Saul was commanded to destroy Agag and all his hosts, man and beast. He kept the best of the flock for, he said, a sacrifice, but God had ordered otherwise, and Saul's disobedience caused him to lose the kingdom, shut him out from the revelations which came by dream, vision and the Urim and Thummim. "Thou shalt not steady the ark"; and they who disobeyed were smitten of the Lord. Israel by disobedience lost the guidance of the Almighty, went into spiritual darkness, and have been scattered to the four quarters of the earth, "a hiss and a by-word in the mouths of all nations." Obedience is essential to salvation, essential to success in every avenue of human enterprise. Whether rendered to the laws of God direct, in their moral and spiritual phases, or to His authority vested in man, obedience must be implicit. The haughty man boasts of independence. He scorns the humble followers of the Lord, but while he prates of freedom, he is himself slavishly obedient to his own whims and mistaken ideas or to the spirit of evil, to popular sentiment or to some other influence always dangerous to the welfare of mankind. The Saints have been accused of being priest-ridden and fearful to use their own judgment. What do the facts show? They are only asked to do right, live pure lives, do good to all men, evil to none, and to respect the order of God's kingdom that salvation may come to them and be extended to all the world. Their obedience has made them the best and purest body of people on the earth. What of the character of those who have derided them? They are slaves to a shallow and excited sentiment or to wickedness and vice, obedient to their own lusts and wicked ways. Compared with those they misrepresent they are below them in almost every trait which characterizes noble manhood. By obedience to God and His priesthood the Saints in this age have come off triumphant over obstacles within and foes without. By obedience to God and His commands they will continue the blessed and favored of the Lord forever. They have proved the words of Samuel to Saul, verily true: "To obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams." CHARITY.