January 1879 — Salt Lake City Eleventh Ward Young Men’s and Young Ladies’ Mutual Improvement Associations, Salt Lake City, Utah Territory

My young brothers and sisters, we were all sent here on the earth for a purpose, and we all have a mission to perform. It is the duty of each of us to understand that mission. We have been told by many of our great men that the noblest spirits were reserved to come forth in this our day because of the great and mighty work to be accomplished in preparing for the second coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.8 I wonder how many of us realize that ours is one of those noble spirits, and do we ever ask ourselves the question, “Are we honoring and striving to bring our bodies into subjection to that pure and noble spirit that inhabits it, which ever invites to deeds of virtue and holiness, and would check us when prompted to do any evil or wrong?” How our hearts should swell with gratitude to God that for us was reserved this great privilege, which so many of our forefathers longed to enjoy but were denied.

How little we realized these great gospel truths until these organizations were instituted for the growth and development of the young.9 Now we begin to know who we are, from where we came, and what will be our future destiny, if we are faithful to God and obey all his commands; and let us not think for a moment that we can do too much good the little time we stay, for it will be only through the utmost diligence on our part that we can earn a place in the celestial kingdom.10 We must not only be able to say, “We have done harm to no one,” but we must be able to say, “We have done all in our power for the furtherance and advancement of the Zion of God on the earth, being prompt in every good word and work.” Let us attend faithfully to all our meetings and seek knowledge from every available source, for knowledge is power, and the more we possess the more capable we will be in assisting in the great latter-day work.

We all desire to be good and useful, so let us put our good desire into execution, for it is in our power so to do. It is probable that we covenanted with our Heavenly Father before we came here that we would be energetic in the cause of righteousness, if he would grant us the great and inestimable privilege of having a body on the earth; for we could then see how great the blessings to be thus obtained, which could be obtained in no other way. We cannot now see as we could then, but we have the holy gospel to lead and guide us into all truth and teach us our duty from time to time; we are also blessed with a living priesthood, through which we can receive the word of God, so we are not left to grope in the dark. These associations were organized through that living priesthood and consequently are from heaven; and any young man or woman who will faithfully attend these meetings, taking part as they may be called upon by those who preside, will advance with rapid strides, will know their mission, and will become great and mighty pillars in the church of God upon the earth; and finally be crowned in the presence of God and the Lamb, while those who take no part, or taking part shrink from duty, will also reap the reward of the deeds done in the body, and will receive only what they have justly earned. May we who are here this evening put on the whole armor of righteousness,11 and battle bravely to overcome sin, and establish a reign of peace on the earth; and that we may receive all the glory we are capacitated to enjoy is the prayer of your sister.

Source: “Our Mission: Read Before the Conjoint Meeting of the M. I. Associations of the 11th Ward, S. L. City, Jan. 1879,” Woman’s Exponent 7, no. 20 (Mar. 15, 1879): p. 209.

Also: At the Pulpit: 185 Years of Discourses by Latter-Day Saint Women, eds. Jennifer Reeder and Kate Holbrook (Salt Lake City: The Church Historian’s Press, 2017), pp. 62-63.