rather religious both in appearance and in reality, remembering what true religion means. Even as the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy, so is the possession of the knowledge that you love purity, righteousness, honesty, justice and well-doing, an indisputable evidence that you are naturally religious. Search your hearts, and you will find deep down that you possess this knowledge. Then encourage its growth and development to the gaining of your own salvation. The Church and its quorums and organizations will help you, and the living, loving God will add his bounteous blessings.—Improvement Era, 1905-6, Vol. 9, pp. 493-495.
STRIVE TO BE AS BROAD AS THE GOSPEL. The gospel of Jesus Christ, properly taught and understood, inculcates broadness, force, and power. It makes intellectually broad and valiant men. It gives to men good, sound judgment in affairs temporal as well as spiritual. There are reasons why it is worth a young man's while to embrace it. Outside of the gospel of Jesus Christ, as taught by the Latter-day Saints, and sometimes within the fold, we frequently look about us and see people who incline to extremes, who are fanatical. We may be sure that this class of people do not understand the gospel. They have forgotten, if they ever knew, that it is very unwise to take a fragment of truth and treat it as if it were the whole thing.
While the first principles of the gospel, faith in God, repentance, baptism for the remission of sins, and the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost, the healing of the sick, the resurrection, and for that matter, all the revealed principles of the gospel of Christ are necessary and essential in the plan of salvation, it is neither good policy nor sound doctrine to take any one of these, single it out from the whole plan of gospel truth, make it a special hobby, and depend upon it for our salvation and progress, either in this world or in the world to come. They are all necessary.
It should be the desire of the Latter-day Saints to become as big and broad as the gospel which has been divinely revealed to them. They should, therefore, hold themselves open to the acceptance of all the truths of the gospel that have been revealed, that are now being revealed, and that will be revealed hereafter, and adopt them in the conduct of their daily lives. By honorable and upright living, by obedience to the commandments of God, and by the aid of the Holy Spirit, we shall place ourselves in a position to work out our own salvation here and hereafter, "with fear and trembling," it may be, but with absolute certainty.
This is a work that makes every soul who engages in it big and broad. It is a life-work worth the while of every man in the world.— Improvement Era, 1911-12, Vol. 15, pp. 843-845.
SEARCH AND YE SHALL FIND. The fact is that every principle of healing, every principle of the power of the Holy Ghost, and of God, which have been manifested to the Saints in all ages, have been bestowed upon the Latter-day Saints. There is no principle, there is no blessing, there is no advantage, there is no truth in any other religious society or organization, which is not included in the gospel of Jesus Christ as taught by Joseph Smith, the Prophet, and after him by the leaders and elders of this Church; but it requires some effort on our part, some exertion, some devotion, to learn of and to enjoy these things. If we neglect them, we are, of course, not the recipients of the blessings that follow effort, and that come from a thorough understanding of these principles. Hence it is that others may come in among us and advocate their ideas which, though not comparing with ours in plainness, instruction, and truth, are yet listened to by people who are made to believe that all these things are new, and not contained in the gospel of Jesus Christ as taught by the Latter-day Saints. This is a fearful fallacy, and one that should be guarded against by everyone who loves the gospel.
In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will be found to a greater extent than in any other church, the principles of life and salvation; and if we search them out of our literature and learn them for ourselves, have them confirmed by the Spirit, by right living, and make them a part of ourselves, we shall find greater comfort and richer blessings greater treasures of everlasting life than in any other teachings that may be given to us by any other organization upon the earth.—Improvement Era, May, 1909, Vol. 12, p. 561.
THE SPIRIT OF RELIGION. A serious time will come in every life. There is a parting of the ways. What you indulge in will lead you up or down. I have no hesitancy in declaring in the name of the Lord that the spirit which leads you to complain that you are bored in attending the worshiping assemblies of the Saints has led or will lead you astray; and, on the other hand, that the young people who cultivate the true spirit of worship, and find happiness and pleasure in the associations of the Saints, and who care enough for God and religion to support the Church and attend the meetings, are the people whose moral and spiritual influence will control public sentiment and govern the state and nation. In any conflict with indifference and the spirit of worldly pleasure, moral influence and religious earnestness will always conquer and rule.—Improvement Era, October, 1903, Vol. 6, p. 944.
THE MEANING OF SUCCESS. There are daily evidences of a growing tendency among the masses of the civilized world to regard success in life purely from the standpoint of material advancement. The man who has a beautiful home and a large income is looked upon as a successful man. People are constantly talking about the winners of fortune in the contest for wealth. Men who are successful in obtaining the honors bestowed by their fellowmen are envied as among the most fortunate. Everywhere men hear the word success dwelt upon as if success were defined in a word, and as if the highest ambition of men and women was the advancement of some worldly ambition.
All this rage about success simply indicates the gross materialism of the age in which we live. Here is what a State Commissioner of Education says to a graduating class: "You need not expect that people will stand aside because you have come. They are going to crowd you, and you will have to crowd them. They will leave you behind unless you leave them behind." The meaning of such talk is that to be successful you must take advantage of your fellowmen; you must crowd them out and leave them behind; and all because if you do not take advantage of them they will take advantage of you.