Elder Brigham Young [Jr.] of the
Apostles, was the speaker in the S[alt] L[ake] Tabernacle to-day. He deplored
the worldly mindedness of many of the Latter-day Saints, who in their mad race
for the riches and ambitions of this world, lost sight of the more valuable
things of the kingdom and faltered by the wayside. He also deprecated the
frivolous, pastimes which were indulged in by young people and advocated order
and discipline in the household. He showed that argument was not so much a
factor in convincing honest people of the divinity of the Gospel, but the
testimony and witness of the Holy Spirit was the chief agent in that work.
Referring to the spirit of warfare that was animating the nation he testified
that the spirit of God was not a spirit of strife or bloodshed, and advised the
young men of Israel not to imbibe that spirit. He thought they could show their
patriotism better by contributing to the results of their honest labor to the
support of the nation in the conflict with Spain, than by rushing forward pell
mell to engage in shedding the blood of their fellowmen. Those who had been
legitimately called to the front to defend their country should be sustained.
If necessary, he was willing himself to step forward at his country’s call to
defend it against a foreign foe. He believed that there was more to be dreaded
from yellow fever and similar diseases in the low swamps of a tropical region
than from the weapons of warfare. He related some of his experience with that
dreadful scourge and warned young men not to be carried off their feet by
reckless enthusiasm. He referred to the revelation on the Civil War, given
through the Prophet Joseph and pointed out its partial fulfillment and the
certainty of the fulfillment of that which remained. He declared that the
mission of the Church was to establish peace, that the Saints should be true to
their God and to their covenants and strive to maintain peace on earth and good
will toward men. (Journal History, April 24, 1898 in Minutes of the Apostles
of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1835-1951 [rev. ed.;
Salt Lake City, 2020], emphasis in bold added]
Further
Reading:
Resources
on Joseph Smith’s Prophecies