Excerpts from a conference talk that I have been pondering lately:

"One of the brethren yesterday stated that practically every speaker up to that time had said something about the depression.  I suppose I will not be out of place if I too say something about it.  I would like to place the blame for it where it belongs.  It is so easy for mankind to blame somebody else for their own mistakes, and so easy for us, because of our human nature, to take credit when the thing that is accomplished is something that pleases and benefits.  But we never want to shoulder a responsibility for our mistakes that do not please, and so we endeavor to place that kind of responsibility somewhere else and on others...

"Now, brethren and sisters, let us shoulder our own responsibilities and not endeavor to place them somewhere else.  The responsibility for this depression is partly mine; it is partly yours.  It is the fault of the farmer, of the merchant, of the educator, the business man, the professional man--in fact, men in all walks of life.  That is where the responsibility belongs.  And why? Because of a failure to heed the commandments of God.

"The world today is full of selfishness, greed, the desire to possess.  For many years we have been living extravagantly.  Our wants have been supplied-not our needs alone, but our wants--and we have wanted much.  Most of us have been able to obtain them, and now a time comes when we find ourselves somewhat curtailed, hedged around about, not having so many privileges, and our desires are not so fully granted, and so we begin to complain.  But we should get rid of our selfishness and greed, our desire to possess that which is beyond the needs and blessings which are really ours.

"It is time for men to humble themselves, to repent and seek the Lord.  I think the general theme of this conference has been that of repentance.  I think it is most timely.  I have been crying repentance up and down through the stakes of Zion for years.  I think it is needed.

"Depression has come because we have forsaken God..."

I timely message from (at that time) an Apostle, Joseph Fielding Smith, October 1932.

I'm betting the messages this weekend will be about faith, hope, repentance, missionary service, with a You can do it! attitude.  I'm also betting they will not be as bold to call the people to repentance as the Apostles of earlier times.  We seems to get told what we need to hear much nicer these days. 

I wonder how the saints would react to a bold message as above, or even a Brigham Young type talk?

What do you think?