Summary: President George Albert Smith expresses gratitude for the blessings of life and the sacrifices of the pioneers who built up the land. He urges members to live worthy lives by keeping God’s commandments. He stresses the importance of teaching children righteousness and protecting them from the adversary’s temptations. President Smith warns against sins, reminding the members that God does not excuse even small sins. He calls the Saints to stay faithful, spread the Gospel, and live so they may one day be welcomed into God’s presence with joy.

Source: “For the Protection of our Father’s Children” (George Albert Smith, Conference Report, October 7th, 1932.)

Editor’s Note

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Notable Quotes

We sanctify our homes when we let the gathering place of the family, that sacred unit in which loyalty should abide, become a family hearth, increasing our love for one another and freedom can only exist in doing right.

Honor the Sabbath day and keep it holy, Latter-day Saints, and blessings will bring you great joy and our Heavenly Father will bestow upon you the blessings that result from obedience to His advice and counsel.

My brethren and sisters, I plead with you that with more earnestness, with more thoughtfulness, more patience than ever before, you safeguard the rising generation from the pitfalls that the adversary has laid for their feet.

I know the adversary is awake; his end is drawing near and he is putting forth every effort in every conceivable way to blind the eyes of the children of men.

For the Protection of our Father’s Children

Conference address by George Albert Smith delivered at the one-hundred and third semi-annual conference, held in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Utah, U. S. A., October 7th, 1932

I do not know when I have felt happier or more grateful for the blessings of life than I do to-day. There are many things for which we have reason to thank our Heavenly Father, this temple block with its unusually fine buildings and beautiful flowers and shrubbery being only one. When I realize that our people came from a land rich agriculturally, made their way across the great plains after being driven from their comfortable homes in Illinois, and came into this then desert-waste to build up the Church to the glory of God; and as I observe how He has transformed the desert, I know that I for one have much to be grateful for.

Recently we traveled four hundred miles over a portion of the old pioneer trail, and stood at the side of one grave containing the bodies of fifteen of the members of this Church who gave their all for the cause and passed on to their reward, and hundreds of others lie in unmarked graves.

I have been on that trail over which barefoot, hungry and weary, in the cold of winter and the heat of summer, thousands of our people wended their way into this valley, buoyed up with the hope that they could here worship God according to the dictates of their consciences. To-day when I think of this marvellous land in which we live, this world-famed temple block, this edifice that has been dedicated to the worship of our Father in heaven, it seems to me that we who are here ought to examine ourselves and look over our lives and see whether or not we are living up to our privileges and are worthy of that which the Lord has given us. He has said:

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

It was in order that we might know what His will is towards His children that He gave Joseph Smith, the boy prophet, the latter-day revelation which resulted in the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Then some of the very stalwarts of the earth were guided in their hearts with a desire to know the truth, and the missionaries of the Church sought them among the nations, and the pilgrimage to this western world began. The community comforts that we enjoy here are the result of their faith and devotion.

It is worth while sometimes just to check over what the Lord said to the children of Israel through Moses, when they were in the wilderness. I note that among the things He commanded them was this:

Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

I hope that the members of this Church who have read the Ten Commandments and all the glorious truths of the Old Testament and the New Testament placed before us with direct understanding, and have been instructed in our day by latter-day revelation—I hope, I say, that not any of these would be so thoughtless that they would take lightly upon their lips the sacred name of our Father in heaven.

“REMEMBER THE SABBATH DAY TO KEEP IT HOLY”

He also said: “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.” That seems such a little thing for us to do in return for the blessings that we enjoy. But to forget that it is the Lord’s day, as some of us appear to do, is ungrateful. He has spent many days in our behalf, and has endured much to bring joy into our lives. We sanctify our homes when we let the gathering place of the family, that sacred unit in which loyalty should abide, become a family hearth increasing our love for one another. And if we do what our Heavenly Father would have us do, we will make His holy house open upon the Sabbath day and there partake of the sacrament in remembrance of the sacrifice that was made for us by the Redeemer.

Honor the Sabbath day and keep it holy, Latter-day Saints, and blessings will bring you great joy and our Heavenly Father will bestow upon you the blessings that result from obedience to His advice and counsel.

He says further, “Honour thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.” It seems to me that it is difficult to measure the greatness of a heritage handed to a people like ours, and our duty seems huge to-day. Surely we honour our fathers and our mothers.

Surely this people, above all other people in the earth, should be grateful for father and mother. Perhaps we know more than other people what it means to be blessed, to come through a lineage in this latter day, that has accepted the Gospel of our Lord and conformed their lives to its teachings. It is comforting to think of father and mother. Honour father and mother! Surely that is a privilege. It is one of the joys of my life when I feel that I have done something that will bring comfort to my father and mother. I felt that way when they were here, and now that they have passed to the great beyond, I would like to so order my life that honour will come to their names, and that when I meet them they will be glad to welcome me home.

I think that the Latter-day Saints ought to be stressing these admonitions of our Heavenly Father, in guiding our children by example as well as precept, that it is a privilege to honour the Sabbath day and keep it holy, that it is a real blessing to honour our fathers and mothers, that in this day when the world is so depressed—in a day when people are tempted to do things that perhaps they would not do under other circumstances—it is wise for us to remember what the Lord has said and to read these Ten Commandments. I will not read them all, but I shall refer to one or two others.

“Thou shalt not kill.” Many people in the world do not seem to realize what a terrible crime it is to take human life. When they become angry, for justifiable reasons as they think, they do not hesitate to destroy human life. Sometimes a life is taken in order that money or property may be seized. And yet there is no crime that a human being can commit that will so far alienate him from the blessings of eternal life in the celestial kingdom, as murder. No other crime is so great. I think that it is our privilege in this Church, to teach our children, while in their youth, what a terrible thing it is to take human life; that they may be preserved unto eternal life. I feel that our Heavenly Father would justify us if we preached that sermon in full. If we permitted that term, in our homes and in our chapels the sacredness of those lives who have passed, and those yet living, and cause these boys and girls who are growing up to understand how terrible it would be to take the life of another soul, so that they would not be tempted under any condition so to do.

PURITY OF LIFE

“Thou shalt not commit adultery.” In our day, it does seem to me that the people of the world have gone far astray. There are many who stand in high places, who have forgotten the sacredness of pure living, and who are forfeiting the opportunity God gave to them to increase their power for happiness in life and to give joy to others. They have surrendered their virtue in order to satisfy their passions, with the result that they cut themselves off from the companionship of the Spirit of our Heavenly Father and follow the tempter who seeks to destroy them.

Latter-day Saints, teach your children to observe the moral law. Surround them with the arms of your love, that they may have no desire whatever to partake of the temptations to evil that surround them on every hand. I want to say to you that there is something more for us to do than to send them to Sabbath School, to Primary, to Mutual, and these other organizations in the Church. It is important that we as their fathers and mothers shall teach them, and not only teach them, but train them in the pathway of our Heavenly Father, that they may understand the importance and seriousness of the things that confront them in life.

What a privilege it is for parents to sit down in their own homes, surrounded by a family of pure boys and girls given to them by our Heavenly Father, their spirits begotten by our Father in Heaven! What a joy it is to have them mingle together partaking of the blessings of our Heavenly Father and rejoicing in the companionship of His Spirit, and to have them so trained in their younger days that while developing to maturity they have maintained the purity of their lives!

SAFEGUARD THE RISING GENERATION

My brethren and sisters, I plead with you that with more earnestness, with more thoughtfulness, more patience than ever before, you safeguard the rising generation from the pitfalls that the adversary has laid for their feet. Many of our picture shows, radio programmes, magazines, books, etc., are unfit for respectable company, and unless we neutralize the influence of these things by wholesome teaching and environment, bringing to the youth the understanding derived from righteous lives of good men and women, teaching them the virtues of the prophets and the meaning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, some of those whom we love may slip away from us, and when it is too late we realize that we have been sleeping on our opportunity.

Let us teach our children to be pure in their lives, to be upright. Teach your sons that the safeguarding of their sisters and their girl companions is a sacred duty. Teach your daughters to safeguard the virtue of the boys they associate with, by restraining them from taking too many liberties in word or in action—so many liberties are considered good-natured joking.

I am talking to you and through you I hope I am talking to those with whom you associate. It is not only our mission to teach those who are born under the covenant and born into the Church and into the Jewish Church and Israel, it is our mission to send into the world our sons and daughters that are called from time to time to labour in the ministry of the Church. As they go they should have been so trained that they would be adamant against the temptations of the adversary; they should be as pure and virtuous and righteous in their lives as it is possible to be, and then the influence of their very presence will be felt by those with whom they contact. The Spirit of God will not dwell in unclean tabernacles, but His Spirit will dwell with those who keep themselves clean and sweet.

Therefore, let us major, if we may use the term, in rearing our boys and girls under the influence of the Spirit of God, that the adversary will have no power to lead them astray.

“THOU SHALT NOT STEAL.”

“Thou shalt not steal,” is another of the commandments. It is astonishing how many men and women who have always lived good lives will yield to temptation to take that which does not belong to them. For the past few years we have been passing through a change. There seems to have been a letting down in the matter of honesty. Our Heavenly Father knew that we would need this commandment when He gave it. It was not given just to be written in the scriptures and then laid upon the shelf. It was given to be proclaimed upon the housetops, if need be. It was written that the Elders might go among the people and call their attention to the sorrow and distress that would follow the taking of that which does not belong to them, when they do it without permission.

“Thou shalt not steal.” This commandment was given to ancient Israel, and punishment was meted out to those in that day who were dishonest. It is binding upon us to-day and I want to say to you that the punishment that is meted out to those who are dishonest in our day, when they are apprehended and held before the courts of the land and are punished for their crimes, is insignificant when compared to the spiritual punishment that befalls that soul who disobeys the law of honesty and violates the commandment of God.

“Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.” Within the last few days I had brought to my attention what appeared to me to be a violation of this law. A noble and good man who has sacrificed much in the world to bless mankind has been lied about by unworthy people, and his character and his name was bandied about by those who did not have the good sense to use his own words. They took it into an unfaithful and unwise way. They whispered stories about him hoping to injure him. They did not benefit; they discredited themselves. Of course, in due time, they may be properly rebuked.

“Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour”; this should enter our hearts often.

Therefore, living in this day when there are so many temptations, the Word of Wisdom ought to be stressed among the people of this Church. Our Heavenly Father, knowing the calamities that would come upon the earth, knowing the evils and designs that would exist in the hearts of conspiring men, gave to us the Word of Wisdom by revelation and warned us and forewarned us of what would come to pass. It does seem that every attempt of the adversary has been made to neutralize the advice of our Heavenly Father. I hope there are no members of this Church, who have been honoured with the Priesthood, who would in any way weaken the power of God to bless His children by seeking to place temptation in their way, or who would think it an insignificant thing to try to break down the barriers God has raised for the protection of His children. I hope that as men and women, with the knowledge that has been bestowed upon us, we will resist day by day with such power as we have the right to resist, every attempt of evil to break down and destroy the morals, the character and the virtue of our people, and the sons and daughters of God wherever they may be.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God unto salvation to those who believe and who obey its precepts. We have been better taught than the world. We cannot make the excuses of the world if we fail. How grateful I feel that I am this day in the midst of a group of men and women who desire first of all to honour God and keep His commandments.

I thank Him for the warning that has come to me through the revelations that have been given to this Church, and among them I am reminded of a portion of the 28th chapter II Nephi, indicating the attitude of the evil doer, which I read as follows:

And there shall also be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry; nevertheless, fear God—He will justify in committing a little sin.

Think of that—the suggestion that a little sin will be justified. Yet in the very first revelation contained in the Doctrine and Covenants, that which is known as the Preface, we find these words:

For I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance.

Yet there are those who would say that because it is a little sin our Heavenly Father does not care. Continuing the quotation from II Nephi:

Yea, lie a little, take the advantage of one because of his words.

Think of what that means, the whisperings of the adversary to lie a little. Whether it be a lie intended to affect a religious organization, a business organization, a political organization, or an individual, the lie will brand the one who tells it, and sooner or later he will have to account for the wrong he has committed.

Yea, lie a little, take the advantage of one because of his words, dig a pit for thy neighbour; there is no harm in this; and do all these things, for to-morrow we die; and if it so be that we are guilty, God will beat us with a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God.

That is what the adversary of righteousness is saying to the children of men. That is what Lucifer who goes about defiling the people is breathing into their souls. That is the kind of doctrine that is being disseminated in the world by some of those who ought to be the leaders of morality and also of righteousness. But to you, my brethren and sisters, the obligation has been given that you must refute such things as these when you know of them.

We read further:

Yea, and there shall be many which shall teach after this manner, false and vain and foolish doctrines, and shall be puffed up in their hearts, and shall seek deep to hide their counsels from the Lord; and their works shall be in the dark.

And then further:

And others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well—and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell.

And behold, others he flattereth away, and telleth them there is no hell; and he saith unto them: I am no devil, for there is none—and thus he whispereth in their ears, until he grasps them with his awful chains, from whence there is no deliverance.

Yea, they are grasped with death, and hell; and death, and hell, and the devil, and all that have been seized therewith must stand before the throne of God, and be judged according to their works, from whence they must go into the place prepared for them, even a lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless torment.

This is the word of the prophet of the Lord, spoken hundreds of years ago of what would exist in the world, and I bear you my witness to-day, my brethren and sisters, that that is a condition that does exist in the world in the day and age in which we live. And as your brother, I plead with you that in the dignity of your membership in the great Church of the Lamb of God, you resist the insidious temptations of the adversary, and that in your homes and elsewhere you teach and exemplify virtue and righteousness. See that the teachings of the Lord are so disseminated that every soul that comes within your portals will enjoy the blessing that is the result of the companionship of the Holy Spirit.

I know this is God’s work. I know the adversary is awake; his end is drawing near and he is putting forth every effort in every conceivable way to blind the eyes of the children of men. Therefore, watchmen upon the towers of Zion, see to it that you do not shirk your responsibility. See to it that you do not turn aside from the opportunities that our Heavenly Father has placed in your way to be helpful. Let us go forward loving our fellows, always desiring their uplift and blessing, carrying the Gospel message in such a way that the adversary shall have no power to stay it. And then in the end, when life is completed and we stand in the presence of our Father in heaven, may we because of the work we have accomplished and our devotion to our Father’s children, receive from Him that glorious welcome home, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord,” I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen