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President Heber J. Grant
I shall not speak loud. In case you are not hearing me at the end of the room hold up your hands. I should like very much to deliver a long sermon, I can think of enough to talk to you people about for at least two hours, but it would not be wise to do so.
You all know that I have been very sick for more than two years. To start with I could not raise a finger on my left hand, neither could I touch my chin; my left eye was affected, also my left leg, necessitating me to go upstairs one step at a time, and then lift the other leg up with my right hand. I can now throw my left arm any way I want to, and can go up and down stairs without difficulty, I am feeling at least a hundred percent, if not several hundred percent better than I did at the time of my first trouble. The doctors said it was not a paralytic stroke, but it must have been a second cousin at least. When meeting my friends and they ask me as to how I feel, the answer is, "Better than I was yesterday." There has been a steady improvement all the time.
The night before last I slept three hours, then lay awake until morning, when I dropped off to sleep for a couple of hours more. Last night I had a very good night's sleep and slept until five o'clock this morning. I got up and decided to dictate a sermon for this occasion. I dictated two cylinders and then decided not to give you anything I had said, but to come here and trust to the Lord to speak as I was led. I desire more than I have language to tell that what I say may be for your good and that I shall have the benefit of your faith and prayers.
I recall what to me was the most satisfactory sermon of my life. I saw my brother, the late Brigham Frederick Grant, in the audience and knew that he was seeking a testimony of the gospel. I prayed earnestly to the Lord that I might be inspired to say that which would touch his heart. I had prepared a sermon in my own mind. I took a book out of my pocket entitled Ready References and marked a lot of passages that I wished to quote. I followed Brother Milton Bennion who had just made a trip around the world. He quit speaking at eighteen minutes to three o'clock, and I decided to stop at twelve minutes after three, so as to leave time for Brother George Q. Cannon who had come into the meeting late.
I started on time and quit on time, and upon sitting down I heard Brother Cannon say to himself-he was sitting behind me in a chair facing north-"Thank God for the power of that testimony." I had opened my Ready References book and put it on the Bible, and when I got up to speak I told the audience that never before in all my life had I so much desired their faith and prayers in my behalf, as also the inspiration of the Lord. I forgot all about that book and all about everything I had in mind, and I preached a sermon on the divine mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith and the divinity of the mission of the Savior of the world.
When I heard Brother Cannon make that remark to himself-I could have touched him with my left hand as he sat behind me-I put my arms on my knees and covered my eyes with my hand and made a puddle on the floor, with tears of gratitude that filled my heart. And then, and not until then, did I remember the sermon that I had intended to preach.
The very next morning my brother came into my office and told me that I had preached by the inspiration of God, that I was inspired. I asked him what my subject was.
He said: "You know what your subject was."
I said: "But I want you to name it."
He did so.
I asked him: "Are you seeking for a testimony of the gospel?" He said: "Yes."
I said: "Well, what more do you need than to say that I spoke by inspiration-you have never heard me speak like that before-and that the Lord manifested His Spirit to me. You had better get your thinking cap on your head."
Before the week was out I had the pleasure of baptizing him.
Now, my dear brethren, this is a very wonderful gathering of men. There rests upon the General Authorities and you people who are here today the duty of leading the Latter-day Saints, now numbering over 800,000 strong. You have a great responsibility, and each and every one of you should determine, with the help of the Lord, to do the very best that you possibly can, and that you will set an example of intelligence and devotion to the work of the Lord that in all respects shall be worthy of imitation. I hope and pray that the Lord will bless each and every one of you abundantly.
I was intimately acquainted with Brigham Young from the time I was a little child until his death, and I came into the Quorum of the Twelve when I was a young man not quite twenty-six years of age. I was intimate of course with all the men who succeeded Brigham Young as president of the Church, and I want to bear witness to every one of you that all of those men, starting with John Taylor and coming down to President Joseph F. Smith, I know as I know that I live that they were inspired, wonderful men, that they had no ambition of any kind or description but to lead the Latter-day Saints in the paths of righteousness, to set examples worthy of imitation in all respects. They were in very deed men of God.
Perhaps the one man of all others who took the least interest in big business affairs of any kind was Brother Woodruff. He had been a farmer and a raiser of flowers and of fruits, and a man who I doubt ever engaged in any kind of business that amounted to $20,000 a year. But in the providences of the Lord, perhaps he was the greatest converter of men we have ever had in the Church. Through the inspiration of the living God, in opposition to the best judgment of some of the leading men of the Church, he insisted on building a sugar factory and establishing an institution for the benefit of the farmers. Notwithstanding myself and others during the panic of 1891 recommended the contract to build the factory be cancelled which could have been done by the Church forfeiting the $50,000 that it had already paid toward its erection, Brother Woodruff said: "We will build it. The farmers are entitled to that factory to get some of the products of the soil." In the providences of the Lord we did build it and many of us ruined ourselves by borrowing money to build it. We have been vindicated today.
Now on another occasion I personally was vindicated, by accomplishing something that I shall tell you about that to me is a marvel; it is a wonder, and it was through the inspiration of the living God in a promise made to me by President Woodruff that the thing was accomplished.
I went East. Men had subscribed for hundreds of thousands of dollars in our sugar business and many of them had failed to put up the money. Banks were failing all over the United States and money was lending on the New York Stock Exchange at one-half of one percent a day, which would be one hundred eighty-two and one-hair percent a year. The bank of which I had been the president for less than a year lost about one-half of all its deposits, and to look at things naturally it would fail: I prayed about the matter and I felt impressed that with the blessings of the Lord I could raise the money necessary to save the bank. Brother Woodruff knew all about it, and he said: "Heber, sit down in this chair." And he gave me a most wonderful blessing. He told me that I should go to New York and other cities in the East, that I should return, and that I should get all the money that I went after, and more if needed.
So I started with an absolute assurance in my heart, having no doubt whatever that I would succeed. I shall now give you a brief account of my experience.
I first stopped at Omaha, and the president of the bank there with whom we did business laughed at the idea of buying from our bank a note of $12,000, signed by Zion's Cooperative Mercantile Institution.
He said, "I will give you some good advice. You go home, call a meeting of all your bankers and discuss the situation, and decide that these are perilous times and that you must lend a little more money than is considered safe and sound, and it will circulate around and come back into your bank and you will be safe."
I said: "Mr. President, I have not come to you for advice, I have come East for money, and if you will not buy one of these notes for $12,000 of Zion's Cooperative Mercantile Institution I will go farther East and get the money."
He said: "Well, my friend, you are making a mistake."
I went to Chicago. I doubled my ante, as the gambler would say. I asked the president of the bank in Chicago to lend me $24,000 and take two of these notes.
He laughed and said: "Mr. Grant, how old is your bank?"
I said: "Not quite a year yet."
"How long have you been in the banking business?"
"This is the first time I have been connected with a bank of this kind."
He said: "Well, I have been a banker all my life, and my father before me. You go home and call a meeting of your bankers and discuss the matter, and all of you loan a little bit more than is considered safe, because we are having to take care of our customers and are in as bad a fix, if not worse, than you are, and the money will go around and around and get back to your bank and you will be all right."
I said: "I did not need to come here to get your advice, sir; I had the same advice from the president of the Omaha National Bank. I told him I would stop off as I came home and tell him where I got the money."
He laughed and said: "Young man, have you read the morning paper?"
I said, "I have."
He said: "Have you read the financial news?" "I have."
"What is money lending at in New York?"
I said: "One-half of one percent a day, and the way I learned mental arithmetic that is one hundred and eighty-two and a half percent a year.
"What do you expect to pay for money?"
"Six percent, the regular rate to customers."
"Well, my dear young man, it will be a long time before you come back. You say you will stop and tell me where you got the money. It will be a long while before I see you again."
I thanked him and told him I hoped it would not be so long as he thought.
I had no doubt that I would get the money.
I went to New York and I doubled again. I went to the bank that we were doing business with in New York and I asked for $48,000. The man with whom I talked said: "The idea of your coming here the very first time we ever saw you and asking for such a loan in the midst of a panic."
He said: "The idea of your coming in here almost a stranger and asking for $48,000. Why, we would not think of such a thing as giving you the money.
I said: "Would you kindly give me a sheet of paper?"
"Certainly."
He gave me the paper and I wrote my name on it the size of the whole sheet of paper; and I hit my signature and said: "Do you know that signature?"
"Of course I do."
"Well, I did not come in here as a gold brick man, I came here as your customer from whom you solicited a bank account. I did not come here to be insulted."
He said: "I beg your humble pardon. I had no right to say we did not know you when we knew your signature."
I said: "Well, my friend, I am just a young man from the West. I am just thirty-five, and this is my first experience in borrowing money for our bank. I can give you some pointers as to how we do things in the wild and woolly West. When a man tries to borrow money from us and we are not sure of his security, we ask him for some more security, and we talk it over; and if he finally has sufficient security, we let him have the money."
He said: "Excuse me, sir, but we do not allow any customer to meet with our committee to discuss questions of that kind. We take a written application for the money, then we discuss it and make the loan or turn it down."
I said: "Will you kindly give me another piece of paper? I will make a written application. When is your committee going to meet?"
"In twenty minutes," as I remember it.
The letter I wrote was as near as I can remember, as follows: "I am asking you to purchase four notes of Zion's Cooperative Mercantile Institution. Being one of the directors of the institution I know it is able to pay these notes as they fall due, and I am giving you these notes with the endorsement of the directors. We bought them without any endorsement. The directors were perfectly willing to put their names on the back of these notes because they know that they will be paid. Now if you do not wish to take the notes of an institution that is as old if not older than your bank, that has never yet failed to meet its obligations, that now offers you its note with the endorsement of a half-million dollar bank, the endorsement of the directors, you take my advice and quit doing business so far away from home."
When the committee met, I noticed that the president of the bank was quite excited. I could not hear what he said, but he was very animated. I remained until after the meeting and spent my time praying to the Lord to soften their hearts so that they would give me the money.
I afterwards learned that he said: "Zion's Cooperative Mercantile Institution, with the all-seeing eye in the corner, and 'Holiness to the Lord!' Why, it is good for sore eyes; I haven't seen one of those notes for ten years. When I was the third assistant cashier of this bank my duty was to investigate commercial paper, and I was instructed by the former president, who is dead and gone, never to fail to buy every Zion's Cooperative Mercantile Institution note that was offered. I bought them time and time again as third assistant cashier, but there were no names on the back of them. The idea of a note which on the back is covered with the signatures of influential men and has the endorsement of a $500,000 bank, not being accepted. If there is any, one bank that we ought to take care of it is this identical bank. Take the notes and take them quick."
And I got the money.
I then went to H. B. Claflin and Company, and I asked Mr. John Claflin, the president, to buy five Z. C. M. I. notes of $5,000.00 each. He said: "The institution is so solid and so fine that I am happy to buy them from you."
I then went to Kunz Brothers Bank and asked them to buy $25,000 worth of the notes.
They said: "We do not do business with you at all, and you have never had any business with us."
I said: "Yes, but Mr. Hills of the Deseret Bank does business with you and he authorized me to say that these notes are absolutely perfect and will be paid and he knows it, and he hoped that you would let me have this money."
He said: "Well, I will let you have $12,500; that is all I can do, that is more than our share as we are not doing business with you."
I said: "I haven't any notes of odd amounts, just make it $15,000."
He said "All right, I will take three of them."
I handed him the three notes and got the money.
Then I sent a telegram to the president of the Chicago bank, telling him I was to be there a long long time getting the money, that I had been there forty-eight hours and that I had got $88,000; that I got $15,000 at Kunz Brothers; $25,000 at Claflin and Company and $48,000 at the National Park Bank. "Kindly wire and ask for their confirmation of having made these loans to me at six percent, and when you get the answers I hope you will wire that I can send you the other $12,000 note for which I need the money."
I thought he would answer "No," and that I would change my bank account as I was coming West, but he answered: "Send the note," and I sent it.
I will not go into further detail except to mention one more sale. I went into the National Bank of Hartford. The president had been here in Salt Lake with a letter of introduction to me from the president of the Hartford Fire Insurance Company. I had spent the day with him. I had taken him into the Z. C. M. I. store, and I had let him walk all over the store from cellar to garret, and he was delighted with the institution and the way the goods looked. When I told him I wanted him to buy some Z. C. M. I. notes, he said: "Mr. Grant, I will have pleasure in buying a couple of them; I have a meeting of our committee, I will see you in a few minutes."
He spoke to a clerk and told him to buy two five thousand dollar notes, and immediately after he got through with the committee meeting he said: "Come with me," and we went into the First National Bank.
He said: "Mr. Grant is here trying to sell notes of the Zion's Cooperative Mercantile Institution. I have been all through the store from cellar to garret; they show quick assets of four to one. They are absolutely sound, and I want you to buy two of the notes."
The man said: "Why, we are not buying any notes. Money is half of one percent a day."
"Neither am I, but I am taking care of my friends. This is my friend, Mr. Grant, and I expect you to buy a couple of these notes."
He said: "Oh, give me one; one is enough." My friend said: "We took two." The other gentleman said: "If you took two, we will take two."
To cut a long story short, I stayed there not quite a month, and I borrowed $336,000 at six percent. To my personal knowledge George Romney, one of the truest friends I ever had and a man who had been on my note for many thousand dollars without sufficient security when I was in distress, thought it was ridiculous, and so did others of my friends, for me to go East and try to borrow money at six percent. They laughed at the idea and, I understand, talked about it in a meeting, the idea of my attempting to do this; but I not only went and got all I went for, but as Brother Woodruff promised that I should, I arranged for more if needed. Just before leaving for the train in New York I received a telegram asking for $48,000 more money. I felt sure that it was not needed. I wrote to Hartford asking for $48,000, and the answer came to me at Chicago that I could have it.
I returned home and found that the extra money was not needed.
This was one of the greatest promises that was ever made, and I was able to fulfil that promise. Not for one moment did I have any fear that I would fail to get the money, because of the promise of that humble, inspired, wonderful man, Wilford Woodruff.
When I returned to Chicago, I stopped to see the president of the bank there, and explained what I had done, and secured the money for the $12,000 note that he had agreed to purchase. When I called on him on my way East, he did not invite me into the office, but stood behind the counter and talked to me and gave me his advice. When I met him on my way back, he invited me in and was very friendly.
When I got to Omaha I called on the president of the Omaha National Bank as I had promised to do, and told him where I got the money. He immediately telephoned to the president of the Union Pacific System telling him to come down to the bank. He said: "I want you to meet a young man who has borrowed $336,000 in New York during the panic and got it at six percent. The Union Pacific Railroad ought to get acquainted with this young man, he is the kind of man the Union Pacific are dealing with."
I am grateful today that I am honored by being a director of that railroad.
Now, my dear brethren, I could go on talking to you by the hour of things that have come to me that have demonstrated to me beyond the peradventure of doubt the inspiration of the men who have preceded me as the presidents of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. On the day that Brother Joseph F. Smith bade me good-bye, and he died that very night, he told me that the Lord never makes a mistake. He said: "You have a great responsibility resting upon you. The Lord knows whom He wants to preside over His Church and He never makes a mistake." I can testify to you that He has not made a mistake in my case any more than He did with each and all of my predecessors.
I shall take the time to relate one more incident. Never did Brother Taylor direct the course of the apostles without inspiration, neither did Brother Woodruff, nor Brother Snow, nor Brother Joseph F. Smith. God to my knowledge inspired those men and directed them.
Brothers Francis M. Lyman and John Henry Smith were told by President John Taylor to go to some town-I shall not mention where it is-and to have a man sustained as the president of the stake. Undoubtedly there are some of you men who know where it was, I won't give the name-I won't tell that.
Brother Lyman said: "Why, Brother Taylor, I know this brother, and I know that the people will not sustain him."
Brother Taylor said: "You and Brother John Henry Smith are called upon a mission to have him voted for and sustained as president."
Brother Lyman later in the day said: "Suppose these people won't sustain that man, what are we to do?"
Brother Taylor said: "But you are called upon a mission to have him sustained; that is what you are to do."
Brother Lyman brought it up again a third time and Brother Taylor said: "Do you understand English? Don't you know what mission I have placed upon you two men? It is to have him sustained."
Later in the day Brother John Henry thought the president had not thoroughly considered the matter, and he brought it up.
Brother Taylor said: "Didn't you hear what I said to Lyman? You two men are called to go to that place and have the people sustain this man."
Brother Lyman gave me the credit of feeding him more meals and giving him more opportunity to sleep in my house than all the rest of his relatives in Salt Lake City combined. He made my home his home during the two years that I presided in Tooele, and after I became an apostle he made my home his home whenever he came in to Salt Lake from Tooele.
As we came past the president's office after our meeting in the Endowment House, he said: "Heber, President Taylor does not understand the condition; those people have rebelled and they will not sustain this man. He was busy with our regular meeting, and he did not get it into his head that it cannot be done. I will step in here. You tell your wife I will be a little late, but don't delay your dinner until I get there. Go home and eat it, and I will come along later."
I said: "I will wait for you." I thought it wouldn't be long.
He came out in a moment and said: "I wish I had not gone to see the president. Heber, fast and pray for us; I do not see how under heaven we can change this condition. All the bishops and their counselors, the high council, the patriarchs, and the presidency of the high priests quorum have requested that this good brother be dropped and that they have another president. Brother John and I will have to pray all the way from Milford until we get to the place."
When they arrived, Brother Lyman brought all these people together who had signed the petition and said "Now, brethren, we do not want a great number of you men to confess the president's mistakes, but we will step out of the room, and you appoint one man to do the talking. You tell him everything you can think of against the president. If he has forgotten anything, give him a chance to speak again, and then we will come back and hear it all. We have come here to fix up things, and we are going to do just what you people want us to do."
When they got into the other room John Henry said: "For heaven's sake, Lyman, did you lose your head? They want a new president, they have signed their names for a new president."
Brother Lyman said: "Well, it must have been a slip of the tongue. We will have to pray just that much harder."
When the man who had been selected to be their spokesman got through with his talk of nearly an hour, Brother Lyman said: "Has he forgotten anything?"
They said: "No, he has told the truth."
Brother Lyman said: "Well, that is marvelous. We had never dreamed that this man had so many faults and failings. Really, if there is somebody who would like to tell something good about him we would like to hear it."
A man got up and said: "I can say something good about him, about his generosity, his liberality." Then he commenced weeping, and said: "Brother Lyman, will you scratch my name off that list and let me vote for him."
Brother Lyman said: "All right. Does anybody else feel that way?" About one-third of them got up.
He said: "Well, you may go home, it is rather late, and the others of us will discuss this matter further."
He then said to the spokesman: "Get up and tell that story again, because it is news to us; we never dreamed this brother had so many failings."
So the man got up and told it over again.
Another man jumped up and said: "Brother Lyman, please take my name off that list. Let me vote for him."
Brother Lyman said: "All right. Does anybody else feel that way?" About half of them stood up.
He said: "All right. Your folks are wondering why you are out so late; we will excuse you.
Then he said to this man again: "Now get up and tell us that story again.
The man got up and told the story once more.
Brother Lyman said: "Two men have tried to tell something good about this man and failed, but have asked permission to vote for him tomorrow. Is there anybody else here who feels to sustain him?" And they all stood up.
He said: "All right. Good night, brethren." And he turned to John Henry and said: "John, will you sustain him?"
John laughed and said: "I will." By this time I think it was after half past twelve or one o'clock in the morning. The next morning Brother Lyman was able to say to the people: "All of the bishops and their counselors, the high council, the patriarch, the presidency of the high priests quorum, every one of them has asked permission to vote for Brother So and So as the president of your stake, and we have agreed to let them do so. If any of you want to vote the other way there will be no condemnation." They got a unanimous vote to sustain that man as president of the stake.
When Brothers Lyman and Smith returned they made their report of what had happened. Brother Taylor, when something pleased him immensely, used to shake his body and laugh; and he said; "Twins, twins, twins, it wasn't such a hard job after all, was it? Now, this brother is a big-hearted, fine man, but he makes mistakes. He is sick abed now, and he never would have recovered, he would have died a broken-hearted man if he had not been sustained. He will be well in three months and feeling fine. Go down there and put your arm around him and say: 'Now that the people are loving you and have unanimously sustained you, don't you think it would be well to resign?' and he will jump at the chance and you assume the authority to accept his resignation."
And that is how it worked out.
There are things that I could go on by the hour telling you regarding advice given by President Taylor. You have all seen in The Improvement Era the account of my nearest and dearest friend's staying in the army-Richard W. Young-under the advice of President Taylor, and how it worked out. It was marvelous.
I want to tell you that starting with Brigham Young and coming down to your humble servant, the Lord has been with us and has directed this Church. May the Lord help us so to live that you will sustain us, and may I never live long enough that when I am in favor of a thing and all the brethren are in favor of it, such as was the case when we were opposed to bringing whisky back, that Utah and the Mormons will be in opposition to us. I would almost have staked my life, knowing that the people know that we did not want to have whisky again, that the people would not have voted to bring it back. If we would pay our tithing to God, and if we and all the people of this nation would stop using tobacco and drinking tea, coffee, and liquor, I do not care if this war cost $110,000,000,000-we could pay it all.
God bless us by His Spirit always, I ask it in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President Rudger Clawson
Rudger Clawson, Conference Report, pp. 11-12
Brethren, it is a pleasure to be here in this meeting at the General Conference.
We are highly blessed in having with us this morning President Grant, and to see that he is holding up splendidly and that he speaks with power and authority. We rejoice to sit under the sound of his voice, and I am sure it will be a pleasure also to the brethren who are assembled to hear from the counselors in the Presidency, the Twelve, and other Authorities in the order in which they will be called. These men are clothed upon with power - the power of the Priesthood. I take it that every man in this room this morning holds the Priesthood because the Priesthood has been vested with great power and authority and that is shown by the printed word, by the revelations of God unto His Church.
If a man would ascend to exaltation and glory he must have the Priesthood. Without the Priesthood we are helpless. With the Priesthood we can accomplish much.
I take very great pleasure, my brethren, in referring you to the eighty-fourth section of the D&C;, which is a revelation from God and refers to the work in which we are engaged. Of necessity I must speak very briefly. I will read a few words from this revelation, commencing with verse 32:
And the sons of Moses and of Aaron shall be filled with the glory of the Lord, upon Mount Zion in the Lord's house, whose sons are ye; and also many whom I have called and sent forth to build up my church.
For whoso is faithful unto the obtaining these two priesthoods of which I have spoken, and the magnifying their calling, are sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies.
They become the sons of Moses and of Aaron and the seed of Abraham, and the church and kingdom, and the elect of God.
And also all they who receive this priesthood receiveth me, saith the Lord;
For he that receiveth my servants receiveth me;
And he that receiveth me receiveth my Father;
And he that receiveth my Father receiveth my Father's kingdom; therefore all that my Father hath shall be given unto him.
And this is according to the oath and covenant which belongeth to the priesthood.
Therefore, all those who receive the priesthood, receive this oath and covenant of my Father, which he cannot break, neither can it be moved.
But whoso breaketh this covenant after he hath received it, and altogether turneth therefrom, shall not have forgiveness of sins in this world nor in the world to come.
And wo unto all those who come not unto this priesthood which ye have received, which I now confirm upon you who are present this day, by mine own voice out of the heavens; and even I have given the heavenly hosts and mine angels charge concerning you.
And I now give unto you a commandment to beware concerning yourselves, to give diligent heed to the words of eternal life.
For you shall live by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God.
There is much more, but you can see from that which you have heard that the Priesthood truly has great power, and unless we make up our minds to magnify the Priesthood, it would have been better that we had never had it. It is like a two-edged sword that cuts both ways, cuts to the right and cuts to the left. It also condemns those who receive the Priesthood but fail to magnify it. It is made very plain here and that is one of the characteristics of the revelations of God; they are adapted to our understanding by simple language, without scientific phrasing. So that the young, even the young men of the Aaronic Priesthood can comprehend much of the foregoing revelation because of the simplicity of the language in which it was given.
I wish to bear to you, my brethren and sisters, my testimony. I know that this is the Church of Jesus Christ our Lord and that He is in communication with the Church. The spirit of revelation is with us, and that is why we should seek the word that is given.
I know that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God, a mighty messenger of truth, and a great builder of faith, and that his successors have worked under the influence of the Holy Spirit continually to strengthen the Church. I can assure you, brethren, that this people will carry on the kingdom of God by their faithfulness and devotion to the work. I am happy to be in the harness. I feel that I am in absolute harmony with the First Presidency, my file leaders, and with my brethren of the Twelve with whom I am intimately associated. I testify to you that it is the truth that the Presidency and the Twelve and the Assistants to the Twelve, the First Council of Seventy, the Presiding Bishopric, the Acting Patriarch, and many others are following along the path of rectitude and faithfulness, and in the end, brethren, the Lord will triumph, His Church will flourish and His faithful people, the members of the Church, will be saved and exalted in His presence.
Now I feel to ask the Lord to bless us and to guide us continually, that we may not be overcome by temptation and lose the spirit and power that is upon us, I humbly pray in the worthy name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Elder George Albert Smith
George Albert Smith, Conference Report, pp. 13-17
This seems like old times. When I was a new member of the Quorum of the Twelve a group like this used to assemble in this building after every General Conference, and we listened to the instructions of the General Authorities of the Church. The presidents of stakes and associates went back to their fields of labor feeling that they had indeed waited upon the Lord, and not in vain.
I trust that this morning I may be led to say something that will be helpful, because it seems to me that some kind of encouragement is most desirable just now.
There are in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints today 892,080 members. They have been gathering from the nations of the world during one hundred twelve years, in the face of almost constant opposition and often during bitter persecution. We are representatives of those faithful souls who had the courage to face the wilderness and endure privation that they might worship God according to the dictates of their consciences. In 1846, when the Pioneers left Nauvoo, Illinois, and vicinity, they had been stripped of nearly all their possessions. They had been robbed and plundered by so-called Christians. In 1847 they came into this Indian country to find peace, believing that God would overrule their distresses for good, which He did, most wonderfully. In a few weeks the leaders went back to Winter Quarters for the main body of the Saints, and they left Patriarch John Smith, the uncle of the Prophet Joseph Smith, to preside over this section of the country, designated as "The Salt Lake Stake." He was not a strong man; he was rather frail, albeit a man of great faith.
Today, with the world in the condition it is, it seems a wonderful privilege to be called together here, you men who are presiding as the leaders in the stakes of Zion, you men who have been set apart to represent God in the districts in which you labor, and to follow the leaders of the Church who preside over you.
These are perilous times, brethren, I have no doubt that many of you here have seen your sons depart to join the armed forces of the United States and have mourned that it was necessary for them to go. When they return, if they have kept the commandments of God, they will have witnessed His power and His strength in their preservation. This is not the Church of Joseph Smith or Brigham Young. It is not the Church of any man. This is the Church of Jesus Christ, our Lord. He has given rules to govern it and made them so plain that a wayfaring man, though a fool, need not err in following His teachings; yet there have been those in the Church who have failed, who have fallen by the wayside, who have come under the power of the adversary and, surrendered to, evil. But those who have kept the commandments of God, those who have stood in the places to which they have been called, those who have been the leaders in Israel from the beginning, who have kept the faith, have been magnified, honored, and sustained by our Heavenly Father until the time came for them to return to their Maker.
I say to you brethren this morning, I say to all of us, because we are all responsible, that here in this room today is the leadership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This group is the one that has been chosen by the Lord to carry on His work and to preside over the organized stakes and missions of Zion. We are permitted to assemble in peace and quiet notwithstanding the terrible conditions in the world. We have been chosen and set apart by those who have the authority to call us to serve. We are in this house that was erected many years ago by faithful Saints. We are here to worship God and to honor Him and to be instructed by Him through His faithful servants.
After these conference meetings are over, you brethren will go back to the stakes of Zion over which you preside. If we have sought the Lord we shall be strengthened, our faith will be increased, our power to direct will be increased, and we will not feel the weakness that possesses men when they are left alone. Rather we will feel the strength and power of our Heavenly Father, for He helps us.
The responsibility that comes to all of us when these honors have been bestowed upon us is tremendous. I hope that none of the members of the Church who have been called to preside in its various departments will feel that they can make it secondary in their lives. You who are here today must know that it is your duty first of all to learn what the Lord wants and then by the power and strength of His holy Priesthood to magnify your calling in the presence of your fellows in such a way that the people will be glad to follow you.
This is a day of proving ourselves, a day of trial. This is a day when men's hearts are failing them with fear. When the multitudes in the world are asking themselves what the end will be. A few inspired men know what the end will be. The Lord has told us what would occur, in these books that are upon this stand, this wonderful library that I hold in my hand. He has given us the information that we need to adjust our lives and to prepare ourselves that no matter what may transpire we will be on the Lord's side of the line.
When Moses led Israel from Egypt through the wilderness and into the promised land; Amalek attacked Israel at Rephidim. Moses directed Joshua to choose fighting men to protect Israel. Moses, Aaron, and Hur went to the top of a hill overlooking the battlefield. While Moses held the rod of God above his head, Israel prevailed, but when he let his hands down because of weakness, Amalek prevailed. A stone seat was provided and Aaron and Hut held up his hands in order that the blessings of God could flow to Israel that their warriors might prevail and the battle was won. The power of God was upon Moses and remained with him until he had finished his work. When he had the support of his people they too were blessed, and so it has been with every servant of the Lord who has presided over Israel.
How grateful we must all be to see the President of the Church stand here this morning, in spite of physical infirmities and advancing years, and yet with that testimony burning in his heart that God gave to him when he was a youth. He has here testified to us of the power of God which has been made manifest unto him. President Grant has been an example of devotion and a tower of strength in this Church. He has been a friend-maker among the gentiles of the world because the Lord has made him so.
We sit here this morning under the inspiration of his voice, and just as long as the Lord holds up his hands, just as long as he presides over this Church, it matters not how many years it will be, our Heavenly Father will give him strength, power, wisdom, judgment, and inspiration to talk to Israel as they need to be talked to. We, in following his leadership, must be like Aaron and Hur of ancient times; we must uphold his hands, that through him the Lord will let the blessings of heaven descend on us and this people.
His counselors will likewise be blessed, and they will be united together and they will carry on, and when they are united in the things pertaining to the gospel of Jesus Christ, they will be our leaders and our directors, and we will do well to listen to their voices and follow the example that they set us in all righteousness.
This morning hundreds of thousands of your associate members of the Church would like to be here. Yet out of our entire Church membership we are permitted to be present. But with this group rests the leadership of the Church, and if we wait upon the Lord as we should, if we have come here with the spirit of worship, if we have set aside our personal affairs to make first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, we will go from here renewed in strength and power; the assurance will increase in us that this is God's work, and we will have strength in the communities in which we reside and preside, to say, "This is the way of the Lord; walk in it," and the people will know by the spirit that we possess that we are really His leaders.
Brethren, it is no trifling affair. You cannot neglect the business of the Church, as the presiding officers of the stakes of Zion, and expect the Lord to carry on. He desires to do it through you. You have been given divine authority. It comes through only one source and that is our Heavenly Father. He will expect each of us wherever we go, when this conference is completed, to hold the banner of righteousness aloft and teach by example as well as precept those to whom we minister, the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord.
The world is in a serious condition, but we need have no fear if we do what the Lord has asked us to do. This is His world. All men and women are subject to Him. All the powers of evil will be controlled for the sake of His people, if they will honor Him and keep His commandments; He has told us that in the latter days conditions would be such that people will be in fear and doubt. He has told us that the time would come when the elements would not only threaten but also that men would hate one another and seek to destroy one another and that the wicked should slay the wicked. When we see the condition that is in the world today, how grateful we ought to be that our forebears were called from the midst of the nations and guided into the gathering place of the Saints in the tops of these everlasting hills. We should prepare to send forth sons and daughters, keeping the commandments of God, to preside in the various departments of the Church, not only in the organized stakes, but as missionaries in many parts of the world where stakes are not yet organized.
The missionaries of this Church should be as a light set upon a hill wherever they go, and they will be if they keep the commandments of the Lord. They will be able to teach the truth if they are worthy of the companionship of that sweet spirit that comes from our Heavenly Father.
Upon us who remain at home, those that are holding positions among the organized stakes of Zion, who have been called to teach and guide not only by precept but by example, upon us devolves a responsibility that our Heavenly Father will hold us accountable for, and if we will but do our best, He will bless us in it.
No matter whether the clouds may gather, no matter how the war drums may beat, no matter what conditions may arise in the world, here in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, wherever we are honoring and keeping the commandments of God, there will be protection from the powers of evil, and men and women will be permitted to live upon the earth until their lives are finished in honor and glory if they will keep the commandments of our Heavenly Father.
When you return home from this conference, remember the things that have been said here by those who have been called to speak. Remember the testimonies of truth that have been borne in your hearing, and in addition, know that God has given to you a great library of scripture and instruction for your guidance that has accumulated during the ages and He will add to it in the future just as rapidly as we fulfill His desires in the things that are already revealed.
God lives. Jesus is the Christ. The Church of the Lamb of God is upon the earth. The power of the holy Priesthood is here, and no evil power can stay its progress. It remains for us to demonstrate whether or not we will do our part and merit exaltation.
As I stand here in humility before you, I realize the blessings that the Lord has bestowed upon me, one of the weakest of your number, frail in physical strength. When I recall the many blessings that have come to me through my forebears who have been faithful, I realize what they are expecting of me, honored as I have been, I feel my limitations and the necessity of drawing near to the Lord, I desire the fellowship of my brethren and sisters in this Church.
There are none of us but will make mistakes, not any of us but will fail to interpret some things properly; but if we will do our best, if we determine in ourselves to be what God would have us to be, if we will set our own homes in order, and then go forth to set in order the departments of the Church in which we are called to minister, our Heavenly Father will be with us to guard us, and the strength that we need will be with us, but without His guidance we will not succeed.
I pray that the Spirit that directs those who keep the commandments of our Heavenly Father may be with us always, that we may have power to understand, that we may have the strength to resist the temptations of the adversary, for we will all be tempted, that we may be able whatever the circumstances may be to place our all upon the altar, as many of our forebears have done, and say to our Heavenly Father, "Whithersoever thou desirest me to go, I will go."
In the stakes and wards in this Church, you men must be towers of strength among the people all the time. You must be what God intended you to be when He gave you the authority that has been conferred upon you. You must be willing to make the sacrifices; and when I say you, I mean all of us. That will be required of us in order that we may be worthy to hold our places among the children of men, and if we will do that, men and women everywhere seeing our good works will be constrained to glorify the name of our Heavenly Father. It is not the position that we occupy that gives us power; it is righteousness that gives us power; it is keeping the commandments of God that will give us understanding. Having been set apart for some particular duty, will not be sufficient; but having been set apart, if we are worthy, the Spirit of God will dwell in us, and we will be among the people as a light to guide their footsteps, and they will know that the leadership that is with us is of our Heavenly Father.
I desire with all my heart to be worthy of the position to which I have been called. I desire to be worthy of the companionship of my associates in the leadership of the Church. I here desire to thank my brethren, President Grant and his counselors, the members of the Quorum of the Twelve, the First Council of the Seventy, the Presiding Bishopric, and those who have been called to associate with these men. In these men I have seen the power of God made manifest, and I thank them for the privilege I have had of working with them - not to work out my own desires and ambitions, but to unite with them in carrying forth the program that God has given to the children of men, without which this world is condemned already. If this body of men cannot rise to the majesty of the power that God has given to them and build upon the foundation of faith and righteousness, there is little hope for the world; but if we do our part, if we will keep the commandments of God, if we will love one another and observe the commandment of the Savior that we love our neighbor as our self, then will we have strength, and power, and wisdom, and might, among the children of men, and the people of the world will love us, and they will not hate us because they will see in us the riches of righteousness and the blessings which come from the power of our Heavenly Father.
I know that God lives. I know that Jesus is the Christ. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of the living God, and that the Church with which we are identified, was organized through him by our Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ. I know these things, and there is no other way under heaven whereby men may gain a place in the celestial kingdom but through the plan that God has given the children of men, of which we are made partakers. I know this as I know that I live, and knowing it, I desire that we may prove worthy. With all my heart I pray that we may be content to live in the lowly brackets of life; not with all the riches that the world desires and clamors after, but that there may be in our lives a richness of love and hope and charity wherever we go.
I pray that our homes may be the abiding place of prayer, and that our sons and daughters may be worthy exemplars of the cause and represent us favorably wherever they may go.
Brethren, let us not think that this Church will go on just as well if we fail. The Church as a whole will, but I want to say to you that the department we are expected to direct will not go forward as long as we stand in the way, so let us adjust ourselves if necessary. Let us live so that every night when we kneel to pray and every morning when we bow before the Lord in thanksgiving, there will be in us the power to open the heavens so that God will hear and answer our prayers that we will know that we are approved of Him. We can do that, brethren, better than we have ever done before. If there ever was a time when it was needed, it is this particular period in which we are living.
I humbly pray that God may give us power and strength to resist evil and temptation and to put aside from us the selfish motives that characterize so many of His sons and daughters, that we may let our light so shine every, day that others observing our good works will see in us righteous leaders that they will be glad to follow. I pray that these men who preside over us, this Presidency, may have the joy of always being united in their leadership and that we may be united in our membership when they shall speak in the name of the Lord to the Church.
Again I say I know that this is God's work. I may not be with you very long, my brethren. I have passed the years of some of my forebears a long way, and I am amazed that I have been permitted to stand among you as long as I have with my many illnesses, but I desire that as long as I live that I may enjoy the Spirit of God, the spirit of' fellowship, and brotherly love. When I think of your homes, I would like to know that there is love in every heart for one another; then I will know that there will be love in God's heart for us, and there will be an assurance that He will bless us as we need blessing.
That this conference may be notable for the spirit that will be distilled upon us, even as the dews from heaven, and when it is over that we may go to our various departments renewed and invigorated, and determined more than ever to be worthy of the high calling that has been made of us and conferred upon us, I humbly ask in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
Elder Marion G. Romney
Marion G. Romney, Conference Report, pp. 17-20
I desire to call your attention to the principle of loyalty, loyalty to the truth and loyalty to the men whom God has chosen to lead the cause of truth. I speak of "the truth" and these "men" jointly, because it is impossible fully to accept the one and partly reject the other.
I raise my voice on this matter to warn and counsel you to be on your guard against criticism. I have heard some myself and have been told about more. It comes, in part, from those who hold, or have held, prominent positions. Ostensibly, they are in good standing in the Church. In expressing their feelings, they frequently say, "We are members of the Church, too, you know, and our feelings should be considered."
They assume that one can be in full harmony with the spirit of the gospel, enjoy full fellowship in the Church, and at the same time be out of harmony with the leaders of the Church and the counsel and directions they give. Such a position is wholly inconsistent, because the guidance of this Church comes, not alone from the written word, but also from continuous revelation, and the Lord gives that revelation to the Church through His chosen leaders and none else. It follows, therefore, that those who profess to accept the gospel and who at the same time criticize and refuse to follow the counsel of the leaders, are assuming an indefensible position.
Such a spirit leads to apostasy. It is not new. It was prevalent in the days of Jesus. Some who boasted of being Abraham's children, said of the Son of God: "Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners". But those who stood by Him enjoying the spirit of truth knew Him, as did Peter, who said "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God".
In the days of the Prophet Joseph, there was criticism against him and the counsel he gave. Some of the leading brethren of the Church charged him with being a fallen Prophet. They did not deny the gospel, but they contended that the Prophet had fallen.
Those were critical times for the Church. They have now long since passed into history, but the records remain. The issues are now clear. Joseph Smith was the Lord's prophet, and so continued, notwithstanding all the abuse directed at him. He now sits enthroned in yonder heavens, and those who criticized him apostatized and left the Church. Thomas B. Marsh, who left the Church in 1839 because he became jealous of the Prophet, found his way in 1857 to Salt Lake City, and in addressing the Saints, said:
If there are any among this people who should ever apostatize and do as I have done, prepare your backs for a good whipping if you are such as the Lord loves. But if you will take my advice, you will stand by the authorities.
As we look back upon these important events, it seems that the issues were always so clearly drawn that anyone could have seen the truth. And yet, there seem always to have been great intellects on the side of error. This is one of life's tragedies. Surely there can be nothing of more importance than to be always and everlastingly on the side with truth as we meet the complex problems of our lives. It is comforting to know that that is where we may be if we will but hearken to the spirit of truth. For the Lord has said that "the Spirit giveth light to every man that cometh into the world; and the Spirit enlighteneth every man through the world, that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit". That this is no idle promise is shown by the fact that on nearly all occasions there have stood with God's spokesmen those who were loyal to the truth and to the men whom God had chosen to lead the cause of truth. At the time of the attack on the Prophet in Kirtland, Brigham Young was present, and when the criticism was expressed he arose and in plain and forceful language said that Joseph was a Prophet and he knew it, "and that they might rail and slander him as much as they pleased, they could but destroy their own authority and cut the thread that bound them to the Prophet of God and sink themselves to hell:" Later he said:
Some of the leading men at Kirtland were much opposed to the Prophet meddling with temporal affairs, thinking that his duty embraced spiritual things alone and that the people should be left to attend to their temporal affairs without any interference whatever from prophets and apostles. In a public meeting, I said: "Ye elders of Israel: Now, will some of you draw the line of demarcation between the spiritual and temporal within the Kingdom of God, so that I may understand it!" Not one of them could do it. When I saw a man standing in the path before the Prophet, I felt like hurling him out of the way and branding him as a fool.
Here was loyalty, loyalty both to the truth and to the man whom God had called to represent it.
Why was it that the vision of Brigham Young was clear and that of Thomas B. Marsh was cloudy; that Brigham Young remained true to the Prophet, and that Thomas B. Marsh criticized him? It was because Brigham Young always hearkened to the spirit of truth, and Thomas B. Marsh did not.
Last October, I attended an outlying stake's conference. A number of the speakers had just attended for the first time a general conference. Their reports were soul stirring. One bishop wished that every member of his ward might attend just one conference in the tabernacle. Another, when he stood with the vast congregation for the first time, was so moved that tears ran down his cheeks, and his voice so choked that he could not join in the singing. A third was impressed with President Grant's closing remarks. He said as he finished his talk: "Three times the President said 'I bless you, I bless you, I bless you.'"
In another outlying stake, an ex-bishop said to me that the conference was nothing but a political convention. In another a man said that whether he would follow the counsel of the leaders depended upon what subject they discussed.
How are these different responses accounted for? I will tell you. The members of the one group were observing and keeping the commandments of God, and the others were not; one group was walking in the light of truth, and the other was in the dark; one group enjoyed the Spirit of the Lord, and the others did not.
If we are to be on the side of truth, we must have the Spirit of the Lord. To the obtaining of that spirit, prayer is an indispensable prerequisite. Praying will keep one's vision clear on this question of loyalty as on all other questions. By praying I do not mean, however, just saying prayers. Prayers may be said in a perfunctory manner. Access to the Spirit of God, which is a directing power, cannot be so obtained. The divine injunction to pray is not to be satisfied in a casual manner nor by an effort to obtain divine approval of a predetermined course. A firm resolve to comply with the will of God must accompany the petition foreknowledge as to what His will is. When one brings himself to the position that he will pursue the truth wherever it may lead, even though it may require a reversal of his former position, he can, without hypocrisy, go before the Lord in prayer. Then, when he prays with all the energy of his soul, he is entitled to and he will receive guidance. The mind and will of the Lord as to the course he should take will be made known unto him.
I assure you, however, that the spirit of the Lord will never direct a person to take a position in opposition to the counsel of the Presidency of His Church. Such could not be, and I'll tell you why. The Spirit of the Lord is "truth". The Prophet Joseph Smith says that "The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth".
The Presidency, in directing the Church and its affairs and in counseling the people, do so under the directing power of this "light and truth." When a man and the Presidency are both directed on the same subject by "light and truth," there can be no conflict. And so, my brethren, all who are out of harmony in any degree with the Presidency have need to repent and to seek the Lord for forgiveness and to put themselves in full harmony.
In response to a contention that to follow such a course is tantamount to surrendering one's "moral agency, suppose a person were in a forest with his vision limited by the denseness of the growth about him. Would he be surrendering his agency in following the directions of one who stands on a lookout tower, commanding an unobstructed view? To me, our leaders are true watchmen on the towers of Zion, and those who follow their counsel are exercising their agency just as freely as would be the man in the forest. For I accept as a fact, without any reservation, that this Church is headed by the Lord Jesus Christ, and that He, through the men whom he chooses and appoints to lead His people, gives it active direction. I believe that He communicates to them His will, and that they, enjoying His spirit, counsel us.
The Savior Himself gave us the great example on this point. As He labored and suffered under the weight of the sins of this world in the accomplishment of the great atonement, He cried out in the agony of His soul, "O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: Nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt". And so saying, He subjected Himself to the will of His Father in the consummation of His supreme mission. Who will say that in so doing He surrendered His free agency?
That we may all have the vision and the courage to be loyal to the truth and loyal to the men whom God has chosen to lead in the cause of truth, I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder George F. Richards
George F. Richards, Conference Report, pp. 22-25
Before the Savior took leave of His disciples in Jerusalem He promised them that He would send the Holy Ghost after He had gone. That promise was fulfilled, as you know. The brethren and people had a wonderful pentecost.
The first temple built in this gospel dispensation was dedicated on the 27th of March, 1836, in Kirtland, Ohio. The Sunday following, on the 3rd of April, while the Prophet Joseph and Oliver Cowdery were in the temple they had a wonderful manifestation. The Lord appeared to them; the veil was taken from their eyes; they saw Him and heard Him. Among other things, He accepted of the dedication of that house and the sacrifices made by the people who in their poverty had in a very short time erected the building and had it ready for dedication.
After this vision closed, Moses the prophet appeared to Joseph and Oliver, and conferred upon them the keys of the gathering of scattered Israel from the four quarters of the earth, and the return of the lost tribes from the north.
And when this vision closed, Elias, who lived in the days of Abraham, appeared and conferred upon them the keys of the Abrahamic dispensation, saying that "in us and our seed will all the nations of the earth be blessed".
And then appeared Elijah, the prophet, who said he had come in fulfilment of the prediction of Malachi, saying that before the great and dreadful day of the Lord should come He would send Elijah the prophet to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers, lest the whole world be smitten with a curse. Said he: "Therefore I commit unto you these keys, and by this ye may know that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is nigh, even at your doors".
This was a wonderful pentecostal occasion in this dispensation.
This conference is peculiar, and I suppose before it is over it will be a veritable pentecost. Not such as those had in the primitive Church and those in the early rise of this Church, perhaps. I sincerely hope, however, that the Spirit of God will be poured out upon us, and its power be made manifest, that we will all be satisfied and feel that it has surely enriched our souls to be in attendance at this conference.
In the time allotted to me to speak on this occasion, I have thought to speak upon a subject, the most glorious of all gospel subjects, in which is involved one of the greatest, if not the greatest, responsibilities that God has placed upon us as a people, that of looking after our kindred dead.
I call your attention to the statements of the Prophet Joseph to the Saints, recorded in the D&C;, and known as the 128th section. In the 17th verse of that section He speaks of baptism for the dead, and says: "This most glorious of all subjects belonging to the everlasting gospel, namely, the baptism for the dead". And as you know, brethren, baptism and confirmation are necessary to man's salvation - the door into the kingdom. There are other sacred, saving ordinances of the gospel that we might say are on a par in necessity for men's salvation; they are for the living and for the dead. We are not called. upon as members of the Church to do genealogical research and temple ordinance work - as we are called to go out into the world to preach the gospel, but we have the responsibility pertaining to our kindred dead, and we are urged to do our duty to them, as we are urged by those in authority, to attend to our other religious duties - the payment of our tithes and the keeping of the Word of Wisdom, the attending of our sacrament meetings, our quorum meetings, to our prayers, etc. This responsibility is one that the Lord has placed upon us. The Prophet Joseph has left on record this statement among his gems, Compendium, page 284:
The greatest responsibility in this world which the Lord has laid upon us is to seek after our dead.
To seek after our dead means to find them out by genealogical research, to obtain the information regarding them that will identify them from all other people bearing the same name. A perfect identification is to have the individual's full name, also the day, month, and year of his birth; the town, county, and state where he was born; the date of his death; the name of his father and mother; and, if it is a married man, his wife's name; and, if it is a married woman, her husband's name. We regard this as complete identification.
However, we do work for people where we are not able to obtain complete information. As you know, brethren, this information must be had concerning our dead before we can go into the temple and do the work for them. It places the principle of genealogical research, so far as our dead are concerned, on a par in importance with the temple work which we do for them. And when the Prophet says, "The greatest responsibility in this world that God has placed upon us is to seek after our dead," it means the responsibility of finding them out by genealogical research and then going into the temple and receiving for them those saving ordinances.
You will notice that the 110th section of the D&C;, from which I have quoted, is an account of what we call the pentecost of this dispensation. An account is there given of Elijah's appearing and committing to Joseph and Oliver the keys of turning the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers. About the time of this manifestation - which was on the 3rd of April, 1836 - the spirit of Elijah seemed to be abroad among the people of this world. I am told that the Parliament of Great Britain in that very year made provision for the keeping of certain records throughout the empire. Those records were to have the information that would identify the various individuals, just such information as we need in our temple work and in our genealogical research work - records of birth, of baptisms, of marriages, death, and burials. From about that time there has been among the people of the world a spirit and desire to know more about their ancestors than ever before. Men and women of intelligence and means are spending their means and time in genealogical research, and those family histories find their way into the genealogical libraries which have grown up all over the land in this and other countries, and are accessible to the Latter-day Saints.
The Genealogical Society of Utah has for years been gathering copies of records that are kept in other countries and they are accessible also to the Latter-day Saints here in the Genealogical Library of Utah in Salt Lake City.
So if the Lord has moved upon the minds and hearts of men and women not of the Church to gather this needed genealogical information, it is important that we do our part, and make use of that information. It is the work and the glory of God the Eternal Father to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man, living and dead. He is dependent upon His living children here to assist Him, and particularly the Latter-day Saints.
I could tell you an experience of my own family, showing how the Lord moves upon the hearts of men and women in this Church to obtain the information that is necessary in order to do our duty to our kindred dead. And be it known, brethren, that not only has God laid this responsibility upon us, but it is one that is inherited. We will have to account to Him for the way we have done or neglected to do this important work in this Church. We will meet our kindred dead, and we will have to account to them also.
I often remark that we are indebted to our parents for our life, for our existence here upon the earth, for the good name that we have inherited. The Bible tells us a good name is more to be desired than great riches. It certainly is a valuable asset in a man's life. If we are indebted to our parents for all that we have inherited - good name and attributes and qualities of high degree and our life of existence here - we are indebted to our grandparents who gave us those parents; to our great-grandparents who gave us grandparents, and so you may go back as far as you can trace. We are indebted to our ancestors, not just our parents, for that which we have inherited, and among them no doubt are thousands of God's noble sons and daughters who have lived their lives here upon the earth the best they knew how, perhaps, and served the Lord according to their understanding of what is right and proper and have gone to the other side. They will hear the gospel taught while they are in the spirit; the gospel is for all men, the living and the dead. The scriptures tell us that "until the law of sin was in the world; but sin is not imputed when there is no law, and where there is no law there is no judgment; where there is no judgment there is no condemnation". And in justice every man must be taught the gospel here or hereafter and the Lord has graciously made provision to that end.
Now when we go on to the other side what kind of accounting will we have to make to our kindred ancestry to whom we are so much indebted? Suppose we have not gone out of our way to obtain knowledge of them - will it be sufficient justification on our part if we have to say that we did not know them? I am sure it would bring a reproach from them, and they might very properly say that "if you did not think enough of us to make a search to find us out and do this work for our salvation and progress, on whom may we depend? Have you sons and daughters or brothers and sisters who are going to look after us? Where are our hopes? How long will we have to be in this condition?"
I wonder, brethren, leaders in Israel, shepherds of the flock, if we have thought this thing over seriously, and if we have taught it to the people and are continuing to teach it and to set an example before them?
I want you to know the attitude of our present President upon this important subject. This I take from The Improvement Era of November, 1941. President Grant said:
To my mind one of the greatest and grandest and the most glorious of all the labors that anyone can be engaged in is laboring for the salvation of the souls of their loved ones, their ancestors who have gone before, who had not the privilege of listening to the gospel and embracing it.
President Grant believes that we should be doers of the word and not hearers of it only, deceiving ourselves. He has set us a wonderful example himself going through the temple for the dead, and employing others to assist him, and it is perfectly legitimate if we cannot go ourselves - you men are busy men, it may be that you cannot go to the temple as frequently as you would like - there are poor men in this Church who are perfectly willing to represent you in doing this endowment work, and be it known that all the other temple work will be done for you gratuitously by the workers at the temples if you desire them to do so. After you obtain the genealogical information and present it at the temple, just the endowment work is exacted from you. Of course if you can do all the other work, it will be so much better; we cannot expect poor people to do the endowment work for us for nothing. For fifty cents we can employ a poor man - I say poor, one whose finances are such that he is willing to do that work for us, provide his own temple clothing and keep it clean and for the price named.
Some person has put into the mouth of the Savior these words:
Not what we give, but what we share, For the gift without the giver is bare. Who gives himself with his alms feeds three, Himself, his hungering neighbor and Me.
In other words, we kill three birds with one stone. Here is an opportunity to kill four birds with one stone: I employ a man to do this work for me, I benefit myself. I am helping one who is needing help - the living - and redeeming my dead. By redeeming the dead I am helping my Father in heaven and His Son Jesus Christ - a glorious work.
Because of the greatness of the responsibility of it, brethren, the blessing is correspondingly great, if we discharge ourselves faithfully of the responsibility; and I can say the consequences of entire neglect of this responsibility are correspondingly great.
You know how it was with the rich man, according to the parable by the Savior, who neglected to feed the poor man Lazarus. When the rich man died, he was consigned to hell and torment. I want to tell you we are rich in the things of eternal life; we know the way, we have received the saving ordinances. Our dead kindred are there in abject poverty. If we do not minister unto their needs, what may we hope for when we come to judgment before the Lord? I have said we will have to account to him. We have accepted this responsibility, and we will have to account to our kindred dead. I would have you and myself so to live and to labor and discharge ourselves of these responsibilities that there will be no disappointment on our part, and no disappointment on the part of our kindred dead. May the Lord help us to this end, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Elder Joseph Fielding Smith
Joseph Fielding Smith, Conference Report, pp. 25-28
Since the beginning of this Conference I have had a number of thoughts and I would like to add a few words along the line that was presented by Brother Richards this afternoon.
In His justice the Lord grants every man an opportunity of salvation. If he does not get that opportunity here, provision is made for him to hear and accept, if he will, the gospel in the spirit world. We are not going to save - perhaps I ought to say exalt, because usually when we use that term salvation we mean exaltation - we are not going to exalt all the inhabitants of this earth, and they are not all going to find a place in the celestial kingdom of God - very few in fact of the great mass of humanity will reach exaltation. We reach that conclusion based upon the words of the prophets and the words of our Savior himself:
Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
Now destruction means, as I understand it, banishment, or to be shut out of the kingdom of God and have to dwell somewhere else.
It is our opportunity in this dispensation, and our privilege and duty to spend our time in searching out our dead. We are of the house of Israel. We learn that through revelation, and that being true, then we reach the conclusion unless we have been adopted through the gospel and were gentiles, that our ancestors were also of the house of Israel. In other words, the promise made to Abraham that through the scattering of his seed all nations would be blessed, has been fulfilled, and our lineage has come down generation after generation through the loins of Abraham and the loins of Israel. Therefore our fathers are more likely to receive the gospel if they did not hear it in this life, to receive it in the spirit world than are those whose descendants are not in the Church, and who refused to received the gospel here. It seems to me this is a logical conclusion.
Now, some members of the Church have wondered just what was meant by the words of the Prophet, that we without our dead could not be made perfect. Will not a man who keeps the commandments of the Lord, who is faithful and true so far as he himself is concerned, receive perfection? Yes, provided his worthy dead also receive the same privileges, because there must be a family organization, a family unit, and each generation must be linked to the chain that goes before in order to bring perfection in family organization. Thus eventually we will be one large family with Adam at the head, Michael, the archangel, presiding over his posterity, according to that which is written in the Scriptures. This he will do under the direction of the Holy One of Israel, for so it is revealed in the Scriptures:
That you may come up unto the crown prepared for you and be made rulers over many kingdoms, saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Zion, who hath established the foundations of Adam-ondi-Ahman; who hath appointed Michael your prince, and established his feet, and set him upon high, and given unto him the keys of salvation under the counsel and direction of the Holy One, who is without beginning of days or end of life..
I think we ought to get that clearly in our minds because there are those who are trying to stir up trouble among the Latter-day Saints today by teaching doctrines that are not in accordance with the revelations of the Lord, and maintaining that Authorities of the Church who have gone before taught doctrines which they did not teach. So we must have it understood clearly that while Adam will preside over his posterity as Michael, the prince, and as he will hold the keys of salvation, as he does, all of that will be under the direction of Jesus Christ, the Holy One of Israel, for Christ is greater than Adam.
We are taught in the gospel of Jesus Christ that the family organization will be, so far as celestial exaltation is concerned, one that is complete, an organization linked from father and mother, and children of one generation to the father and mother and children of the next generation, and thus expanding and spreading out down to the end of time. If we fail to do the work, therefore, in the temples for our dead, you see our links in this chain - genealogical chain - will be broken, we will have to stand aside at least until that is remedied. We could not be made perfect in this organization unless we are brought in by this selective or sealing power, and if we have failed to do the work for those of our line, who have gone before, we will stand aside until somebody comes along who will do it for us; and if we have had the opportunity and have failed to do it, then naturally we would be under condemnation, and I think all through eternity we would regret the fact that we had failed to do the thing that was placed before us to do and which was our duty to accomplish in the salvation of the children of men.
Another thing that I would like to say: Some of us get so enthusiastic over this temple work that we are not willing to abide by the rules and the regulations, and to confine ourselves to our own line, but we want to spread out into the other fellow's line, and we want to do the work because we readily find names that belong to somebody else, and that method of work for the dead is not permissible. It is all right to help others do their work, if we do that with proper consent, but each family group is entitled to do the work for their particular line.
One more thought in regard to this work of salvation: A great many people are very anxious to do work for friends, and this thing has been carried to an extreme. We do not need to worry ourselves very much about friends. A man came to me a few days ago and presented two lists and said he wanted to do the work for these people because they were his friends. The oldest man of the group was born in 1710, and his children were born between 1730 and 1740, yet he called them his friends. Now we should confine our activities to our own line. If there is a good reason for doing the work for somebody who had befriended us, somebody who would have accepted the gospel but did not have the opportunity and who has no relatives in the Church that is a different matter, and we may be privileged to do the work, but we need not be over-anxious to work for those not of our own lineage whom we list as friends.
The Lord has explained to us very clearly in the revelations what salvation means. He has pointed out in one of these revelations - section 76, which is known to us as The Vision - very clearly who shall enter the celestial kingdom. He has pointed out who shall enter the terrestrial kingdom, and who shall enter the telestial kingdom. These are three great kingdoms into which mankind will go; there will be some few exceptions. The sons of perdition are those who have had a knowledge of the truth, have known that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, have had the testimony of the Spirit of the Lord, the Holy Ghost, and these things have all been revealed so that they know they are true; and then they turn against them and fight them knowingly. Sons of Perdition are to be cast out with the devil and his angels into outer darkness. Into the telestial kingdom will go, according to that which is written here in this revelation, the vicious, the unclean, the ungodly.
These are they who say they are some of one and some of another - some of Christ and some of John, and some of Moses, and some of Elias, and some of Esaias, and some of Isaiah, and some of Enoch;
But received not the gospel, neither the testimony of Jesus, neither the prophets, neither the everlasting covenant.
Last of all, these all are they who will not be gathered with the saints, to be caught up into the church of the Firstborn, and received into the cloud.
These are they who are liars, and sorcerers, the adulterers, and whoremongers, and whosoever loves and makes a lie.
These are they who suffer the wrath of God on earth.
These are they who suffer the vengeance of eternal fire.
These are they who are cast down to hell and suffer the wrath of Almighty God, until the fulness of times, when Christ shall have subdued all enemies under his feet, and shall have perfected his work.
The Lord says even of this class, the liars, and the unclean, "they shall be judged according to their works, and every man shall receive according to his own works, his own dominion, in the mansions which are prepared; and they shall be servants of the Most High, but where God and Christ dwell they cannot come, worlds without end". Of course the Lord is going to make them His servants in the world to which they go; in that telestial world they will become servants.
They who enter into the terrestrial kingdom, the one higher than the telestial, are the honorable men - the honest, the virtuous, those who have been clean, and yet would not receive the gospel. There will be some others also who will go into that kingdom, but in a general sense these people will be the honest and honorable, who could not or would not see or receive the gospel of Jesus Christ, therefore they are assigned to the terrestrial kingdom.
Into the celestial kingdom will go those who have overcome by faith and are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, which the Father sheds forth upon all those who are just and true.
They are they who are the church of the Firstborn.
They are they into whose hands the Father has given all things-
They are they who are priests and kings, who have received of his fulness, and of his glory;
And are priests of the Most High, after the order of Melchizedek, which was after the order of Enoch, which was after the order of the Only Begotten Son.
Wherefore, as it is written, they are gods, even the sons of God-
Wherefore, all things are theirs, whether life or death, or things present, or things to come, all are theirs and they are Christ's, and Christ is God's.
What a wonderful thing it is to have the opportunity through the gospel of Jesus Christ of receiving all that the Father has, to become sons of God!
Now they who enter into the terrestrial kingdom, and they who enter into the telestial kingdom will not be sons of God in the sense in which this term is used here. Of course we are all the children of God, every soul on the earth; we are His offspring, but in the great kingdom that shall be established in exaltation, all who receive exaltation will become sons of God, joint heirs with Jesus Christ and entitled to all the privileges and all the blessings of the Fathers kingdom. What a wonderful privilege that is! This blessing will not come to the inhabitants of the telestial and the terrestrial worlds.
Now the question often arises, Is this earth upon which we dwell going to be one-third celestialized, one-third terrestialized, one-third telestialized? Are all the inhabitants of the earth going to dwell upon the earth? No. This earth is going to become a celestial body and is going to be a fit abode for celestial beings only; the others will have to go somewhere else, where they belong. This earth will be reserved for those who are entitled to exaltation, and they are the meek, spoken of by our Savior, who shall inherit the earth. When the Lord said the meek shall inherit the earth, He had reference to those who are willing to keep the commandments of the Lord in righteousness and thus receive exaltation.
May the Lord bless us, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Levi Edgar Young
Levi Edgar Young, Conference Report, pp. 28-29
A noted American historian has recently written: "I wish that people, particularly the American people, would have more respect for ancient truths, the lessons of history, and the Word of God." What America needs besides fifty thousand planes is a spiritual awakening, and one deep enough to remove the notion from society that a man is doing well spiritually when he manages to listen to a sermon once a month over the radio. We need a return to the old-time standards of character that make it easy for a man to become indignant over corruption, come to a boil over injustice, and get fighting mad over a wrong. We need a reconstruction of moral fiber and a greater faith in the purposes of the Almighty.
We are living in a troubled and anxious world, and no time in all history have men watched more anxiously over their liberties than they are doing today. Days are dark for millions of the inhabitants of the earth. They will be darker still. But we have the will of the Lord, and consoling are the words we find in the gospel of St. John:
Then said Jesus... If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Having been absent for many months in the New England Mission, I feel happy in renewing my work with the First Council of the Seventy. As I have come in contact with many of you stake presidents during the past few days, I feel that we are going to establish a stronger unity between you and the quorums of seventy throughout the Church. We are grateful to you stake presidents for your cooperation in the past, and for the renewed hope and faith that the gospel will be preached to all the people of the earth. Amid the sorrows of this war-torn world, it must be remembered that there are men walking the earth beckoning us on -not abreast of us, but ahead of us. Religion explains them as men blessed of heaven; men spiritually endowed who are able to respond to the inspiration of the infinite power of God. They are good men, and wonderful is the vitality of goodness. They know that God has not separated Himself from the world, nor does He lightly regard anyone's need. There is a true Light "which lighteth every one who comes into the world", a saying rich in promise.
God has again spoken from heaven, and the Priesthood of God has again been restored to the earth. Prophets, seers, and revelators walk the earth. It is our firm conviction that the work of the Lord will grow in the hearts of men. We have faith in people, faith in the coming of God's kingdom upon the earth. Right does make might, and right will prevail some day in all the world.
I want to call your attention to what Thomas Masaryk once wrote while he was teaching. You recall that Dr. Masaryk was the president of Czechoslovakia. He taught that a good leader does not need to be master, but a good leader is one who knows how to serve and feels he himself is guided and needs to be guided. He believed in living a clean, good life, and he was tolerant, and believed that all religions should work together to make a friendly world. These are some of the things he taught:
Search for truth. Nothing is great if it is not true. Everything in a democracy depends upon the people. They must think and work together. We need people united by an ideal. It is humanity that is important.
I know that you presidents of the stakes of Zion and we seventies with you are united by a great ideal. With that ideal, we will work with larger purpose for the cause of God. May God bless us all from day to day. May we have the light of His kingdom upon the earth. This we ask in His Name. Amen.
Elder Richard R. Lyman
Richard R. Lyman, Conference Report, pp. 29-32
In these days it is pretty difficult to think of anything besides war, and the great question is, Who is going to win the war? I have here a clipping from The Deseret News of February 5, 1942. The heading is, "The most healthy will win the war." Dr. Ray Lyman Wilbur expresses these views:
The people with the most health, the people with the most vigor, and the people with the most fitness and sobriety, training, and devotion to the common cause are the people who are going to win this war. America must throw off its night-clubbish habits, its loose thinking and health-destroying tendencies if America is to be on the winning side.
We educators know that the easiest way in the world to lose a football game is to have a team that breaks training rules and only half prepares for the contest. If we the Americans are to be the winners in this great contest, we must begin training, and we must begin that training now. There is no way to escape the fact that health will win this war for some people. God grant that that people may be the people of our own country.
Of the first two million men to go through draft examination, 900,000 - think of it, 900,000, nearly half - were found to be unfit for military service because of physical, mental or moral defects.
WHICH? BEER OR THE BIBLE
I created a real sensation in Ogden some years ago. I had seen in the morning paper a picture of the members of the American Legion marching down Woodward Avenue in the City of Detroit where I marched in my boyhood with my classmates and shouted vigorously for the football team of the University of Michigan. The paper said members of the American Legion were marching down Woodward Avenue swinging their bottles and shouting for beer. And so I said to the congregation in the Tabernacle, "Where are the people of the United States going, and what are they doing? Are they following the lead of those who are swinging their bottles and shouting for beer, or are they following the example of the Pilgrim fathers who remembered the Sabbath day to keep it holy, and with bowed heads, Bible in hand, wended their way to their places of worship."
HAVE WE FORGOTTEN GOD?
Abraham Lincoln set apart the 6th of September, 1863, as a day of fasting and a day of prayer. He said:
I do this with the hope that the people of our nation will assemble in their various places of worship and that they will go down upon their knees around their own hearthstones and appeal to our Heavenly Father for our now war-torn country to be restored to its former condition of happiness and peace.... Our nation has had a growth and a development the like of which no other nation has known in all the history of the world, but the difficulty with us is we have forgotten God.
Does that condition prevail throughout the United States of America today? The motto of our country is: "In God We Trust." Do we do it or not? Everywhere we sing,
Long may our land be bright With freedom's holy light, Protect us by thy might, Great God, our King.
FAMILY PRAYERS DAILY
Roger W. Babson says that we have in our country today men who are empire builders, men who are standing at the head of great business institutions, and, he says, that some of these men ridicule religion. Then he adds "These very men are indebted for all that they possess to the family prayers which were once held daily in the homes of their fathers."
Have the people of our country forgotten God? Benjamin Franklin arose in our Constitutional Convention and said, "Mr. President," and he looked into the face of the chairman, George Washington:
Mr. President, our blood is hot. I see we are not going to be able to agree. It looks as if we may not be able to devise a satisfactory Constitution. I move you, therefore, Mr. President, that we do now adjourn for a period of five days, and that when we reconvene we appoint a chaplain, and I am astonished, Mr. President, that no one has thought of this before. When we were in our mighty conflict with Great Britain we met in this very hall daily, and daily we made our appeals to Almighty God, and you all realize that our appeals were heard, our prayers were graciously answered. Is it possible that in these few short years we have forgotten God, our powerful Friend? Is it possible that a nation can be born, that a constitution can be drawn up without the help of divine Providence, when not even a sparrow can fall to the ground without His notice?
THE GREATEST DEMOCRACY IN THE WORLD
No man can accomplish much if he has only one pair of hands with which to work. No man, as the president of a stake or the bishop of a ward, or at the head of any other institution, can accomplish very much if he tries to do all the work himself.
I have said a good many times to many great thinkers, great readers, wise men and scholars that we have in the Church of Jesus Christ the greatest and most perfect democratic organization in the world. And I have met no man yet who did not concede that this statement is correct.
Now, brethren, you who are in the presidencies of the stakes, your first and most important duty is to call together regularly and frequently those who belong to your organizations and assign definitely to every man and to every woman his or her duty, and to check up carefully and frequently to see that the work assigned is done. I say again no human being can accomplish much if he works only by himself, if he has but one pair of hands with which to toil. Your accomplishments will be great if you bring together often all those in your organizations and have them do real team work.
MEET, PLAN, AND PRAY
You are to meet with your fellow workers to do two things - plan and pray. The arm of flesh is weak; the amount of strength in any human being is limited, but when a human being, however weak, however small, however little, comes into real communion and cooperation with God, the Eternal Father, then great things may be accomplished.
And so, as a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ, I appeal to you to come together frequently with your fellow-workers, and do these two important things - plan and pray. Have we forgotten God, we who are officers in the Church of Jesus Christ? Are our people daily having their family prayers, or have we forgotten that powerful Friend of our country, that powerful Friend of our Church?
This revelation from which I am going to read was not given to the ancients, it was given to you and me; it applies here and now.
... Behold, a marvelous work is about to come forth among the children of men.
A MARVELOUS WORK AND A WONDER
Since the gospel is to be preached to every nation, every kindred, every tongue, every people, everywhere in the world, and since its purpose is to bring peace on earth and good will to men, that great blessing for which all good people everywhere are praying this very Sabbath day, are not those words of the Prophet prophetic when he said:
Now behold, a marvelous work and a wonder is about to come forth among the children of men.
And that marvelous work, that wonder, is the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ to all the people in all the world. I wonder at times if all who have held the divine authority to preach had done their very best during the hundred years since the Lord Himself restored this power and authority to the earth - I say if every man with all the physical and mental powers at his command had done his utmost to bring peace on earth and good will to men; if he in every moment of his life had had in his soul unceasingly a burning testimony of the divinity of the gospel of Jesus Christ, a testimony of the divinity of the mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith, if every man had put his all upon the altar, I wonder if this world war could have been averted.
Carrying our gospel message to all the people in the world is a tremendous work.
Now behold, a marvelous work and a wonder is about to come forth among the children of men.
Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God -
Do you brethren hear these words of a revelation from God the Eternal Father through the Prophet Joseph Smith to you, to me, to us who are assembled here this afternoon!
Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day.
For behold the field is white already to harvest.
If ever a field was white, if ever there was a time to labor, if ever the servants of God were in demand it is now.
FIELD WHITE AND READY FOR HARVEST
Behold the field is white already to harvest; and lo, he that thrusteth in his sickle with his might, the same layeth up in store that he perisheth not, but bringeth salvation to his soul.
Brethren, God bless you. Let us dedicate ourselves with all we have and all we are to the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ and to living in accordance with the high ideals of the Church and to the winning of the gigantic conflict on the battlefield into which our nation has been compelled to enter. May I say again, let us dedicate ourselves to the winning of this great fight for liberty and freedom.
DEDICATING EVEN LIFE TO A GREAT CAUSE
In a high priests' meeting in the Ensign Stake during World War I, Richard W. Young, brigadier general, said, "I told my son good-bye last night and sent him into this war. I may never see his face again. Going into this mighty conflict may cost him his life. But if it does, he could not possibly give his life to a more glorious cause than to give it for the freedom and liberty not only of the people of our own nation but of all mankind."
And so let us in real humility appeal to God the Eternal Father to enable us to discharge well our duty, to preach the gospel effectively, and to do our utmost to make the people of our nation worthy of victory. God grant that we may be worthy and that we may win the war.
Elder John A. Widtsoe
John A. Widtsoe, Conference Report, pp. 32-34
The present unhappy infernal conditions of the world are daily before us and our people. We cannot forget them. The incomprehensible folly of humanity bewilders us. All Israel are anxious and troubled. Some face the day in fear. Many are filled with premonitions and forebodings. To cure this condition; to steady the pulse of our people; to teach the ultimate conquest of right over wrong, may be our immediate problem. Of all people in the world we should and can see most clearly in this dark, man-made chaos. We have the light. We must see the happy destined end from a dark and corrupt beginning. The Lord has spoken, and foretold the calamities of the last days; but He has also declared that He is the Master and that He and His righteous people will triumph over all evil. The Lord is never defeated.
Questions, conjectures, and speculations are rife among the people. Some ask, "Is this Armageddon?" Others, "Will the Savior come when, this war is over?" Yet others are busily engaged in proving that present events, countries, men, and even dates, may be read into the prophecies of thousands of years ago. To all such questions there is but one answer: We only know that this is the dispensation of the fulness of times, the Saturday evening of the earth's temporal existence. These are the "last days," days of much commotion, to be followed by the millennium and the presence on earth of the Lord Jesus Christ who will "put all enemies under his feet". We know that the coming of the Lord is nigh, but He has warned us that "the hour and the day no man knoweth, neither the angels in heaven, nor shall they know until he comes. All that has been set forth in great clearness in the revelations to the Prophet Joseph Smith and his successors. There is no benefit in prying beyond the revealed word of the Lord.
A passage in the D&C; foretells and explains the sorrows of the "last days," and it summarizes the message of the Lord to His latter-day people concerning these times of sadness.
I, the Lord, am angry with the wicked; I am holding my Spirit from the inhabitants of the earth. I have sworn in my wrath, and decreed wars upon the face of the earth, and the wicked shall slay the wicked, and fear shall come upon every man; and the saints also shall hardly escape; nevertheless, I, the Lord, am with them, and will come down in heaven from the presence of my Father and consume the wicked with unquenchable fire.
Fear, which "shall come upon every man," is the natural consequence of a sense of weakness, also of sin. Fear is a chief weapon of Satan in making mankind unhappy. He who fears loses strength for the combat of life, for the fight against evil. Therefore, the power of evil ever seeks to engender fear in human hearts. In this day of sorrow, fear walks with humanity. It directs, measurably, the course of every battle. It remains as a gnawing poison in the hearts of victors as of the vanquished.
As leaders in Israel, we must seek to dispel fear from among our people. A timid, fearing people cannot do their work well. The Latter-day Saints have a divinely assigned world-mission so great that they cannot afford to dissipate their strength in fear. The Lord has repeatedly warned His people against fear. Many a blessing is withheld because of our fears. He has expressly declared that men cannot stop his work on earth, therefore, they who are engaged in the Lord's latter-day cause and who fear, really trust man more than God, and thereby are robbed of their power to serve.
The key to the conquest of fear has been given through the Prophet Joseph Smith. "If ye are prepared ye shall not fear". That divine message needs repeating today in every stake and ward. Are we prepared in surrender to God's commandments? In victory over our appetites? In obedience to righteous law? If we can honestly answer yes, we can bid fear depart. And the degree of fear in our hearts may well be measured by our preparation by righteous living, such as should characterize Latter-day Saints. To the handful of believers at the opening of this dispensation, the Lord gave this glorious promise:
Fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail.
Speaking to the Church about the events of the last days, the Lord said, "The wicked shall flee unto Zion for safety". Since Zion is wherever the pure in heart are, I like to read into that inspired saying, that there is safety wherever the people of the Lord live so worthily as to claim the sacred title of citizens of the Zion of our Lord. Otherwise the name Zion is but an empty sound. The only safety that we can expect in this or any other calamitous time lies in our conformity to gospel requirements.
Every individual may carry the blessings of Zion with him wherever he goes. Our boys who have been called into our country's service, if they keep themselves clean and undefiled, carry Zion with them. It is my faith that they will be protected by divine power. Should they fall in action or from disease it will be with the consent of our Father in heaven. Besides, to all Latter-day Saints, time and eternity are closely associated. Our sons who live righteously, yet who may lose their lives in this devil-engendered war will enter into the glory prepared for the righteous. The Lord has so declared. "Therefore, whosoever belongeth to my church need not fear, for such shall inherit the kingdom of heaven". And also, "fear not even unto death; for in this world your joy is not full, but in me your joy is full".
In this world upheaval, in this day of wanton destruction, we, as a people must look upward. There must be trust and faith in our hearts. Hope must walk by our side. We must remember charity also. We must treasure the warm words of the Father to His Church, "Be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you". We who have been called to leadership in the Church of Christ must lead our people from anxiety and fear and doubt, to trust and faith in the Lord, and certainty in the outcome of the Lord's plan of salvation. We must repeat with gladness the words of the Lord, "Fear not, let your hearts be comforted; yea, rejoice evermore, and in everything give thanks".
Above the roar of cannon and airplane, the maneuvers and plans of men, the Lord always determines the tide of battle. So far and no farther does He permit the evil one to go in his career to create human misery.
The Lord is ever victorious; He is the Master to whose will Satan is subject. Though all hell may rage, and men may follow evil, the purposes of the Lord will not fail. The God of Israel, "He slumbers not nor sleeps". It is well to remember the admonition of old: "Be still and know that I am God".
It is our destiny as a people to purify the world; to lead men from evil to good; to win the nations to the realm of everlasting truth; to prepare the earth for the coming of the Lord. We are called to establish the kingdom of God on earth. If we accept our mission with faith and the courage born of faith, the Lord will make us victorious in our labors in his cause. Happiness will wait upon us. The protection of heaven will be about us. At this time in our history, let us teach as never before. "If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear".
May the Lord qualify us for the heavy duties of this day I pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Bishop LeGrand Richards
LeGrand Richards, Conference Report, pp. 34-36
Brethren: It is a great privilege to associate with you in the leadership of the Church, and I feel very grateful for the kindness that has been extended to me, as I have had the privilege of visiting in your various stakes. It seems that the Church is dearer as we become better acquainted with the men upon whom such responsibility rests.
The Church has always placed a high value upon leadership, righteous leadership. When the Lord was talking to Abraham, He told him of the spirits He had created, and He stood in the midst of them, and He said: "These I will make my rulers upon the earth." Then He said to Abraham, "Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born".
It seems to me that probably there has never been a time in the history of the world when there were as many of those spirits among whom the Father stood as there are upon the earth at the present time. Now, perchance, if we are among those spirits of whom the Father spoke, then great responsibility rests upon our shoulders. It is not enough to be called, to be given talents, to be given an opportunity, but the Master indicated that those who are faithful and true to the talents that were placed in their hands, they it was who should receive His blessing. He said unto them: "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".
So if we expect to continue our positions of leadership it will be because we are faithful over the few things that the Lord has entrusted into our care.
Now we feel very grateful to the members of the stake presidencies and bishoprics throughout the Church for the fine support we have had in the Aaronic Priesthood work in the past three years since we came into office. I would like to call your attention to the fact that in 1939 we had two hundred fifty-eight standard quorum awards in the quorums of the Aaronic Priesthood. In 1940 we had five hundred four, or an increase of ninety-five percent. In 1941 we had nine hundred twelve, and requests are still coming in, which is an additional increase of eighty-one percent over the ninety-five percent of the year before. Now for 1942, according to the promises we are receiving as we go about in the stakes of Zion, we ought to have nearly two thousand.
If it were only reports, brethren, that we were working for, that would not be so much, but when these standard quorum awards are interpreted in terms of the influence they have upon the lives of the Aaronic Priesthood of the Church, it tells quite a remarkable story.
I have some other statistics that may interest you: The three highest stakes in the Church show an average attendance last year of sixty-five percent of their boys - that is an average attendance! The three lowest stakes have an average of nineteen percent - nineteen percent against sixty-five percent. I want you to think about that for a few minutes. I wonder if it is the fault of the boys; I wonder if it is the fault of the Church; I wonder if the Priesthood is any different in these other stakes. In some stakes we find one bishop who is outstanding, and qualifies every quorum in his ward, and then we turn to the other wards, and there are no standard quorum awards there. We had in our office yesterday a chairman of the
Aaronic Priesthood in one of the stakes of Zion where every quorum earned a standard quorum award for 1941. I congratulated him, and said: "How do you do it?" He said: "We have an up-and-coming stake presidency, and when we have that, it is easy to do the job." He said: "We tear the Progress of the Church apart and we mimeograph it and send it out to our wards." It was not hard to determine why all the quorums of that stake were standard award quorums, they had "an up-and-coming stake presidency." We have "up-and-coming" bishops in some wards that in the midst of no awards they are able to furnish them.
I would like to give you some statistics here on what standard quorum awards have really done. This is a percentage of the two highest stakes in the Church where each quorum has earned a standard quorum award, and the two lowest where they have no standard quorum awards:
Attendance at quorum meetings for the highest was an average of sixty-six percent; the lowest twenty-eight percent.
This is the average observing the Word of Wisdom; ninety-four percent as against eighty-five percent.
We are very happy that the Word of Wisdom is being that well observed, regardless of the standard quorum awards.
The payment of tithing in the highest stakes, seventy-five percent; in the lowest stakes, thirty-eight percent.
The percent of Adult Aaronic Priesthood in these stakes, in the highest, forty-two percent; in the lowest seventy-five percent.
So you see it tells its own story. Where there are no standard quorum awards, where the work is not being done among the Aaronic Priesthood, they are moving into what we call the Adult Aaronic Priesthood group.
Brethren, I believe it is a fine thing to be in positions of responsibility in the Church, but the Lord expects more of us than to be good men. I think that comes first, but He wants us to be active men.
There is one stake of Zion in this Church in which I have been very much interested for many years. I have watched its progress, and I have kept track of its record on the bulletin. Three years ago there was a change made in the stake presidency. The man who was released is a fine Latter-day Saint, a real man, but he did not seem to have the vision of things, and according to the report in the last three years, since the change, that stake has increased its record sixty-six percent in all items, total and average, that are shown in the bulletin. Now that shows leadership. When that stake presidency was appointed, they came in and said: "Bishop, have you any suggestions to make?"
I said: "I would have at least one. I would go out and inventory every man and woman in that stake of Zion who have leadership ability, no matter where they are serving. It is my observation as I travel in the Church that we have many fine men, capable men, who are not active in the Church, hundreds and possibly thousands of men who have had training in the mission field, and they come home and we lose their services, but they maybe engaged in other activities."
According to the newspaper accounts, all that was being accomplished, from month to month in the community was being done by the service clubs - Kiwanis Club, Rotary Club, Exchange Club, Lion's Club, etc., on down the line - the Daughters of the Pioneers, the Mothers of the Democrats, the Mothers of the Republicans, etc.; so I said to the president of the stake: "Sometimes I wonder where the kingdom of God is in this stake of Zion. I never felt more than I do today the meaning of the words of the Master when He said: 'Every plant that my Father hath not planted shall be rooted up', and I believe that with all my heart." I have nothing against these other organizations, but I believe that men in Israel owe their first allegiance to the Church and kingdom of God, and I want to admonish you brethren to put your arms around men and put them to work, and when they are released from positions, do not feel that there is no place for them.
I had a letter from a bishop the other day and he said: "Since they released me I have taken over the Adult Aaronic Priesthood in the ward. We have forty-two enrolled and we are having an average attendance of fifteen to twenty-five in my home every Monday night." There is work for everybody if we are going to discharge the responsibilities that are ours in this great day of the fulness of times.
As I close my remarks, I refer you to the words of Nephi when he saw the coming forth of the gospel in our day, and he said: Blessed are they who shall seek to bring forth my Zion in that day, for they shall be lifted up and be filled with the Holy Ghost and be exalted in the everlasting kingdom of my Father. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of them that publish glad tidings!.
God help us to see our responsibilities and to do them, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Elder Alma Sonne
Alma Sonne, Conference Report, p. 37
My brethren: I appreciate more now than ever before my membership in the Church. I am thankful beyond my power to express for my faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am happy that I was born a member of this Church and that I have a testimony of its divinity and its truthfulness. The Lord has been good to me; He has heard my prayers, and He has come to my rescue.
Men and women need a vindication against the tyranny of death and time, and that vindication is supplied best of all in the restoration of the everlasting gospel in these the last days.
May we be true to our covenants.
May our testimonies grow. May our knowledge of the truth increase, so that when calamities and disturbances come we may say in the words of the scriptures: "The judgments of the Almighty are righteous altogether".
I know God's work is upon the earth, and I know that He has established His Church among men.
May we be true to our responsibilities; may we carry forward in our duties, that when our work is done we may receive the plaudit, "Well and faithfully done; enter into the joys of thy Lord", I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Elder Charles A. Callis
Charles A. Callis, Conference Report, pp. 42-43
Still stands Thine ancient sacrifice, an humble and a contrite heart.
Among the cardinal virtues of the gospel is the praiseworthy virtue of humility. To a certain king of Israel, whose power was waning before the "pride that goeth before a fall", the prophet Samuel said: "When thou wert little in thine own sight, the Lord blessed thee". I interpret humility as being strength. Humility expresses itself in lowly service, in volunteering for any service which will ameliorate the conditions, particularly the spiritual conditions of mankind. Humility does not mean to grovel, to be a sycophant. Humility is inward strength outwardly expressed in good works. Great souls attain to humility.
The Apostle Peter said:
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.
Are the American people great enough to be humble? If this nation and all mankind had humbled themselves beneath the mighty hand of God, there would have been no war. Humility would have found beautiful expression in noble deeds.
Charles Evan Hughes gave this definition of Christian character: "Faith without credulity, conviction without bigotry, charity without condescension, courage without pugnacity, self-respect without vanity, humility without obsequiousness, love of humanity without sentimentality, and meekness with power." When Chief Justice Charles Evan Hughes retired from his exalted position, the Supreme Court was weakened, and this republic was made poorer.
Consider the example of Moses. He was the great lawgiver of Israel, filled with courage and faith. The miraculous, the statesmanlike work that he accomplished, the deeds that he performed, stamp him as the foremost statesman of any age of the world, excepting always, of course, the Lord Jesus Christ. Of a people steeped in slavish bondage he made a nation. He breathed into them, as someone has said, the immortality that made them a great nation. And yet he was a meek man; nevertheless he was strong.
One time the children of Israel committed sin, and Moses said to them: "I am going up in the mount to talk with God and make atonement for your sins". Oh, I love that word, "atonement." The atonement of the Savior - without that there would have been no vitality, no purpose in any of the principles of the gospel, for it gives life to every doctrine of the everlasting gospel. Listen to this:
And Moses returned unto the Lord, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold. Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin -;and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.
Unparalleled love, the spirit of the holy Priesthood, humility, meekness with power, exemplifying the love of the Lord Jesus Christ! He didn't even want to survive the people. If they were eliminated, if the punishment of God destroyed them, he, too, was willing that his name, yea, his life, be blotted out with the people he loved and led and made, for he carried them as a father carries his child. He smote the rock out of which gushed the water. With miraculous power he divided the waters of the Red Sea; but as he stood upon the mount, pleading with God for the Israelites, he reached sublime heights; he touched divinity!
That is the spirit that should characterize the holy Priesthood. If we work in humility, become little in our own sight, more than we are now, and seek the good of others I testify to you that there will be added power to our labors, and sinners will be brought unto Him. The Savior said:
... Whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;
And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant.
Christ was called the suffering servant:
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
The man who communed with Jehovah, Joseph Smith, was meek but had great power. Enshrined in that power was love for his people and for the gospel of Jesus Christ. When the West was opened unto him, when he saw there a refuge for himself and his people, yet for fear of drawing down upon the people he loved bitter persecution, mobocracy, and cruel punishment, he voluntarily relinquished the means of escape and said: "I go as a lamb to the slaughter. If my life" - note that, brethren - "if my life is of no value to my friends, it is of no value to myself."
That is the yardstick by which we should measure our lives: How much are we worth to our fellow citizens, to the people of the Church, to our country? That is the true measure, for the best of life is expressed in service to others.
God grant that the American people-that includes us-may rise to higher eminence by clothing ourselves with, humility, and humbling ourselves under the mighty hand of God. I testify to you that if this nation and all the world would repent, as Ninevah did, from the greatest to the least, and serve God, the horrors of war would soon disappear. This is my testimony, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Marvin O. Ashton
Marvin O. Ashton, Conference Report, pp. 45-46
President Clark's concern in the short time left and the number of us yet to be heard from, reminds us we must be brief. A minister in his efforts to impress his good people with the miraculous in nature observed in his talk this particular Sunday that in every blade of grass there was a sermon. The following Saturday one of the boys of the parish found the minister cutting his lawn. In greeting his spiritual adviser the boy exclaimed, "Reverend, I am sure glad to see you cutting your sermons short." I shall make you happy in making my sermon short.
Will you please have your thinking machinery shift gears into the realm of temporal affairs? The temporal problems are the responsibilities of the Presiding Bishopric, and to be frank with you we don't blush in reminding you of them from time to time. In quoting Joseph Smith, I was interested in what Brother Marion Romney had to say about the temporal and the spiritual things of the Church. The Prophet observed that the man who could make an intelligent demarcation would be a very wise man. Brethren, in living our religion, we just can't get away from the temporal things. They "smack us in the eye," so to speak, everywhere we go, and if we hope to have our thinking on terra firma, we've got to meet fairly and squarely our stewardship. We brethren assembled here tonight are the directors of this great Church corporation, of course, keeping in mind that the bishops working with us are influenced and guided, if you please, by our attitude and instructions. Some people are so constituted that even common sense must be reinforced with chapter and verse. For their benefit, here we go: "And even the bishop, who is a judge, and his counselors, if they are not faithful in their stewardship shall be condemned, and others shall be planted in their stead".
Please keep in mind that you have fifteen hundred buildings in this Church. If you put an average value of twenty thousand dollars on each, the minimum value of Church property is at least thirty million dollars. I dare say your cost of replacement would be nearer one hundred million dollars. Now don't forget this depreciation business. Still using the minimum figure: one percent depreciation is three hundred thousand dollars per year; two percent or the figure used by the government in the most substantial construction will be six hundred thousand dollars per year. If you depreciate those buildings five percent, as the neglect some buildings get will indicate, your depreciation per year would be one million five hundred thousand dollars.
I ask you who is the "watch dog" of the treasury? Is he only that fellow who writes out the checks? Is he only the one who watches the gates of the Church vaults? In a big sense the "watch dogs" are those who are the custodians of our Church buildings. Don't forget it. "A stitch in time saves nine." "Trifles make perfection, but perfection is no trifle."
I brought over with me today a board panel with some evidences of mistakes wired thereon. Like other sins, here are displayed evidences of sins of omission and sins of commission. Don't forget, one spark will burn up a million dollars of the hardest earned money in the world. When you take a fuse plug and insert a penny therein, or twist the brass so it laps over the contact in the center, that is a sin of commission. Yes, only a little thing, but the spark may send smoke to the skies of our people's hard earned savings. Our people take the skin off their hands in the sacrifices they make, and plain carelessness burns up in a minute the results of such sacrifices. That fuse plug is so constructed as to make for you a night watchman to guard your property when you are asleep. He makes your absence from home safe from fire. Yet in some of these sins of commission you take a six shooter, as it were, and pick him off. Yes, you kill the guard that protects your home. We have asked you to install at a cost of twenty-one dollars a low water cutoff in your boiler. Some of you won't. We ask you to test the water in your boilers to save corroding, but you won't. Right while we talk, the good people of a little ward who can't dig down any more will have to raise nine hundred dollars to replace a boiler because some one blundered in a detail we are talking about - a little sin of commission. In this boiler was inserted a leadlike substance as a plug which, when subjected to extra heat, would melt and automatically shut off the furnace. What did he do? He plugged the hole with a hickory stick - a sin of commission here. In some chapels we have found the controls and safety appliances wired down, and maybe two hundred little children on the floor just over this danger of explosion, they and their devoted teachers in oblivion of the "dynamite" they are hovering over. If you want to get some faith-promoting stories, just follow us around to some of the Church buildings and see how the Lord has His arm around us. Keeping in mind our carelessness, if the Lord didn't have His arms around us, we'd have a hundred fires a year.
We are still talking about the temporal things. The lives of' our people are at stake. I don't care whether you place the Church property at thirty million dollars or one hundred million dollars, we are reminded in a big way that we are the watch dogs of the treasury. A custodian is either too lazy or he doesn't know how to clean the ashes out of his stoker, and a sacrificing handful of people have to dig down in their pockets for three hundred dollars for a new stoker.
Another ward has to meet a bill of six hundred dollars for a new boiler because the custodian failed to go to the expense of ten cents worth of labor and five cents for a postage stamp in the examination of the water in his boiler.
A keeper of a ward's property won't clean out the old rags from the basement and thirty thousand dollars honest-to-goodness toil and sacrifice goes up in smoke.
The skies of the most beautiful hamlet in our country are darkened by the smoke of a fifty thousand dollar beautiful edifice and contents because the bishop would not take counsel as to how easily fires are started by defective wiring.
It is like the Irishman who cut off one of his fingers in the rip saw and was showing his friends how he did it. While demonstrating, he had to exclaim, "Gee, there goes another one." Yes, brethren, while we are talking, there goes another meetinghouse up in smoke.
Now you stake presidents, we have asked you to appoint a member of your high council to be the point of contact between our office and the wards of your stake. If you haven't done so, please appoint him now and give as his name and address.
I do want to say this before I sit down: We compliment most of you men on the way you are teaming with us. There are some of you who don't. We don't know why; when we visit your places, we just don't understand; we can't understand it. As Bishop Richards said today, climate doesn't determine what your stake is going to be. It is initiative. We keep crying and crying to have some of these things taken care of, and they are not.
May the Lord bless us in our responsibilities, I ask in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Elder Richard L. Evans
Richard L. Evans, Conference Report, pp. 50-51
I am almost tempted to say that the short talks are better than the long ones. I don't know whether I dare say it or not.
I was interested this morning in hearing Brother Thomas E. McKay report conditions in the European Missions, and particularly was I interested in hearing that the local missionaries in Great Britain had reported sixty baptisms. You presidents of stakes each has a mission in your stake. In spite of the intensive activity of this day, and some shortage of personnel, I am sure that if the missionaries of England, in the conditions in which they find themselves after this length of time, can do this kind of work, we can ably man and conduct our stake missions. Scattered throughout the length and breadth of the British Mission there are not to be found as many members of the Church as there are in many of our stakes, and their resources and opportunities cannot compare with ours - and yet they are going forward. We do appreciate the cooperation we have received from you stake presidents and we ask you for a continuance of this cooperation in this highly important obligation which the Lord has placed upon us, and which should have yet greater emphasis and attention.
The radio mail brings in a good deal of interesting comment from many thousands of people. One listener sent in a clipping from The Christian Advocate, three or four days ago. The Christian Advocate, according to its own masthead, is the official magazine of Methodism. This is the opening sentence of the clipping:
If the prophets had kept out of politics, they would never have gotten into the Old Testament.
It struck me rather forcibly, and also the thought struck me that if this had appeared in our own publications someone would have criticized it as "politics," but since it appeared in a Methodist publication I suppose it is all right to present it here without hearing it derided as "politics." Seriously, I believe the time is opportune to leave just this thought, since we are not now in the midst of any political campaign, since we face no immediate election, and since the heat of such things is not with us at the moment:
As I looked back to those prophets who would never have gotten into the Old Testament if they had kept out of "politics," I suddenly became aware that the Philistines certainly didn't like the "politics" of the Israelites; I am sure that the Pharaohs didn't like the "politics" of Moses when he led the children of Israel out of bondage. I am equally sure that Saul didn't like the "politics" of Samuel when, at the Lord's command, he anointed David king; and I am sure that the captains and kings didn't like the "politics" of Jeremiah, or any of the other prophets of God.
But this fact is fundamental: The principles of religion enter into every activity of life. Should the activities of politics extend themselves into every activity of life, we must be increasingly careful to weigh every issue of politics according to principle, and not according to politics, if you please. I am sure that politics were attributed to the President of this Church, by many, he took his stand, courageous and outspoken, on the prohibition question, for example. Call it politics if you wish. The principle is there and always will be, and some day his stand will be vindicated. It has been already in the minds of thinking and honest men.
I have been reading recently the last twenty sermons of Pastor Martin Niemoller, whose unfortunate country could no longer tolerate his preaching. In his next to last sermon is this comment:
We are being accosted on all sides by statesmen, by the man on the street, who tells us: "Do not speak so loudly or you will land in prison. Pray do not speak so plainly; surely you can say all that in a more obscure fashion." But, brothers and sisters, we are not allowed to put our bushel under a basket.
One more sermon after that, and Martin Niemoller no more ascended to his pulpit, and I think he has never been heard from since.
A quotation from Jeremiah will be of interest to all who have the sacred trust of leadership in the wards and stakes and missions of this Church:
Thus saith the Lord; Stand in the court of the Lord's house, and speak unto all the cities of Judah all the words that I command thee to speak unto them; diminish not a word..
As we face the issues of the future, my brethren, may we, in the leadership of our people here at headquarters, and you in your stakes, weigh all the issues according to principle. There comes a time in the career of every man when he must speak according to the truth or break the trust of his office, and when the Presidency of the Church, and their associates in the general councils of the Church, unitedly take a stand on any principle, let us remember the prophets of the Old Testament, and meet the issues according to their merit as principles, and on no other consideration.
I leave you my testimony of my gratitude to my Father in heaven for the Presidency of this Church, and those who are associated with them; for the restoration of the gospel, and all that it means. This is the work of the Lord, and it will go forward to the accomplishment of His purposes, regardless of the schemes of men and the confused issues of the day. God be with you. Amen.
Elder Rufus K. Hardy
Rufus K. Hardy, Conference Report, pp. 51-52
My brethren, I rejoice greatly at this opportunity of saying a few words and being in your midst.
I sense and understand somehow - I think I am correct - that there are just about one hundred forty-one spiritual gardens which we here tonight have to take care of after we leave this meeting, and I am sure that we all feel that we can go back to these places, having drawn from that great reservoir which has been given to us here, and give that heavenly and spiritual food to those people who live and who abide in the vicinity in which we operate.
You know, I have been struck with this thought, that in all of the history of religion, in all of the Bible stories and all the stories of the Book of Mormon, God's advent among men commenced with small beginnings. As we have been chatting here tonight, talking about this great and marvelous and wonderful man Moses, just for a moment let your mind dwell on that man, if you like - the cradle; then the leaving of his country because of what he had done; then, as I remember it, the Bible says that Moses, watching the flocks of Jethro, at the back of the desert near Mount Sinai, saw this peculiar burning bush, which was not consumed, and the voice said to him, as he drew near it: "Moses, Moses," and he said: "Here am I, God". And then think of the length of time it took the Lord God Almighty to prevail on him to do the thing that he should do; his excuses of his speech, of his tongue; and finally, I think, as it occurs to me, more in desperation than anything else, God said to him: "What have you got in your hand?" "A staff." "Throw it down," and it turned into a serpent, and Moses turned to flee. God said to him: "Pick it up by the tail," and he did.
Even after that he said: "I can't do it. I can't tell these people. They won't believe me." And God said to him: "Go; but I want to say to you, Moses, that Pharaoh will not let your people go, not by a - " I was going to say a jugful, but God said, "Not by a great handful". But he did, and he accomplished the purposes which God gave him to do. Why? Because within him dwelt that which dwells within us, this marvelous Melchizedek Priesthood. That is the reason.
Now, I do not pray for that Priesthood, but I do pray that we may function and operate under the great call and the noble assignment which have been given to us, in such a way that we may ever honor the Priesthood, be proud of our acts, and God may smile upon that which we do, and I do that in the name of Jesus, Amen.
Elder Samuel O. Bennion
Samuel O. Bennion, Conference Report, pp. 53-54
My brethren, I am very happy to be in your midst tonight, and during the day, and to partake of the spirit of the Lord that I find so abundantly among us.
I hope none of us overlooked the fine testimony that we heard from President Grant this morning, one of the most wonderful that I have listened to in some time.
I haven't thought of anything to say, except this, brethren: I trust that when we return to our homes again, that we will remember our Father's work, that we will be about our Father's business, that we will encourage the leadership of the quorums of the Priesthood to meet together and to appoint members of the quorums to visit the inactive of the members of the Priesthood who do not attend to their Church obligations. They are good men, and if only we can just get them to become active in their work we would be doing a fine and good service. Those men are in our midst and many are fine characters and are at work in some position or another. Many hold positions of trust that are worth while, so far as our civic and business life are concerned. If we could just get these men to participate with us I think it would be a marvelous thing.
I am happy to bear my testimony that I know, without a doubt, that this is the work of God; that we are engaged in the building up of the Church and kingdom of God on earth; that the people in this Church are the ones who hold the confirmed gift and power of the Holy Ghost, and that you men, as leaders, all of us here, have the rights and gifts of the Holy Priesthood which cannot be found elsewhere in this world, only in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am happy and thankful to be numbered among you.
I pray the Lord to bless us, in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Elder Albert E. Bowen
Albert E. Bowen, Conference Report, pp. 57-61
Our meeting here this morning seems hopelessly discordant in its purpose with current, all-enveloping happenings. We gather to worship the God of love in the name of His Son, the Prince of Peace. And even as we speak, the whole world is ablaze with the devouring flames of war. At this instant, in far-away places men are locked in a death grapple.
Both in its scope and portent the present conflict dwarfs what we heretofore, out of tribute to its magnitude, have styled the World War, as that eclipsed the wars which had gone before. Scarcely is there a land some of whose citizens have not forfeited their lives. In all the earth, as it was in Ramah, there is heard the voice of lamentation: "Rachel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not".
But we are not met here for mourning, nor to commiserate with ourselves. We are not even convened to call down fire from heaven to consume the adversaries of our country. We are come together, both within these walls and beyond them so far as the spreading ether waves reach out and bring us into communion, to refresh ourselves in the faith that God lives and directs the destinies of this world and of men and of nations; to remind ourselves again and to draw sustaining power from the assurance that in this world there are such simple elementary principles as right and wrong and that in their unending struggle for supremacy right will always triumph.
We should accordingly be composed in our feelings. Though none of us can penetrate the gloom and see what lies beyond, we know that this war, like others that have gone before, will come to an end. Then we shall want our farms and our businesses and our trades the same as before. We should hold on to them, and, so far as may be under the limitations and restrictions imposed by the times, keep everything productive. We cannot give way to despair.
We must likewise sustain our country to the full measure of the requirements of loyalty and patriotic devotion. The nation is now at war. We dare not lose that war, for its loss would mean the end of liberty as we have come to esteem it. It could mean loss of the right to meet and worship as we are doing now. We may have a major task to preserve freedom as we have known it even with the war won. With the war lost we should have no chance at all. We of this Church have a particular regard for freedom under the protection of law. With us it is a religious tenet. We have vivid and unhappy memories of the misery and the suffering that follow when men in blind fury defy the restraints of law and act on their own caprice. We recognize the right of men in the exercise of their freedom of choice to reject the very commandments of God. Only a free soul is fit to enter His kingdom. Men must learn here to live as free men and to apply the restraints which true freedom imposes to be fit for the heavenly realm. Hence we are unalterably opposed to the attempt of any nation or man or group of men, foreign or domestic, to take away or destroy or abrogate the freedoms guaranteed under the law of our land.
Seated behind and around me are the men who hold the principal offices in this Church. I doubt if there is one of them who has not now in the armed forces sons or grandsons or brothers or other near kindred. Some of these have already made the supreme sacrifice. They, with the membership at large, sustain the government, purchase its bonds, contribute to it their substance and give it their fealty.
We abhor war with all its savagery, its human wastage and its moral degradation. But war is here and since the principles of liberty are at stake, challenging the very purposes of God, my faith is that they will be rescued, though at what cost of blood and treasure I know not.
Abraham Lincoln fully believed that the Civil War was the price this nation had to pay for the sin of human slavery. We had proclaimed to the world as a foundation principle of our political faith the inalienable rights of all men to be free, but we practiced human bondage. That was a base denial of our loud-toned profession. We refused to repent. War came. In a dark day of reverses Lincoln expressed concern lest it prove to be God's will that the chastisement of the nation might continue "until all the wealth piled up by the bondsman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall sink, and until every drop of blood drawn by the lash shall be paid by another drawn by the sword."
What may now be our national sins and what may be exacted in expiation I leave to your conclusions. Among them I do not hesitate to name arrogance, godlessness and the decay of a living Christian faith.
During the troubled years of his presidency, Lincoln many times by proclamation set apart days for prayer and supplication for divine favor. He never omitted from those proclamations the admonition to pray for forgiveness of our national sins as a condition to the reception of God's help.
There are numerous ways besides those I have already mentioned in which we may contribute strength to the nation. But I am persuaded that the service the Church can best render - and it is a transcendently important service - is to keep alive as the foundation of our country's future the true spirit of religion, which involves the establishment and preservation of a living faith in a living God. Experience should have taught that "except God build the house, they labor in vain who build it!".
You recall an occasion when Jesus asked his disciples, "Whom do men say that I am?" They gave him the various conflicting conjectures they had heard expressed, whereupon he put it to them direct, "But whom say ye that I am?" The reply came from Peter with equal directness: "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God". Christ approved that answer and declared that the basis of the knowledge implicit in it was the rock upon which he would build His Church. He said more than that. He said that being so foundationed the gates of hell should not prevail against it. That is a very important assurance. It promises solidity and perpetuity. That is the essence of the message which His disciples bore to the world. As Paul phrased it, they determined to know nothing save Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
I want here to quote some very penetrating observations of an eminent editorial writer, Thomas F. Woodlock. After some remarks about the lack of real substance in the lip service we pay to Christian precepts he continues,
How many of us would with a whole heart and clear conviction echo Peter's confession of faith when challenged by his Master? And what are we teaching in our schools, grammar and high, and colleges and universities concerning that confession?
Now the answer to the question put to Peter is of the all-or-none order. The Christianity which built the western civilization was built upon Peter's answer. It was that Christianity which brought democracy into the world because it was the first to bring to man the revelation of human personality, and that is the rock upon which the democracy in which we profess... a faith rests and alone can rest. It was that Christianity upon which the declared principles of our civil order rest, and there is no other resting place for them. A belief in democracy without a belief in that Christianity is no better than a code deprived of its creed or a flower cut from its parent stem: it must ultimately wither and die. When it dies freedom dies, even if democratic forms survive. Hitler rules today under the "forms" of the Weimar constitution and Stalin under the "forms" of a constitution as "democratic" sounding as anyone could wish! The same thing could happen here under our own "forms" if we, too, should lose faith in the soul that alone can give them life.
I am not predicting dire catastrophe for our country. But I do say that the warning sounded is no idle one. The arraignment made by Mr. Woodlock is, I am forced reluctantly to admit, justified by the facts. Since sometime before the war started in Europe thoughtful men, there and here, scholars, scientists, publicists, statesmen, religionists, have been calling for a spiritual and religious recovery; they have solemnly warned that our nation cannot endure "except upon a solid religious foundation," but I very much doubt if any of them would give the answer Peter gave to the same question as was addressed to him. Men profess a deep attachment to what they call the ethical quality of Christ's teachings, but they deny Him. The nineteenth century is described as the one in which man substituted belief in himself for belief in God. "Glory to man in the highest" was Swinburne's impious exultation. Now the things of which man thought himself master have turned on him with a terrible vengeance. We have seen the decline of religious faith followed by the rise of tyranny. I believe it is a safe generalization that despotism is always at enmity with the Christian religion. They rest upon inherently and irreconcilably antagonistic conceptions about man, his worth and dignity and destiny and place in the order of things; the one debases him, the other exalts; the one denies God, the other acknowledges His supreme power and bows before His majesty. The teaching of the Christian religion irritates the despot because it is a constant denial of his assumed supremacy and a rebuke to his tyrannies. Hence the despot always seeks to put religion down. The rise of Hitler in Germany heralded assaults upon the church. His Minister of Religion said, "Adolph Hitler is the true Holy Ghost," and the Minister of Culture declared, "We must proclaim a German Christ, not a lamb of God." In Russia the line was the same, "What is worrying us is not that Christianity is dying in Russia, but that it is still surviving," said the Commissioner of Justice. "The natural transition," said another, "is to bring about the death of all religion."
Apparently they have found it impossible to root out of their people their ingrained instincts for religious worship. And so the effort is now to divert them to a new religion. Dr. Alfred Rosenberg has come forward with the blue print for a "new national church." It does not require that citizens adhere to it but it outlaws all other churches, confiscates their property, forbids any of the teachings and practices of Christianity, banishes the Bible and substitutes for it Mein Kampf which is never to be added to nor taken from and the exposition of which by state designated orators is to be the substance of all religious service. As one reads the prescriptions one wonders if it is of today or whether by some magic he has been shuttled back into primitive paganism.
But you may say what has all that to do with us. Just this. Germany is not the only land in which there is an ambition to set up a new order, nor to recast religion to fit into that order. Incredible as it may seem there is at work in our own country today a body of men and women, highly intellectual, trained and lettered, apparently earnest and sincere who have issued a manifesto which they call "A Declaration on World Democracy." They propose the creation of a World State of which the United States of America is to be the hub and its framework of government to furnish the pattern, of course with plenty of circumscriptions and modernizations. This model state is to have the modest name, "City of Man," and the indwellers are to have their ideas of freedom redefined so as to bring them within very certain limitations. But we pass all that to observe that this world state is to have provided for it a religion which is to be a "religion of democracy." A committee of experts is to examine all the various existing religions and determine what there is in them "of greater or lesser value for the preservation and growth of the democratic principle," what "elements in them are more apt to cooperate with the democratic community and consequently more deserving of protection by it." Our notions of religious freedom are to be re-examined for we "must know what limits are set by the religion of freedom, which is democracy to freedom of worship." The implication is clear that it will be just too bad for any religion which the committee of experts finds not to be in the best interests of democracy for "the universal religion of democracy shall underlie each and all of them." Perhaps I ought to say that the authors expressly disclaim the intention of setting up a state religion though they have provided all the framework for it including a body of inquisitors. It has always been our assumption that democracy was born of the teachings of religion, but now democracy is to determine the uses and value and content of religion.
What place, I ask you, is there for God in that "religion for democracy" set up by a committee of experts? How would the projectors of the scheme answer the question which was directed to Peter? And if God is excluded how can you have a religion at all? Where are we getting to in our cry for the recovery of religion if God has no place in it except to supply a convenient name which people are accustomed to associate with worship? Why do the authors desire or think it important to have in the model state a religion at all? What they would provide is a sham, a hollow shell wholly devoid of the spirit that gives life. The proposal is near blasphemy. It dethrones God and deifies man, which is one of the principal reasons for our present confusion and turmoil and impotence. I don't mean to imply that these men are of a kind with Hitler at all, but I still ask what essential difference there is in principle between their "religion for democracy" and Hitler's "new order" or Rosenberg's "new religion."
The advocates of the new religion are powerful writers, capable of expressing their ideas with force. They command wide attention. They present America with the issue, clearly drawn, whether religion is a plan and a way of life for mortals emanating from Deity or whether religion shall be taken over by the intellectuals, formulated on their design and made the mere creature and servant of the political state.
For the future safety of the world, for the welfare of the souls of men, for the preservation and salvation of our beloved country we can never make that surrender.
In that matchless prayer, in which he pleaded with the Father for the disciples whom He was about to leave, just before He crossed over the brook into the Garden, Jesus used these words:
And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.
That is our belief and our message. That is the message which won the western world to acceptance of the Christian faith. Never did men more need the sustaining power of that firm conviction than in this confused, bewildering, and muddled time. Never were those words freighted with a deeper meaning for the needs of the hour. They are simple, direct, and clear as distinguished from the tangled skein of mystifying phrases which men are driven to use when they try to expound a God of philosophy who is not the Lord God omnipotent.
God grant us the power to stand true to our trust, I pray, in the name of Jesus, Amen.
Elder Stephen L Richards
Stephen L Richards, Conference Report, pp. 64-69
The morning breaks, the shadows flee; Lo! Zion's standard is unfurled. The dawning of a brighter day Majestic rises on the world.
These lines from a poet were not penned to herald Easter morn, although they might well have been. They were written to announce the advent of a new gospel dispensation. They also appropriately symbolize the resurrection of the Christ. When His bruised and wounded body arose from the sepulcher and put on the radiant garb of immortality, it was in truth the dawning of a new and brighter day for all the world.
That event was the central fact in the life of the Savior. For it He was born; to prepare for it He lived His matchless life; to substantiate its efficacy for all men, He endured more sorrow than any other, a crueler death, carried a heavier burden - all to demonstrate the supreme happiness and the most transcendently beautiful and desirable thing within the attainment of humankind - eternal life.
The Easter we celebrate this day in the Christian world, together with substantially all other aspects of the life and ministry of the Redeemer was foretold by the prophets. I have counted two hundred twenty-two verses of scripture from the Bible alone which deal in a prophetic way with our Lord Jesus Christ. Surely there is significance in this voluminous foretelling of the greatest thing in history. I look upon it as the supreme vindication of prophecy and the prophets. The Savior might have lived, died, and done His work without prediction of His coming, but it is evident that that was not the plan. Being the author of faith, He caused that sacred principle to be introduced as the premise for His appearance in the flesh, and He left it with men as the cornerstone in the foundation of His gospel. From it I draw the meaning of this hour.
To the followers of Christ everywhere I pose this question: Has anyone truly Christian faith who does not believe the prophets? I suspect that some may not care to answer the question, even to themselves, but I know of no better way of testing our real allegiance to Christian principles.
The prophets have had vital messages for us in days that are gone, as they have in the critical days that are here. Had we understood and believed their words, many of our difficulties might have been averted. They have given us counsel on every phase of our living. They have told us the things that would make for happiness and success, and they have pointed out the courses which lead to misery and failure. We should be deeply interested in their words now, as we are searching for causes and remedies, and when we are so urgently in need of formulas to unite and solidify our people and our efforts in the Herculean task before us. Painful as it may be, we must admit our mistakes before we can rectify them.
Most of our people recognize the necessity for spiritual support in this war. I believe there is no higher spirituality than that which is manifested in prophecy and also in its acceptance. God speaks through His chosen servants. If we do not listen to them, it is likely we do not really hear God at all, although I do not mean in any degree to deprecate individual communion with our Father through prayer. I have in mind divine pronouncement of principles and laws for the guidance of men and nations.
This war began among Christian nations. It is true that China and Japan were involved before its outbreak, but its foundations were laid among peoples who had the Bible and, professedly at least, the churches of Christ. Had they listened to inspired prophets, it and many preceding wars would never have been begun. In the first place, they would have been convinced of the necessity of adopting principles governing international relations which would have averted conflict, and in the second place they would have known from the beginning the futility of war. Wars have been fought before to end war, and mankind should have learned long ago that the war serum injected anywhere in the body of the universe is wholly ineffective as an antitoxin for the malady of human conflict. Surely it is time for investigation to be directed along other lines to isolate the bacteria of this disease and provide a cure.
Now as I see it, those engaged in such investigations have become so engrossed in the use of microscopic technological methods that there has developed an adversity to the simple, obvious formulas which, whenever actually tried, have proved effective. Not long ago I heard a prominent scientist declare that science would end war. He said that scientific genius would devise such terrible killing devices that men would be afraid to go to war. This I doubt, first, because the defense can call to its aid the same science as the offense, and secondly, because I believe that fear will never be an adequate deterrent. We have record of wars resulting in the complete extermination of the opposing hosts, but I don't know that anybody looks forward to such a process of ending war.
Somehow there has developed a certain modern education which seems to have disdain for the obvious, proceeding on the assumption that if it's simple and old, it can't be true. Such an attitude, which fortunately is by no means universal, has served greatly to retard the solution of many of our most important problems, chief among which is the question how men may live together comfortably and in peace. All of us rejoice in the contribution science has made to the convenience and pleasure of our living. We are deeply grateful for the discoveries of patient, hard-working research men who have contributed so much to freedom from disease, organic efficiency and longevity of life. I noted a number of years ago that a poll of students placed Louis Pasteur at the head of a list of great men, excluding religious leaders, who had made contributions to mankind.
What a pity it is that in the face of all these remarkable advances in health, sanitation, comfort, and beauty that we have made so little progress in human relations. Someone has pointed out that the greatest tragedy of the modern age was the tercentenary of Harvard University in 1936, where scholars from all over the world met to appraise the progress of the world for the past three hundred years and reached the solemn conclusion that, while man had made most unusual and commendable progress in solving the mysteries of the universe, bringing under control the forces of nature, that in all this long period of time he had made no appreciable advance in the control of himself, his greed and his passions, and that he was even more prone to fight with other men than he had been centuries before. So it is evident that the social studies carried forward by many conspicuously brilliant people have not helped us very much in our greatest difficulty.
Now that we are in a crisis we find ourselves groping for every straw that might indicate the proper direction of our national effort. We have tried and we are still trying experiments by the score. We know that we need unity, loyalty, self-sacrifice, efficiency, and faith. We plead and cry for these high qualities so essential to success, but they don't come in sufficient measure. Dissension, costly disputes, selfish interest, inefficiency, skepticism, and doubt continue to retard our preparation to meet a peril that is so imminent as to make the best things of life tremble in the balance. This is the situation. Is there a day or an hour nearer and better than now - right now - to meet the challenge? I believe there is not.
Where can we look for the essential virtues our people need with greater hope and assurance than to religion and the prophets? It is there that we find not only the outstanding examples but the most potent factors for cohesion, solidarity, and unity. It is there that loyal devotion and self-sacrifice for a cause have been developed and shown their richest fruit. It is there that we have been given the gospel of work, industry, frugality, and thrift. It is there that we have been taught the virtue of honesty and integrity; and it is there, and there alone, where we have learned the meaning and vitality of faith. Did you ever stop to think where we would be if all the learning, all the concepts, all the morality, all the idealism, and virtue that have come to us from the prophets should be swept away and annihilated? It seems to me a moment's contemplation on such an awful state should immediately renew and enhance our appreciation of the inestimable contributions which have come to us through divinely inspired men.
Now I hope you will bear with me as I project a few specific applications of the great principles and doctrines which have been our heritage to our present situation. We named as our first need: Unity. How is it to come? We thought that the terrific shock of Pearl Harbor had brought it. As the weeks passed and the force of the sudden impact subsided, we found that we were mistaken. A hundred incidents which you know, and I have not time to mention, bear that out. Selfish interests still dominate much of our internal negotiations and activities. It is vainly pointed out with irrefutable logic that these militate against our efficiency and success. What is the answer? Brotherhood - the fraternity of men taught to us by the prophets. I know that some may say it is Utopian and unattainable, yet it is the very thing we are announcing in carefully worded charters as the panacea for the ills of the world. Why not try it at home and demonstrate its efficacy before we attempt to spread it abroad? All that it entails is mutual consideration and the recognition of humankind as the family of God. The latter is especially important. There are few, if any, stronger cohesive factors than kinship. We do not establish kinship without parentage. We cannot estimate the value of the acceptance of God as a universal Father.
We are continually told that self-sacrifice is necessary to our success. Self-sacrifice is of the very essence of the Christian religion. Its history is filled with instances of it. The early Christians, the monasterial life of the Middle Ages carried to excess in asceticism, the exploring missionaries, and our own Puritan fathers are but a few. This very day is in commemoration of One who gave His life to teach self-sacrifice and altruistic service. Sacrifice in its finer aspect is a spiritual concept. It elevates spiritual growth above material gain. It looks for its reward in things only of enduring worth. This concept, firmly implanted in the hearts of the people, is all we need to help us endure cheerfully whatever deprivation may be necessary to aid our country. We need efficiency in all our endeavor. No one doubts it. Everyone is clamoring for it. Now efficiency, in the last analysis, has reference to manpower. We speak of efficient machines and efficient organizations and efficient methods, but it is men who make all these. Someone has well said, "It is not the guns that win decisive battles; it is the men behind the guns." Another has said about this crisis, "It is self discipline or slavery." I don't intend to take the time to present facts revealed by the physical examinations of our selectees. All of you have reads some of these reports, and you have general knowledge of the vast number rejected for unfitness. One caustic critic has said, "America is drunk. How could she be otherwise after having smoked or chewed three hundred forty-three million pounds of tobacco and swallowed more than one billion, six hundred fifty-four million gallons of malted liquor and one hundred twenty-four million gallons of spirituous liquor, nearly two billion gallons of beer and whiskey annually? "The same article concludes by the assertion, "America is burning up its energy in pipes, cigars, and cigarettes, drowning it in beer, wine, whiskey, and rum, and smothering it with luxurious living... The Fifth Columnists who are doing America the most harm are the promoters of these... great evils to the damaging effects of which our military leaders are not yet awake."
If these statements in any substantial degree represent the truth, what a deplorable calamity has befallen us! Our war enemy himself could scarcely strike more terribly and effectively against our man power than these arch enemies of the race have already struck. With all the expedients we can devise, it will take years to undo the damage. Never has a more deadly fallacy crept into any society than that more narcotics, more tobacco, more whiskey, and more licentiousness will make better armies. This sophistry and diabolical propaganda is not the work of religion and the prophets. It emanates from the enemies of religion and the enemies of men and the nation. Thank the Lord for the courage of Gene Tunney and a few others like him who see the far-reaching and disastrous effects of these narcotics, and are brave enough to speak out against them and those who perpetrate them on our youth! I believe that the great majority of all the homes in America from which the army boys have come would thank our Commander-in-Chief from the bottom of their hearts if he would make an order forbidding the use of such poisons in our military establishments.
What a difference it would have made, and would still make to our efficiency, if men would but accept the concepts of the human body given to us by the prophets: - if they would look upon the body as the tabernacle of the spirit which dwells within it, and protect and preserve it from abuses and deleterious substances which militate against its organic efficiency. If they would remember that it is an affront to God to violate the purity of these earthly temples of the spirit, I am sure they would be more thoughtful in their care. How precious to the nation, not to mention homes and loved ones, are the bodies of our youth! The revelations through the prophets have told us long ago what is good for them and what is hurtful. Science has confirmed divinely inspired formulas. The laws of health are inexorable. They cannot be violated with impunity.
So, in the interest of our boys, in the interest of our country's cause, I humbly appeal to all who love them and to all who are the beneficiaries of their noble service, not to send them cigarettes and intoxicating liquors. In the end they will know that you were kind if you help them to conserve their strength and vitality in wholesome, righteous living. Try to help them realize that in the face of danger there is one thing they cannot hazard and that is their souls.
Prophecy and religion supply the one most indispensable element in all our colossal endeavor, and that is faith - faith in the destiny of our democracy, faith in the triumph of righteousness over evil, and faith in the worth, the integrity, and the majesty of man.
We live in a world of irreverence. Oh, I know that it is true that we have preserved forms of worship. Millions are invested in churches and cathedrals, and we in America, as in other Christian countries, maintain at great expense much of the formalism and pageantry of religion. I know, too, that there are thousands of good men and women who love God and seek to order their lives in conformity with His teachings, but accounting for all these, there are relatively few - so very few -who have the simple, honest, humble faith to accept the Word of God as revealed to and spoken through His chosen prophets.
It is a great pity that it is so, because out of the words of the prophets we have received not only our most profound understanding of man and the universe, but also the assurances and predictions that bring comfort, hope, confidence, joy, and a peace "which passeth all understanding". It is from the prophets that we learn of the glorious place and distinction given to man among all God's creations, that he was created in the image of God and that he is not menial, nor low, nor of servile nature, but that he is of high estate, of the noblest lineage, endowed with the God-given gift of intelligence, the sublime and supreme investiture of both God and man. It is from the prophets that we learn that he is to be free, with the voluntary power of choice, and that this free agency is essential to his development and progression. And it is from the greatest of air the prophets, Jesus Himself, that we learn how man is to retain his freedom, for He said, "... Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free".
What a difference it would make in the world today if only the people believed the prophets and knew these truths! Had we accepted their spiritual reality and the verity of their messages, the tragedy that envelops the world today would never have been. But we thought it was childish to believe in them. We looked upon them as visionary men whose words had no import for our day. We didn't believe in a higher power that could look through the vista of time and foresee the tragic things that would come to men out of their perversity, their egotism, and their sin. We ignored all the warnings, and we laughed in the faces of these solemn messengers from On High, because we wanted fun and lightheartedness and vanity and hundreds of other things to distract us from the serious things of life.
How unfortunate it is that we did not recognize that there is no lasting happiness and peace except in goodness, and that the ways of God, the ways in which the prophets tried to lead us, are the only ways to joy and safety.
If we had but followed the prophecies, we would have known from the very beginning of our nation that one of old had said that "... this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ". Had we had that knowledge and believed it, we should have known all along where to have put our trust and what the course of our lives should be. There would have been no anxiety or misgivings concerning the future of our beloved America, and there would be none now, could we but quickly come to the truth and accept the divine word.
I need not argue that it is the province of religion to bring to pass an acceptance of the prophecies. They are the constitution of the kingdom of God. No man truly enters into the kingdom who does not believe and follow the prophets.
It is fortunate indeed that so many admire the teachings of Christ - kindness, mercy, tolerance, forgiveness, and the doctrine of the good neighbor, and altruistic service - but I fear that there are many who worship at the shrine of His teachings and attributes but deny the sovereignty of the King. True religion teaches us that the most acceptable homage we can render to the Savior is to acknowledge Him as God and pay Him the tribute of a good life. No praise, no adoration can be substituted for this. One gift only is adequate, and that is the giving of one's self.
Now it would seem that we have a long way to go to reach the goals the prophets have set for us. We truly have. But there will never be a more propitious time to start the journey than now. We need not be discouraged because the road seems long and hard. It will never be easier. We ought to feel happy that the promises which were given so long ago are still held out to us, and happy too that in spite of our mistakes of the past, through mercy, there is yet time to turn from mistaken and unprofitable ways and direct the course of our lives, both individual and national, into the straight ways that lead to truth and peace and security.
My friends, I would not willingly give offense to a single soul this Easter day. I recognize the right of every man to his own views and opinions. What I have said has been prompted by love of country and my fellow men. More than anything else I desire the blessings of God to attend our beloved America and the lofty causes for which she stands. I am sure that it is the burden of every prayer which is offered that our nation shall come to victory and glorious triumph. My convictions, however, constrain me to say to you that it is the prayers of the righteous which will be heard. Our Father exacts a contrite heart and a pure life for the bestowal of His blessings. It is for these I plead. If these are given, He will cause all the rest to follow. Oh, God, grant that it may be so!
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, pp. 70-74
With a number of young men from each of many wards in the Church serving somewhere in the terrible conflict now raging, it is easily understood why our minds are turned toward the deprecation of war, and to the hope for peace. Thoughts of loved ones are pretty closely linked with their soldier boys in army encampments. There are many, too, who should like to know what the attitude of the Church is toward the present war. This is a fitting day and occasion on which to consider this subject.
Easter, as you know, is an ancient spring festival with which Christendom has long since associated the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Savior's resurrection is the most glorious event in the history of mankind. It proclaims the victory of the soul over death, and the existence and progression of the individual personality beyond the grave.
The resurrected Lord's first greeting to His disciples, in the evening of that memorable day, was "Peace be unto you".
And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.
Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you.
That was His message, too, at the last meeting He had with them before his crucifixion. Said He: "These words I have spoken unto you that in me ye might have peace".
The peace of Christ abides in the heart. It is an individual blessing. But it is a condition to be enjoyed also by groups of individuals, and to that end His disciples were to declare peace to the world.
On this Easter Day, the Risen Christ beholds in the world not peace, but war.
In the face of the tragic condition among mankind, honest thinking men and women ask how is it possible to reconcile the teachings of Jesus with the participation of the Church in armed conflict.
War is basically selfish. Its roots feed in the soil of envy, hatred, desire for domination. Its fruit, therefore, is always bitter. They who cultivate and propagate it spread death and destruction, and are enemies of the human race.
War originates in the hearts of men who seek to despoil, to conquer, or to destroy other individuals or groups of individuals. Self exaltation is a motivating factor; force, the means of attainment. War is rebellious action against moral order.
The present war had its beginning in militarism, a false philosophy which believes that "war is a biological necessity for the purification and progress of nations." It proclaims that Might determines Right, and that only the strongest nations should survive and rule. It says, "the grandeur of history lies in the perpetual conflict of nations, and it is simply foolish to desire the suppression of their rivalry."
War impels you to hate your enemies.
The Prince of Peace says, Love your enemies.
War says, Curse them that curse you.
The Prince of Peace says, Pray for them that curse you.
War says, Injure and kill them that hate you.
The Risen Lord says, Do good to them that hate you.
WAR INCOMPATIBLE WITH THE TEACHINGS OF THE SAVIOR
Thus we see that war is incompatible with Christ's teachings. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the gospel of peace. War is its antithesis, and produces hate. It is vain to attempt to reconcile war with true Christianity.
In the face of all this, I shall seem inconsistent when I declare that I uphold our country in the gigantic task it has assumed in the present world conflict, and sustain the Church in its loyal support of the government in its fight against dictatorship.
In justification of this seeming inconsistence, I shall not attempt to prove that there are occasions when Jesus would approve of a nation's starting a war. That He used force to drive from the temple the money changers, and other desecrators of the House of God, is a fact; but only a misapplication of the text can make that incident a justification for one Christian nation's going to war against another. On that occasion, as on all occasions, Jesus opposed and denounced wrong. With the strength of fiery indignation and of his own moral force, and not merely with a whip of small cords, Jesus drove the self-convicted desecrators from the temple.
Neither shall I attempt to prove that He favored war when He said: "Think not that I come to send peace on earth; I came not to send peace but a sword". They who would quote this saying as indicating that Jesus approves of war surely put a strained interpretation on its true meaning, which refers most clearly to the incompatibility between truth and error. It clearly refers to the necessity of a choice, which has been made by thousands, between accepting the gospel or continuing in ease and comfort with relatives. There is not in that quotation any justification for one Christian nation's declaring war upon another.
Nor, again, would I try to justify my seeming inconsistency by referring to what He said on another occasion as follows:
But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip; and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one....
And they said, Lord, behold here are two swords, And he said unto them, it is enough.
Without reading into the text something which is not intended or even implied, the most that one can get from this admonition is that henceforth the disciples going forth into an antagonistic world might supply themselves with necessary support and the usual means of defense.
None of these sayings of the Savior's can be taken to prove that He justifies war.
Tolstoy, in his Christianity and Patriotism, says:
A Christian state, to be consistent, ought, on entering upon a war, not merely to remove the crosses from the churches, to turn the churches themselves into buildings for other purposes, to give the clergy other duties, and above all, to prohibit the gospel - but ought to renounce every precept of morality which follows from the Christian law.
Notwithstanding all this, I still say that there are conditions when entrance into war is justifiable, and when a Christian nation may, without violation of principles, take up arms against an opposing force.
Such a condition, however, is not a real or fancied insult given by one nation to another. When this occurs proper reparation may be made by mutual understanding, apology, or by arbitration.
Neither is there justifiable cause found in a desire or even a need for territorial expansion. The taking of territory implies the subjugation of the weak by the strong - the application of the jungle law.
Nor is war justified in an attempt to enforce a new order of government, or even to impel others to a particular form of worship, however better the government or eternally true the principles of the enforced religion may be.
There are, however, two conditions which may justify a truly Christian man to enter - mind you, I say enter, not begin- a war: An attempt to dominate and to deprive another of his free agency, and, Loyalty to his country. Possibly there is a third, viz., Defense of a weak nation that is being unjustly crushed by a strong, ruthless one.
MAN'S FREE AGENCY FUNDAMENTAL TO PROGRESS
Paramount among these reasons, of course, is the defense of man's freedom. An attempt to rob man of his free agency caused dissension even in heaven. Scriptures tell us:
Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
In that rebellion Lucifer said in substance: "By the law of force I will compel the human family to subscribe to the eternal plan, but give me thine honor and power".
To deprive an intelligent human being of his free agency is to commit the crime of the ages.
Impelling motives of this archenemy to liberty were pride, ambition, a sense of superiority, a will to dominate his fellows, and to be exalted above them, and a determination to deprive human beings of their freedom to speak and to act as their reason and judgment would dictate. Applicable to him are the words of Isaiah:
How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!...
For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation in the sides of the north:
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
Thus in the beginning was designed the great crime against manhood, to thwart
The wish, which ages have not yet subdued. In man, to have no master save his food.
So fundamental in man's eternal progress is his inherent right to choose, that the Lord would defend it even at the price of war. Without freedom of thought, freedom of choice, freedom of action within lawful bounds, man cannot progress. The Lord recognized this, and also the fact that it would take man thousands of years to make the earth habitable for self-governing individuals. Throughout the ages advanced souls have yearned for a society in which liberty and justice prevail. Men have sought for it, fought for it, have died for it. Ancient freemen prized it, slaves longed for it, the Magna Charta demanded it, the Constitution of the United States declared it.
"This love of liberty which God has planted in us," said Abraham Lincoln, "constitutes the bulwark of our liberty and independence. It is not our frowning battlements, our bristling seacoasts, our army, and our navy. Our defense is in the spirit which prizes liberty as the heritage of all men, in all lands, everywhere. Destroy this spirit, and we have planted the seeds of despotism at our very doors."
OUR OBLIGATION TO THE STATE
A second obligation that impels us to become participants in this world war is loyalty to government.
We believe that governments were instituted of God for the benefit of man; and that He holds men accountable for their acts in relation to them, both in making laws and administering them, for the good and safety of society.
We believe that no government can exist in peace, except such laws are framed and held inviolate as will secure to each individual the free exercise of conscience, the right and control of property, and the protection of life.
The greatest responsibility of the state is to guard the lives, and to protect the property and rights of its citizens; and if the state is obligated to protect its citizens from lawlessness within its boundaries, it is equally obligated to protect them from lawless encroachments from without - whether the attacking criminals be individuals or nations.
We are informed by competent authority that twenty years ago the government of the United States entered into an agreement with Japan to maintain peace in the Pacific Ocean, and "keep honorable hands off China." "Before the year was over," writes Mark J. Gayn, in an article Prelude to Treachery, "the ablest men on the Japanese naval general staff went to work blueprinting war on the United States and Britain."
From such treachery the state is in duty bound to protect itself, and its only effective means of doing so under present world conditions is by armed force. As a Church:
We believe that all men are justified in defending themselves, their friends, and property, and the government from the unlawful assaults and encroachments of all persons in times of exigency, where immediate appeal cannot be made to laws, and relief afforded.
Even though we sense the hellish origin of war, even though we feel confident that war will never end war, yet under existing conditions we find ourselves as a body committed to combat this evil thing. With other loyal citizens we serve our country as bearers of arms, rather than to stand aloof to enjoy a freedom for which others have fought and died.
One purpose of emphasizing this theme is to give encouragement to young men now engaged in armed conflict and to reassure them that they are fighting for an eternal principle fundamental to the peace and progress of mankind.
CONCLUSION
God bless them and others now registered awaiting the call to duty, and those serving in defense! To each of you we send a message of confidence and trust. Many of you before entering upon your military duties were authorized messengers of peace. Others of you also hold the Priesthood. To all we say, in your personal habits let the same ideals guide you as soldiers in the army as guided you as missionaries. What the Lord said to you then is applicable to you now-
Wherefore, gird up your loins, and take upon you my whole armor, that ye may be able to withstand the evil day, having done all, that ye may be able to stand.
Stand, therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, having on the breastplate of righteousness, and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.
Keep yourselves morally clean. Being soldiers or sailors is not justification for indulgence in vulgarity, intemperance, or immorality. Others may be impelled to do these things because of the beastliness of war, but you who hold the Priesthood cannot so indulge with impunity. For your own sweet lives, and for others who trust you, keep yourselves unpolluted. Your loved ones believe in you, your comrades will respect you your officers will admire you.
Today as we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, there is a cloud of spiritual heaviness hanging over the world, as there was darkness at the time of the crucifixion. Let us hope that when this mad orgy shall have ended, that the honest in heart will experience a spiritual resurrection and will associate with one another in a newness of life. As seeds of future wars are often sown around the peace table, may the spirit of the gospel of Jesus Christ and not the spirit of retaliation and revenge actuate those who meet to determine peace terms. When that blessed occasion comes, may the representatives of the nations recognize the inalienable rights of peoples everywhere to govern themselves. It would be appropriate if there were emblazoned in golden letters on the walls in which they meet, and especially cherished as motives in the hearts of those who determine the conditions of peace, the words of Christ our Lord; "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven".
O Brother Man Follow with reverent steps the great example Of Him whose holy work was "doing good"; So shall the wide earth seem our Father's temple, Each loving life a psalm of gratitude.
Then shall all shackles fall; the stormy clangor Of wild music o'er the earth shall cease; Love shall tread out the baleful fire of anger, And in its ashes plant the tree of peace!
Elder Harold B. Lee
Harold B. Lee, Conference Report, April 1942, pp. 85-87
This has been a gathering that might accurately have been described as a Church leadership conference. President Grant, at the opening session of this conference, bore testimony to the divine calling of those who have presided over the Church in this dispensation. In his testimony he has given us the key by which we may be safely guided in our own presidency and leadership responsibility, and he sounded the keynote that has carried through this entire conference. I am persuaded that any presiding officer who does not have such a testimony is not qualified to preside as an officer in the Church.
From the beginning of time, as recorded in sacred scripture, the prophets of the Lord have sounded the warning note to the world and to the membership of the Church. There have always been those with apostate leanings who have ridiculed, and have stood on the side-lines and made light of the efforts of those who sought to follow that counsel. It was so in the days of Noah, and that history is repeating itself at the present time.
In 1831, the Lord gave a revelation to this Church, in which He declared that "the time was not yet, but soon, when peace should be taken from the earth". That time, we all recognize, is here. In that same revelation the Lord declared:
Wherefore, I the Lord, knowing the calamity which should come upon the inhabitants of the earth, called upon my servant Joseph Smith, Jun. and spake unto him from heaven, and gave him commandments.
Again He has declared, "whether by mine own voice, or by the voice of my servants, it is the same". Not all of His commandments have been given to the Church in the writings of the scriptures.
This conference has convened on the sixth anniversary of the launching of what we have styled the Church Welfare plan which was given to the Church by our leaders as they were inspired by the Lord. The activities of the Welfare plan have provided the greatest opportunities for spiritualizing this Church that perhaps have ever been given this people in our generation and as we have watched it unfold and its purposes be more fully revealed, we have come to see therein a building for not only the temporal salvation but also the spiritual salvation of the Church as well. Priesthood quorums everywhere who have rallied to that call, and have joined together as a group, have bound themselves in love and unity that has blessed this Church beyond our fondest expectations.
We have come to understand, and it is my firm conviction that the thing most needed in the Church today is a membership stimulated to action by a fervent conversion to the divinity of the calling of the brethren who preside as leaders of this Church. We have been a most blessed people above all other peoples. We have been given the power of the Priesthood. We have been blessed with a divine leadership and an inspired organization, and a great pioneering heritage and experience. The Lord will hold us responsible for the blessings that He has given us, and if the calamities that have been foretold come upon this people, they will come because we have not done our full duty, and we have not made the most of our opportunities, nor have we discharged the responsibilities we bear before our Heavenly Father.
We have had many evidences of the power manifesting itself from the united team work of Priesthood quorums. We have witnessed that wherever stake welfare groups have followed the counsel of the leaders, and have banded together as regional organizations, when there was a disaster or an emergency as was the case in southern Arizona during a serious flood situation, we have discovered to our delight that the way was provided by which true brotherhood was fostered. We have noted how Priesthood quorums have made large contributions, with but very little effort when they worked unitedly together. We have seen how great amounts of produce have come from those who saw in their assignment not merely an out and out contribution, but a chance to work together and to develop together, on a permanent foundation, some project of which their community was capable.
We have been delighted to observe throughout the Church an attempt to study the basic reasons for our economic difficulties, and in farming communities we have noticed that farmers have set their goals to two prime objectives, namely, first to produce all they can on their own farms, for their own living; and second, to make an all-out war on debt. The analysis of how that work should be done has been something that I am sure would provide intelligent and profitable reading for those who are struggling with these problems.
The general Church Welfare committee would have me say to you, that from the standpoint of organization there is no other way to carry forward this work except by the Ward Welfare committees properly supervised by the stake Welfare committees. It cant be done without an intelligent analysis of problems as revealed in the survey that you have been asked to make. The only ones who are objecting to the carrying forward of that survey, or to the organization as now set up, are those who have never organized or who have never made the survey.
We are pleased that in the Salt Lake region we have received the report that at least seventy-five percent of the wards are functioning according to program.
We have been asked today to be patriotic. This Church, as has been read by President McKay, has a record of accomplishment that is a delight to all of us, and a testimony to the world of the patriotism of this people. We have been sending our boys into the army, and will continue to do so. We will buy war bonds and stamps. We will pay inordinate taxes, for the carrying on of the work for the buying of planes and munitions of war. We will produce and conserve foodstuffs, that there may be sufficient of the necessities to carry on, as we have been requested by our government.
But beyond all that, the Latter-day Saints have a responsibility, that may be better understood when we recall the prophecy of Joseph Smith who declared that "the time would come when the Constitution of these United States would hang as it were by a thread, and that this people, the sons of Zion, would rise up and save it from threatened destruction".
I want to ask you to consider the meaning of that prophecy, in the light of the declaration of the prophets of the Book of Mormon times, who declared that this land was a choice land above all other lands, and would be free from bondage and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of this land, even our Savior, Jesus Christ.
This is a people whom the Lord has chosen to preach the gospel of righteousness. We talk of security in this day, and yet we fail to understand that here on this Temple Block we have standing the holy temple wherein we may find the symbols by which power might be generated that will save this nation from destruction. Therein may be found the fulness of the blessings of the Priesthood. Yesterday morning, as we assembled and heard the broadcast from that place, broadcasting to the world a message, it to me was significant of the prophecy that from this place "the law shall go forth to the world, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem". The spires on the eastern towers of the temple are to represent the presidency of the Melchizedek Priesthood; the spires to the west, the presidency of the Aaronic Priesthood; the gilded figure of the angel Moroni symbolizes the preaching of the gospel to the world. The gospel must be preached as a witness under the direction of the holy Priesthood: "Fear God and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come". Therein lies the responsibility of this Church in sanctifying this people and this nation, that they might be spared the judgments that otherwise might come upon them, were it not for the preaching of the humble elders of this Church.
The Prophet Isaiah comforted his struggling people with these words:
Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the Lord; and I will heal him.
But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.
There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.
May we return home and teach our people the way of peace - peace because they are willing to live the commandments of the Lord Jesus Christ, I humbly pray, in His name. Amen.
President Heber J. Grant
Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, pp. 88-97
In these days of trial and sorrow, when Satan is "seeking to destroy the souls of men" we send to the righteous everywhere our greetings with prayers for their blessing; to the Saints in all lands and on the islands of the seas, we renew our testimonies and pledge our unselfish service, exhorting them to lives obedient to the gospel and the commandments of the Lord; we extend to them the hand of true and faithful fellowship, with deep and abiding love and blessing.
OUR TESTIMONIES
We bear witness to all the world that God lives, and still rules, that His righteous ways and His truth will finally prevail.
We bear testimony that Jesus is the Christ, the Only Begotten of the Father, the First Fruits of the Resurrection, the Redeemer of the World, and that "there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved".
We solemnly declare that in these the latter days, God has again spoken from the heavens through His chosen Prophet, Joseph Smith; that the Lord has, through that same Prophet, again revealed in its fulness His gospel, - the plan of life and salvation; that through that Prophet and his associates He has restored His holy Priesthood to the earth, from which it had been taken because of the wickedness of men; and that all the rights, powers, keys, and functions appertaining to that Priesthood as so restored are now vested in and exercised by the chosen and inspired leadership of His Church, - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, even as that Priesthood has been exercised on the earth from the Beginning until this day, whenever His Church was here or His work had place among the children of men.
These testimonies we bear in all soberness, before God and men, aware that we are answerable to God for the truthfulness thereof. We admonish all men to give ear to these testimonies and to bring their lives into harmony with the gospel of Christ, that on the day "When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him," they may stand with those on His right hand, to whom He will say, "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world".
We shall now speak first of some vital practical matters which should be uppermost in the minds of all Latter-day Saints.
MESSAGE TO PARENTS
It is becoming increasingly clear that very many of our physicians and surgeons will be taken by the government for service with the armed forces. This is well, for we want our soldiers and sailors to have every care which it is possible to give them. But this will leave the civilians with curtailed and probably inadequate medical help: In some areas we shall be left with little more trained assistance than was available to our pioneer fathers. Yet it is our patriotic duty to be as fully effective in production at home as our boys are effective in combat in the field. Those in the front lines cannot be strong unless those behind the lines are strong also. To meet this patriotic duty and to prepare for this threatening condition, we urge all parents to guard with zealous care the health of their children. Feed them simple, good, wholesome food that will nourish and make them strong. See that they are warmly clad. Keep them from exposure. Have them avoid unnecessary crowds in close, poorly ventilated, overheated rooms and halls. See that they have plenty of rest and sleep. Avoid late hours. Keep them home in the evenings and remain home to enjoy them. Teach them strictly to observe the Word of Wisdom which is God's law of health. You parents observe these rules yourselves, and keep the other commandments of the Lord. You bishops and presidents of stakes, first lead your people by example and then they will follow your precepts. Parents, prepare yourselves and your children for the times to come. So live, day by day, that you may with confidence, ask the blessings of health with which the Lord clothes those whom, living righteously, He delights to succor.
MESSAGE TO THE YOUTH
To the youth of the Church we repeat all the foregoing advice, but above all we plead with you to live clean, for the unclean life leads only to suffering, misery, and woe physically, - and spiritually it is the path to destruction. How glorious and near to the angels is youth that is clean; this youth has joy unspeakable here and eternal happiness hereafter. Sexual purity is youth's most precious possession; it is the foundation of all righteousness. Better dead, clean, than alive, unclean.
Times approach when we shall need all the health, strength, and spiritual power we can get to bear the afflictions that will come upon us.
WELFARE WORK
We renew the counsel given to the Saints from the days of Brigham Young until now, - be honest, truthful, industrious, frugal, thrifty. In the day of plenty, prepare for the day of scarcity. The principle of the fat and lean kine, is as applicable today as it was in the days when, on the banks of the Nile, Joseph interpreted Pharaoh's dream. Officials now warn us, and warn again, that scant days are coming.
We renew our counsel, and repeat our instructions. Let every Latter-day Saint that has land, produce some valuable, essential foodstuff thereon and then preserve it: or if he cannot produce an essential foodstuff, let him produce some other kind and exchange it for an essential foodstuff; let them who have no land of their own, and who have knowledge of farming and gardening, try to rent some, either by themselves or with others, and produce foodstuff thereon, and preserve it. Let those who have land produce enough extra to help their less fortunate brethren.
The Welfare plan should be carried forward with redoubled energy that we may care for the worthy, needy poor and unfortunate, and many of us may hereafter enter that class who now feel we are secure from want.
As the Church has always urged since we came to the Valleys, so now we urge every Church householder to have a year's supply of essential foodstuffs ahead. This should, so far as possible, be produced by each householder and preserved by him. This course will not only relieve from any impending distress those households who so provide themselves, but will release just that much food to the general national stores of foodstuffs from which the public at large must be fed.
The utmost care should be taken to see that foodstuffs so produced and preserved by the householder, do not spoil, for that would be waste, and the Lord looks with disfavor upon waste. He has blessed His people with abundant crops; the promise for this year is most hopeful. The Lord is doing His part; He expects us to do ours.
FALSE POLITICAL Isms
We again warn our people in America of the constantly increasing threat against our inspired Constitution and our free institutions set up under it. The same political tenets and philosophies that have brought war and terror in other parts of the world are at work amongst us in America. The proponents thereof are seeking to undermine our own form of government and to set up instead one of the forms of dictatorships now flourishing in other lands. These revolutionists are using a technique that is as old as the human race, - a fervid but false solicitude for the unfortunate over Whom they thus gain mastery, and then enslave them.
They suit their approaches to the particular group they seek to deceive. Among the Latter-day Saints they speak of their philosophy and their plans under it, as an ushering in of the United Order. Communism and all other similar isms bear no relationship whatever to the United Order. They are merely the clumsy counterfeits which Satan always devises of the gospel plan. Communism debases the individual and makes him the enslaved tool of the state to whom he must look for sustenance and religion; the United Order exalts the individual, leaves him his property, "according to his family, according to his circumstances and his wants and needs", and provides a system by which he helps care for his less fortunate brethren; the United Order leaves every man free to choose his own religion as his conscience directs. Communism destroys man's God-given free agency: the United Order glorifies it. Latter-day Saints cannot be true to their faith and lend aid, encouragement, or sympathy to any of these false philosophies. They will prove snares to their feet.
GOSPEL OF LOVE
The gospel of Christ is a gospel of love and peace, of patience and long suffering, of forbearance and forgiveness, of kindness and good deeds, of charity and brotherly love. Greed, avarice, base ambition, thirst for power, and unrighteous dominion over our fellow men, can have no place in the hearts of Latter-day Saints nor of God-fearing men everywhere. We of the Church must lead the life prescribed in the saying of the ancient prophet-warrior:
I seek not for power, but to pull it down. I seek not for honor of the world, but for the glory of my God, and the freedom and welfare of my country.
HATE MUST BE ABOLISHED
Hate can have no place in the souls of the righteous. We must follow the commands of Christ Himself which declare the true life:
Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven.
These principles must be instilled into the hearts of our children, taught to our youth, given by way of instruction to our vigorous manhood and womanhood, lived in very fact and deed by the aged, ripened in experience and wisdom. These are the principles which God enjoins upon all who teach, in whatever capacity or in whatever place. The Lord has declared that those who teach not their children light and truth, according to the commandments' shall be afflicted, the wicked one shall have power over them, and the sin shall be upon their heads. Woe will be the part of those who plant hate in the hearts of the youth, and of the people, for God will not hold them guiltless; they are sowing the wind, their victims will reap the whirlwinds. Hate is born of Satan; love is the offspring of God. We must drive out hate from our hearts, every one of us, and permit it not again to enter.
MISSION OF THE CHURCH
The Lord has established His Church in these latter days that men might be called to repentance, to the salvation and exaltation of their souls. Time and time again He told the Prophet Joseph and those with him that "the field is white already to harvest". Over and over again He commanded them to preach nothing but repentance to this generation finally declaring:
And thou shalt declare glad tidings, yea, publish it upon the mountains, and upon every high place, and among every people that thou shalt be permitted to see.
And thou shalt do it with all humility, trusting in me, reviling not against revilers.
And of tenets thou shalt not talk, but thou shalt declare repentance and faith on the Savior, and remission of sins by baptism and by fire, yea, even the Holy Ghost.
Behold, this is a great and the last commandment which I shall give unto you concerning this matter; for this shall suffice for thy daily walk, even unto the end of thy life.
And misery thou shalt receive if thou wilt slight these counsels, yea, even the destruction of thyself and property.
These commands we must obey that men shall come to know God and Jesus Christ whom He sent, for "this is life eternal".
For this cause was the Church organized, the gospel again revealed in its fulness, the Priesthood of God again restored, with all its rights, powers, keys and functions. This is the mission of the Church. The divine commission given to the apostles of old has been repeated in this day, that the gospel shall be carried to all nations, unto the Jew and the Gentile; it shall be declared with rejoicing; it shall roll to the ends of the earth; and it must be preached by us to whom the kingdom has been given. No act of ours or of the Church must interfere with this God-given mandate. The Lord will hold us to this high commission and exalted duty, imposed by His commandment to us, when He said:
And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things, and obey not his commandments.
We shall be excused from this divine commission, individually and as a Church, only if some power beyond our control shall prevent our obedience to God's commands, then they who hinder must bear the penalty. But to that point of hindrance, it is our bounden duty to carry on.
SENDING OF MISSIONARIES
It is our duty, divinely imposed, to continue urgently and militantly to carry forward our missionary work. We must continue to call missionaries and send them out to preach the gospel, which was never more needed than now, which is the only remedy for the tragic ills that now afflict the world, and which alone can bring peace and brotherly love back amongst the peoples of the earth. We must continue to call to missionary work those who seem best able to perform it in these troublous and difficult days. Our duty under divine command imperatively demands this. We shall not knowingly call anyone for the purpose of having him evade military service, nor for the purpose of interfering with or hampering that service in any way, nor of putting any impediment in the way of' government. These would be unworthy motives for a missionary life. Our people have furnished and we expect them to continue to furnish their full quota for those purposes, but we see no alternative, until new rules are made by the government, but to continue to call the best and most effective men into missionary work, if they are available therefor.
Having in mind that the worldwide disaster in material and spiritual matters has brought vital and difficult problems to the nation and to the Church, - the nation because of need of manpower for the armed forces and defense works, and to the Church because of the imperative need it brings to us to employ in our missionary work the experience, testimony and faith possessed by our more mature brethren, we have instructed our bishops, presidents of branches, and presidents of missions to confine until further notice, their recommendations of brethren for missionary service in the field, to those who on March 23, 1942, were seventies or high priests. Furthermore, in recommending these brethren, none but those who are and have been living worthily, should be chosen; and as to these, they should choose those only who have not received their notice of induction, who are not likely to receive it within a short time, and who have a real desire to do missionary work.
To preach the gospel, under ordination from the Priesthood of God, is a great privilege, to be enjoyed by those only who are thoroughly qualified and who are and have been strictly living the commandments and attending to their Church duties. Every bishop will carefully examine everyone whom he considers for a mission, to be sure he meets these requirements. No lukewarm or unworthy person should be recommended. The bishop must not in any way play favorites, thus avoiding giving just ground among the people of his ward for that unworthy, unrighteous thought, sometimes voiced by those whose sons have gone into the service, that because their sons have gone into the army, every other parent's son should go into the army, and that none should be sent on missions. This feeling has behind it thoughts that do not comport with the teachings of our Heavenly Father. Moreover, those going on missions are amenable to selection for army service so soon as they return. A mission exempts from army service only for the term of the mission.
CHURCH AND STATE
The Church stands for the separation of church and state. The church has no civil political functions. As the church may not assume the functions of the state, so the state may not assume the functions of the church. The church is responsible for and must carry on the work of the Lord, directing the conduct of its members, one towards the other, as followers of the lowly Christ, not forgetting the humble, the poor and needy, and those in distress, leading them all to righteous living and a spiritual life that shall bring them to salvation, exaltation, and eternal progression in wisdom, knowledge, understanding, and power.
Today, more than ever before in the history of the Church, we must bring the full force of the righteous living of' our people and the full influence of the spiritual power and responsibility of the holy Priesthood, to combat the evil forces which Satan has let loose among the peoples of the earth. We are in the midst of a desperate struggle between Truth and Error, and Truth will finally prevail.
The state is responsible for the civil control of its citizens or subjects, for their political welfare, and for the carrying forward of political policies, domestic and foreign, of the body politic. For these policies, their success or failure, the state is alone responsible, and it must carry its burdens. All these matters involve and directly affect Church members because they are part of the body politic, and members must give allegiance to their sovereign and render it loyal service when called thereto. But the Church, itself, as such, has no responsibility for these policies, as to which it has no means of doing more than urging its members fully to render that loyalty to their country and to free institutions which the loftiest patriotism calls for.
Nevertheless, as a correlative of the principle of separation of the church and the State, themselves, there is an obligation running from every citizen or subject to the state. This obligation is voiced in that Article of Faith which declares:
We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.
For one hundred years, the Church has been guided by the following principles:
We believe that governments were instituted of God for the benefit of man; and that he holds men accountable for their acts in relation to them, both in making laws and administering them, for the good and safety of society.
We believe that no government can exist in peace, except such laws are framed and held inviolate as will secure to each individual the free exercise of conscience, the right and control of property, and the protection of life.
We believe that all governments necessarily require civil officers and magistrates to enforce the laws of the same; and that such as will administer the law in equity and justice should be sought for and upheld by the voice of the people if a republic, or the will of the sovereign.
We believe that religion is instituted of God; and that men are amenable to him, and to him only, for the exercise of it, unless their religious opinions prompt them to infringe upon the rights and liberties of others; but we do not believe that human law has a right to interfere in prescribing rules of worship to bind the consciences of men, nor dictate forms for public or private devotion; that the civil magistrate should restrain crime, but never control conscience; should punish guilt, but never suppress the freedom of the soul.
We believe that all men are bound to sustain and uphold the respective governments in which they reside, while protected in their inherent and inalienable rights by the laws of such governments; and that sedition and rebellion are unbecoming every citizen thus protected, and should be punished accordingly; and that all governments have a right to enact such laws as in their own judgments are best calculated to secure the public interest; at the same time, however, holding sacred the freedom of conscience.
We believe that every man should be honored in his station, rulers and magistrates as such, being placed for the protection of the innocent and the punishment of the guilty; and that to the laws all men owe respect and deference, as without them peace and harmony would be supplanted by anarchy and terror; human laws being instituted for the express purpose of regulating our interests as individuals and nations, between man and man; and divine laws given of heaven, prescribing rules on spiritual concerns, for faith and worship, both to be answered by man to his Maker...
We believe... that murder, treason, robbery, theft, and the breach of the general peace, in all respects, should be punished according to their criminality and their tendency to evil among men, by the laws of that government in which the offense is committed.
CHURCH MEMBERSHIP AND ARMY SERVICE
Obedient to these principles, the members of the Church have always felt under obligation to come to the defense of their country when a call to arms was made; on occasion the Church has prepared to defend its own members.
In the days of Nauvoo, the Nauvoo Legion was formed, having in view the possible armed defense of the Saints against mob violence. Following our expulsion from Nauvoo, the Mormon Battalion was recruited by the national government for service in the war with Mexico. When Johnston's army was sent to Utah in 1857 as the result of malicious misrepresentations as to the actions and attitude of the territorial officers and the people, we prepared and used measures of force to prevent the entry of the army into the valleys. During the early years in Utah, forces were raised and used to fight the Indians. In the war with Spain, members of the Church served with the armed forces of the United States, with distinction and honor. In the World War, the Saints of America and of European countries served loyally their respective governments, on both sides of the conflict. Likewise in the present war, righteous men of the Church in both camps have died, some with great heroism, for their own country's sake. In all this our people have but served loyally the country of which they were citizens or subjects under the principles we have already stated. We have felt honored that our brethren have died nobly for their country; the Church has been benefited by their service and sacrifice.
Nevertheless, we have not forgotten that on Sinai, God commanded "Thou shalt not kill"; nor that in this dispensation the Lord has repeatedly reiterated that command. He has said:
And now, behold, I speak unto the church. Thou shalt not kill; and he that kills shall not have forgiveness in this world, nor in the world to come.
And again, I say, thou shalt not kill; but he that killeth shall die.
At another time the Lord commanded that murderers should "be delivered up and dealt with according to the laws of the land; for remember that he hath no forgiveness". So also when land was to be obtained in Zion, the Lord said:
Wherefore, the land of Zion shall not be obtained but by purchase or by blood, otherwise there is none inheritance for you. And if by purchase, behold you are blessed; And if by blood, as you are forbidden to shed blood, lo, your enemies are upon you, and ye shall be scourged from city to city, and from synagogue to synagogue, and but few shall stand to receive an inheritance.
But all these commands, from Sinai down, run in very terms against individuals as members of society, as well as members of the Church, for one man must not kill another as Cain killed Abel; they also run against the Church as in the case of securing land in Zion, because Christ's Church should not make war, for the Lord is a Lord of peace. He has said to us in this dispensation:
Therefore, renounce war and proclaim peace.
Thus the Church is and must be against war. The Church itself cannot wage war, unless and until the Lord shall issue new commands. It cannot regard war as a righteous means of settling international disputes; these should and could be settled - the nations agreeing - by peaceful negotiation and adjustment.
But the Church membership are citizens or subjects of sovereignties over which the Church has no control. The Lord Himself has told us to 'befriend that law which is the constitutional law of the land':
And now, verily I say unto you concerning the laws of the land, it is my will that my people should observe to do all things whatsoever I command them.
And that law of the land which is constitutional, supporting that principle of freedom in maintaining rights and privileges, belongs to all mankind, and is justifiable before me.
Therefore, I, the Lord, justify you, and your brethren of my church, in befriending that law which is the constitutional law of the land;
And as pertaining to law of man, whatsoever is more or less than this cometh of evil.
While by its terms this revealed word related more especially to this land of America, nevertheless the principles announced are worldwide in their application, and they are specifically addressed to "you", "and your brethren of my church." When, therefore, constitutional law, obedient to these principles, calls the manhood of the Church into the armed service of any country to which they owe allegiance, their highest civic duty requires that they meet that call. If, harkening to that call and obeying those in command over them, they shall take the lives of those who fight against them, that will not make of them murderers, nor subject them to the penalty that God has prescribed for those who kill, beyond the principle to be mentioned shortly. For it would be a cruel God that would punish His children as moral sinners for acts done by them as the innocent instrumentalities of a sovereign whom He had told them to obey and whose will they were powerless to resist.
GOD IS AT THE HELM
The whole world is in the midst of a war that seems the worst of all time. This Church is a worldwide Church. Its devoted members are in both camps. They are the innocent war instrumentalities of their warring sovereignties. On each side they believe they are fighting for home, and country, and freedom. On each side, our brethren pray to the same God, in the same name, for victory. Both sides cannot be wholly right; perhaps neither is without wrong. God will work out in His own due time and in His own sovereign way the justice and right of the conflict, but He will not hold the innocent instrumentalities of the war, our brethren in arms, responsible for the conflict. This is a major crisis in the world-life of man. God is at the helm.
RIGHTEOUS SUFFER WITH WICKED
But there is an eternal law that rules war and those who engage in it. It was given when, Peter having struck off the ear of Malchus, the servant of the High Priest, Jesus reproved him, saying:
Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.
The Savior thus laid down a general principle upon which He placed no limitations as to time, place, cause, or people involved. He repeated it in this dispensation when He told the people if they tried to secure the land of Zion by blood, then "lo, your enemies are upon you". This is a universal law, for force always besets force; it is the law of 'an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth'; it is the law of the unrighteous and wicked, but it operates against the righteous who may be involved.
Mormon, recording the war of revenge by the Nephites, against the Lamanites, pronounced another great law;
But, behold, the judgments of God will overtake the wicked; and it is by the wicked that the wicked are punished; for it is the wicked that stir up the hearts of the children of men unto bloodshed.
But, we repeat, in this war of the wicked, the righteous suffer also. Moroni, mistakenly reproving Pahoran 'for sitting upon his throne in a state of thoughtless stupor, while his enemies were spreading the work 'of death around him, yea, while they were murdering thousands of his brethren,' said to Pahoran:
Do ye suppose that, because so many of your brethren have been killed it is because of their wickedness? I say unto you, if ye have supposed this ye have supposed in vain; for I say unto you, there are many who have fallen by the sword; and behold it is to your condemnation;
For the Lord suffereth the righteous to be slain that his justice and judgment may come upon the wicked; therefore ye need not suppose that the righteous are lost because they are slain; but behold, they do enter into the rest of the Lord their God.
In this terrible war now waging, thousands of our righteous young men in all parts of the world and in many countries are subject to a call into the military service of their own countries. Some of these, so serving, have already been called back to their heavenly home; others will almost surely be called to follow. But 'behold,' as Moroni said, the righteous of them who serve and are slain 'do enter into the rest of the Lord their God', and of them the Lord has said "those that die in me shall not taste of death, for it shall be sweet unto them". Their salvation and exaltation in the world to come will be secure. That in their work of destruction they will be striking at their brethren will not be held against them. That sin, as Moroni of old said, is to the condemnation of those who 'sit in their places of power in a state of thoughtless stupor', those rulers in the world who in a frenzy of hate and lust for unrighteous power and dominion over their fellow men, have put into motion eternal forces they do not comprehend and cannot control. God, in His own due time, will pass sentence upon them.
Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
MESSAGE TO MEN IN SERVICE
To our young men who go into service, no matter whom they serve or where, we say live clean, keep the commandments of the Lord, pray to Him constantly to preserve you in truth and righteousness, live as you pray, and then whatever betides you the Lord will be with you and nothing will happen to you that will not be to the honor and glory of God and to your salvation and exaltation. There will come into your hearts from the living of the pure life you pray for, a joy that will pass your powers of expression or understanding. The Lord will be always near you; He will comfort you; you will feel His presence in the hour of your greatest tribulation; He will guard and protect you to the full extent that accords with His all-wise purpose. Then, when the conflict is over and you return to your homes, having lived the righteous life, how great will be your happiness - whether you be of the victors or of the vanquished - that you have lived as the Lord commanded. You will return so disciplined in righteousness that thereafter all Satan's wiles and stratagems will leave you untouched. Your faith and testimony will be strong beyond breaking. You will be looked up to and revered as having passed through the fiery furnace of trial and temptation and come forth unharmed. Your brethren will look to you for counsel, support, and guidance. You will be the anchors to which thereafter the youth of Zion will moor their faith in man.
To you brethren and sisters who make up the body of the Church we send again our greetings and our blessings. We are grateful to our Heavenly Father for your loyalty, your devotion, and your righteousness. We love and bless you. We are grateful for your faithfulness in your tithes and offerings, the greatest in the last year in the whole history of the Church.
We remind you that as the Lord said to ancient Israel, so He says to us, in an eternal principle:
Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts.
And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts.
We give thanks and praise to our Heavenly Father for the unselfish and righteous service of the officers of the stakes, of the wards, of the auxiliaries, of the Priesthood, of the missionaries, and of every man and woman who is helping to advance the cause of Truth. We give our blessing and love to all of you. We claim all of you as fellow servants of the Lord. To our brethren of the General Authorities, - the Twelve and their Assistants, the Acting Presiding Patriarch, the First Council of the Seventy, and the Presiding Bishopric - we give our love and trust. We thank them and our Heavenly Father for their loyal support, their faith, their righteous works, which they carry on with an eye single to the glory of God and to the progress of His work, so magnifying in righteousness their callings.
We exhort all the Saints to remember the great commandment which Jesus gave:
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
This is the first and great commandment.
And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
And as King Benjamin, the Nephite prophet-king, said to his people:
.. Learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.
May the Lord preserve the officers and the body of the Church in health and strength, increase our faith and our testimonies, endow us all with wisdom and understanding beyond measure, that we may all so live that when we are called home we may be saved and exalted in the celestial kingdom.
Our Heavenly Father: Hear us in our petitions before Thee: Let nothing stand betwixt us and Thee and Thy blessings; work out Thy purposes speedily; drive hate from the souls of men, that peace and brotherly love may again come to the earth and rule the hearts of Thy children, that nations may again live together in amity. Watch tenderly over Thy children in all lands; bless therein the sick and afflicted, care for those in distress; help us, their brethren bearing Thy Priesthood, to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, give shelter to those who have no homes; comfort, our Heavenly Father, with the full sweetness of Thy Holy Spirit, those who mourn, we humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
President Heber J. Grant
Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p. 97
You have heard the message of the First Presidency. I think that it is unnecessary for me to add anything further.
As I said yesterday at the marvelous meeting that we had in the temple, I feel that it is not wisdom for me to stay longer on account of my ill health. I appreciate the fact that you all know as I have said so often I know that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, the Redeemer of the world, and that Joseph Smith was His Prophet.
I can say nothing more than is said in this message from the presidency of the Church. I can only hope that the people of the world may realize the fact that we are in very deed the Church of Jesus Christ and not the Church of any man, and that there is no ambition in our hearts for personal power or prestige in the world. All that we desire is the salvation of mankind. May God help us.
I never forget one little statement, I think it is in the eighteenth section of the Doctrine and Covenants: "And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!".
God bless you all. Amen.
President Heber J. Grant
Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1942, pp. 7-17
To the Saints in every land and clime we send our love and greetings and say unto you: May the Peace of Christ which passeth human understanding enter your souls and be and abide with you always. During the coming winter, may the Lord in His wisdom, give food to the hungry, raiment to the unclothed, heat and shelter to those who are cold; may His Spirit bring comfort to the broken hearts, bind up the aching wounds, heal those who are sick, preserve from plague and pestilence those who are victims of this worldwide holocaust.
OUR TESTIMONIES
We again bear you our testimony: that God lives and that He loves those who keep His commandments and walk in His ways: that Christ, His Only Begotten, came to earth and lived His mission through, that He was crucified, died, the Lamb of God sacrificed for the sins of the world, and after three days came forth from the tomb, a resurrected being, thereby making the Atonement which brings the blessing of a resurrection to all God's children; that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, raised up to usher in this the last dispensation of the fulness of times, and to bring about the restoration of the fulness of the everlasting gospel and the Holy Priesthood of God, lost to earth through the wickedness of men.
We bear witness that this is the one true Church of the Christ, and that except through it and the following of the teachings and commandments it proclaims, men may not reach the highest exaltation in the eternities to come.
We say unto you that in the darkest hours of these days of dread, tumult, and woe, the Lord is near to us, that He mourns over the iniquities and the sorrows of His children, that He would lead us into paths of peace if we would but follow Him; that He holds in His loving hands, nurtured by His boundless mercy, every one who lives righteously, and who seeks His protection; that He listens and hearkens to those who, having pure hearts and contrite spirits, come to Him with prayers of unshaking faith. He stands today ready as always to gather us in, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings", would we but yield our lives in righteous service to Him.
DRINK AND THE WORD OF WISDOM
The world is smitten, nigh unto death, with great and grievous tribulations, following the commission of cardinal sins.
Over the earth, and it seems particularly in America, the demon drink is in control. Drunken with strong drink, men have lost their reason; their counsel has been destroyed; their judgment and vision are fled; they reel forward to destruction.
Drink brings cruelty into the home; it walks arm in arm with poverty; its companions are disease and plague; it puts chastity to flight; it knows neither honesty nor fair dealing; it is a total stranger to truth; it drowns conscience; it is the bodyguard of evil; it curses all who touch it.
Drink has brought more woe and misery, broken more hearts, wrecked more homes, committed more crimes, filled more coffins, than all the wars the world has suffered.
Therefore, we thank the faithful Saints for their observance of the Word of Wisdom, for their putting aside of drink. The Lord is pleased with you. You have been a bulwark of strength to this people and to the world. Your influence has been for righteousness. The Lord will not forget your good works when you stand before Him in judgment. He has blessed and will continue to bless you with the blessings He promised to those who obey this divine law of health. We invoke the mercies of the Lord upon you that you may continue strong in spirit, to cast off temptation and continue teachers to the youth of Zion by word and deed. But so great is the curse of drink that we should not be held guiltless did we not call upon all offending Saints to forsake it and banish it from their lives forever.
God has spoken against drink in our day, and has given to this, the Lord's own Church, a specific revelation concerning it, as a word of wisdom by revelation-
That inasmuch as any man drinketh wine or strong drink among you, behold it is not good, neither meet in the sight of your Father...
And, again, strong drinks are not for the belly, but for the washing of your bodies.
This declares the divine wisdom. It is God's law of health, and is binding upon each and every one of us. We cannot escape its operation, for it is based upon eternal truth. Men may agree or disagree about this word of the Lord; if they agree, it adds nothing; if they disagree, it means nothing, Beyond His word we cannot reach, and it is enough for every Latter-day Saint, willing and trying to follow divine guidance.
For more than half a century President Grant has on every appropriate occasion admonished the Saints touching their obligation to keep the Word of Wisdom. He has told them what it means to them in matters of health, quoting the words of the Lord thereon. He has pointed out that treasures of knowledge, even hidden knowledge, would come to those who lived the law. He has, over and over again, shown what it would mean financially to every member who would keep the law, what it would mean financially to our people, and what it would mean financially to a nation. He has told us what it would mean in ending human woes, misery, sorrow, disease, crime, and death. But his admonitions have not found a resting place in all our hearts.
We, the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, now solemnly renew all these counsels, we repeat all these admonitions, we reinvoke obedience to God's law of health given us by God Himself.
We repeat here the directions heretofore given by President Grant: We ask that every General Authority, every stake and ward officer, every officer of Priesthood quorums, every auxiliary officer in ward, stake, or general board, every president of mission, every regular or stake missionary, in short, every officer in every Church organization, strictly to keep the Word of Wisdom from this moment forward. If any feels too weak to do this, we must ask him to step aside for some one who is willing and able so to do, for there are thousands of Latter-day Saints who are willing to obey the commandments and who are able to carry on the work of the Lord.
We ask all Church presiding officers immediately to set their official houses in order.
The Lord will not otherwise fully prosper us in our service in His cause, wherefore we shall stand accused before Him that we walked not in the lead of His flock in the full stature of worthy, righteous example. Furthermore, we make a like call upon all these officers to keep also the law of tithing, to live the law of strictest chastity, and to observe and do the commandments of the Lord.
That in these dire days, we may, each in his own place, enjoy the abundant physical blessings of the righteous life, we call upon all true Latter-day Saints, in or out of office, to keep this law of health,-completely to give up drink, to quit using tobacco, which all too often leads to drink, to abandon hot drinks and the use of harmful drugs, and otherwise to observe the Word of Wisdom. We urge the Saints to quit trifling with this law and so to live it that we may claim its promises.
Upon you parents, laden with the divinely imposed responsibility of guiding pure, eternal spirits through the early years of their earth existence, we urge a faithful performance of your sacred duty, to teach this law of health to your children both by precept and example. Of a surety the Lord will not hold us guiltless if we fail one whir in guarding, protecting, and guiding these innocent and precious souls on their way to exaltation.
Parents, these are not the times for weak attempts and half measures, but for the full strength of righteous, prayerful, God-fearing effort to walk ourselves, and to lead our children, along the paths of sobriety and chastity.
How great are the blessings promised to those who observe the law:
And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, shall receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones;
And shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures;
And shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint.
And I, the Lord, give unto them a promise, that the destroying angel shall pass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them.
When, as the Lord Himself has declared, plague, pestilence, famine, and death shall be poured out upon the nations for their wickedness, and when these shall break over our heads and our loved ones are smitten nigh to death, when hearts are torn and the anguish of grief almost overwhelms us, who can fathom the joy or measure the blessing of that father and mother who can stand before the Lord and say: "We have kept Thy commandments. We and ours have lived Thy law. Vouchsafe Thy promised blessings unto us. We remember Thy word, 'I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say'. Let Thy healing power rest upon our afflicted ones 'that the destroying angel shall pass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them'".
As with a person, as with a people, so it is with a nation. A drunken nation cannot expect that God will withhold His judgments, nor ward off the ravages of the destroyer. A drunken nation is a seedbed for disaster-political, physical, moral, and spiritual. A drunken nation may not, even in its hours of direst distress, pray to God for help, with that simple assurance and unpolluted faith which bring aid and comfort to those who abide the law of sobriety and keep His commandments.
Rulers of nations may not suppose that their peoples will be less drunken than are they themselves. We call upon the rulers of all nations to show their peoples by their examples how to live the sober and virtuous life. We call upon them to bring into their counsels, the reenthroned reason of un-drunken minds. Then will wisdom and vision return, and peace will leave her hiding place to bless the world. We exhort men and rulers the world over to learn the blessings which come to those who live God's full law of health, that they may, under His hands and by His power, help to bring salvation, temporal and spiritual, to the whole human race.
CHASTITY
Upon the heels of the demon drink, tread the demons of unchastity-harlotry, fornication, adultery, while murder itself lurks not far behind. From Adam until now, God has commanded that His children be sexually clean.
Here again we extend gratitude to our Heavenly Father for the great body of the Saints who have kept the moral law. To the Corinthians, Paul said:
Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy: for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.
And again:
What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
You who have observed the law of chastity have kept the temples of God undefiled. You can stand unabashed before the Lord. He loves you. He will bestow honor and reward upon you. Every overcoming of temptation brings strength and glory to the soul. May the Lord continue to bless and prosper you in all your works of righteousness.
But some of us have forgotten what the Lord has said about these sins. Some of us have failed to teach our children the need for sexual purity. Some teachers have tried to lay bare to our youth the mysteries of life, and so have robbed the creative act of all the sanctity with which from the beginning God has enshrouded it. These have given no restraining righteous principle in its place. So, with too many, modesty has become a derided virtue, and the sex desire has been degraded to the level of hunger and thirst. From Sodom and Gomorrah until now, sex immorality, with its attendant evils of drink and corruption, has brought low the mightiest of nations, has destroyed powerful peoples, has reduced erring man almost to the level of the beasts of the field.
That we may be reminded of the enormity of the sin of unchastity, it is well that we recall some of the things which the Lord and His prophets have said concerning it.
One of the ten basic principles of Christian society, and accepted by all worshipers of the true God, came to men at Sinai when God wrote with His own finger: "Thou shalt not commit adultery".
By the laws of Moses, adulterers were stoned to death. God said to Israel: "There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel". When God, through Jeremiah, chastened Israel for apostasy, He pictured her loathsomeness by calling her a harlot. Paul declared to the Ephesians:
For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person... hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
The Revelator declared that whoremongers "shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death". And when he wished to condemn the great false church and its iniquities that had led the world into apostasy and wickedness, the Revelator called her "Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth". Jacob, teaching the Nephites, declared:
Wo unto them who commit whoredoms, for they shall be thrust down to hell".
To us of this Church, the Lord has declared that adulterers should not be admitted to membership; that adulterers in the Church, if unrepentant, should be cast out, but if repentant should be permitted to remain, and, He said, "By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins-behold, he will confess them and forsake them".
In the great revelation on the three heavenly glories, the Lord said, speaking of those who will inherit the lowest of these, or the telestial glory:
These are they who are liars, and sorcerers, and adulterers, and whoremongers, and whosoever loves and makes a lie.
The doctrine of this Church is that sexual sin-the illicit sexual relations of men and women-stands, in its enormity, next to murder.
The Lord has drawn no essential distinctions between fornication, adultery, and harlotry or prostitution. Each has fallen under His solemn and awful condemnation.
You youths of Zion, you cannot associate in non-marital, illicit sex relationships, which is fornication, and escape the punishments and the judgments which the Lord has declared against this sin. The day of reckoning will come just as certainly as night follows day. They who would palliate this crime and say that such indulgence is but a sinless gratification of a normal desire, like appeasing hunger and thirst, speak filthiness with their lips. Their counsel leads to destruction; their wisdom comes from the Father of Lies.
You husbands and wives who have taken on solemn obligations of chastity in the holy temples of the Lord and who violate those sacred vows by illicit sexual relations with others, you not only commit the vile and loathsome sin of adultery, but you break the oath you yourselves made with the Lord Himself before you went to the altar for your sealing. You become subject to the penalties which the Lord has prescribed for those who breach their covenants with Him.
Of the harlots and those who visit them, God speaks in terms of divine contempt. They are they who have bargained away an eternity of bliss for the momentary pleasures of the flesh.
The Lord will have only a clean people. He has said, "I, the Lord, will contend with Zion, and plead with her strong ones, and chasten her until she overcomes and is clean before me".
But they who sin may repent, and, they repenting, God will forgive them, for the Lord has said, "Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more".
By virtue of the authority in us vested as the First Presidency of the Church, we warn our people who are offending, of the degradation, the wickedness, the punishment that attend upon unchastity; we urge you to remember the blessings which flow from the living of the clean life: we call upon you to keep, day in and day out, the way of strictest chastity, through which only can God's choice gifts come to you and His Spirit abide with you.
How glorious is he who lives the chaste life. He walks unfearful in the full glare of the noonday sun, for he is without moral infirmity. He can be reached by no shafts of base calumny, for his armor is without flaw. His virtue cannot be challenged by any just accuser, for he lives above reproach. His cheek is never blotched with shame, for he is without hidden sin. He is honored and respected by all mankind, for he is beyond their censure. He is loved by the Lord, for he stands without blemish. The exaltations of eternities await his coming.
PARENTHOOD
Amongst His earliest commands to Adam and Eve, the Lord said: "Multiply and replenish the earth". He has repeated that command in our day. He has again revealed in this, the last dispensation, the principle of the eternity of the marriage covenant. He has restored to earth the authority for entering into that covenant, and has declared that it is the only due and proper way of joining husband and wife, and the only means by which the sacred family relationship may be carried beyond the grave and through eternity. He has declared that this eternal relationship may be created only by the ordinances which are administered in the holy temples of the Lord, and therefore that His people should marry only in His temple in accordance with such ordinances.
The Lord has told us that it is the duty of every husband and wife to obey the command given to Adam to multiply and replenish the earth, so that the legions of choice spirits waiting for their tabernacles of flesh may come here and move forward under God's great design to become perfect souls, for without these fleshly tabernacles they cannot progress to their God-planned destiny. Thus, every husband and wife should become a father and mother in Israel to children born under the holy, eternal covenant.
By bringing these choice spirits to earth, each father and each mother assume towards the tabernacled spirit and towards the Lord Himself by having taken advantage of the opportunity He offered, an obligation of the most sacred kind, because the fate of that spirit in the eternities to come, the blessings or punishments which shall await it in the hereafter, depend, in great part, upon the care, the teachings, the training which the parents shall give to that spirit.
No parent can escape that obligation and that responsibility, and for the proper meeting thereof, the Lord will hold us to a strict accountability. No loftier duty than this can be assumed by mortals.
Motherhood thus becomes a holy calling, a sacred dedication for carrying out the Lord's plans, a consecration of devotion to the uprearing and fostering, the nurturing in body, mind, and spirit, of those who kept their first estate and who come to this earth for their second estate "to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them". To lead them to keep their second estate is the work of motherhood and "they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever".
This divine service of motherhood can be rendered only by mothers. It may not be passed to others. Nurses cannot do it; public nurseries cannot do it; hired help cannot do it-only mother, aided as much as may be by the loving hands of father, brothers, and sisters, can give the full needed measure of watchful care.
The mother who entrusts her child to the care of others, that she may do non-motherly work, whether for gold, for fame, or for civic service, should remember that "a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame". In our day the Lord has said that unless parents teach their children the doctrines of the Church "the sin be upon the heads of the parents".
Motherhood is near to divinity. It is the highest, holiest service to be assumed by mankind. It places her who honors its holy calling and service next to the angels. To you mothers in Israel we say God bless and protect you, and give you the strength and courage, the faith and knowledge, the holy love and consecration to duty, that shall enable you to fill to the fullest measure the sacred calling which is yours. To you mothers and mothers-to-be we say: Be chaste, keep pure, live righteously, that your posterity to the last generation may call you blessed.
UNITY
The Lord has said to His Saints in these days:
I say unto you, be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine.
These days through which we are now passing present many problems which are new to all of us but are particularly strange to the younger generation-those who have little background of experience and whose knowledge is limited and immature. Infidelity, atheism, unchastity, intemperance, civil corruption, greed, avarice, ambition-personal, political, national-are more powerful today than at any other time in the lives of us now living. They are pulling and thrusting us almost at will into new fields of action, new lines of thought. They are shaking the faith, undermining the morals, polluting the lives of the people. They have thrown many so far off balance in all of their activities, economic, social, political, and religious, that they stand in real danger of falling. Satan is making war against all the wisdom that has come to men through their ages of experience. He is seeking to overturn and destroy the very foundations upon which society, government, and religion rest. He aims to have men adopt theories and practices which he induced their forefathers, over the ages, to adopt and try, only to be discarded by them when found unsound, impractical, and ruinous. He plans to destroy liberty and freedom-economic, political, and religious, and to set up in place thereof the greatest, most widespread, and most complete tyranny that has ever oppressed men. He is working under such perfect disguise that many do not recognize either him or his methods There is no crime he would not commit, no debauchery he would not set up, no plague he Would not send, no heart he would not break, no life he would not take, no soul he would not destroy. He comes as a thief in the night; he is a wolf in sheep's clothing. Without their knowing it, the people are being urged down paths that lead only to destruction. Satan never before had so firm a grip on this generation as he has now.
In the midst of this welter of lying and deception, of woe and misery, of death and destruction, of violent disorder and threatening chaos, the only saving forces on earth are the eternal principles of the everlasting gospel of Christ and the rights and powers of the Priesthood of Almighty God. We of this Church stand as the sole possessors of these mighty forces which we have for our own blessing, salvation, and exaltation, not only, but also we hold them in trust for all mankind, those who now live, those who are dead and gone, and those to be born in the future, that they, too, all of them who will receive and obey the gospel, may likewise be saved and exalted.
Standing thus, we have the loftiest, the most vital, the most sacred responsibility and obligation which God can bestow upon man-a responsibility and obligation which transcends every other that can come to us and for the meeting of which God will hold us strictly accountable. To this high calling we must dedicate all that we have, all that we are, and all that we may become. No lesser consecration than this will meet the full measure of our divinely imposed duty.
In the awesome war we must wage to bring righteousness and salvation to men, we must stand shoulder to shoulder and go forward as one. To this glorious conflict to destroy sin and set up righteousness, we call every member of the Church. We must reinforce our determinations, renew our resolutions, retake our covenants, to serve God and to keep His commandments.
From the great war in heaven until now the armies of righteousness have marched under one banner. They have obeyed Him who stands at the head. They have not, as it were, been, and we may not be, of Paul, of Apollos, of Cephas, "some of John, and some of Moses, and some of Elias, and some of Esaias, and some of Isaiah, and some of Enoch," for all these inherit not the celestial kingdom. To gain the celestial glory we must receive the gospel, and the testimony of Jesus and the prophets, and the everlasting covenant.
The Lord has Himself organized us for this great conflict against unrighteousness, foreseen from before the foundations of the earth were laid. He has prescribed the rules and regulations for our government while in this field of action. He has placed at our head His mouthpiece on earth and has given him full authority to direct us in this conflict. He who disobeys or dishonors that head is a traitor to the Lord's cause. Unrepentant, he must be cast out from the Lord's people.
We who serve under the Lord's anointed, must serve with full loyalty and devotion. We must heed his instructions and admonitions. The principles, the ordinances, the rites and ceremonies-few as they are-may not be changed by any of us. The Lord casts off those who "transgress His laws, change His ordinances, and break His everlasting covenant".
The principles of the gospel are all-embracing-they are everlasting, unchangeable, ultimate truth. They will fit every situation, every problem, every contingency that may arise in the life of man. There are no local problems, no peculiar situations, in ward or stake, that may not be solved under these principles. It will not do for any Church officer or member to work out for himself a different course from that prescribed. This will lead to disorder, and the Lord's house is a house of order. When new light is needed, or further instructions, the Lord will make them known through His appointed representative. What we should seek, is wisdom to apply the old and true principles to new situations. Let us not suppose that man has recently changed in his essential qualities or habits, for this is not true; all that has happened today is that some basic passions which, through the generations, mankind had brought under control, have now broken loose in something of their primeval strength. They are not new passions. We possess the principles which brought them under subjection once; these principles were given to man in the very beginning for this exact purpose; we must now apply them again to conquer these same old foes of righteousness. This is not a new world; it is an old and sinful world again returned, and now once more to be reconquered and rejuvenated.
We must cling to the rigid simplicity of the principles Jesus taught, to the strict simplicity of the ordinances He has established-neither elegance nor pomp, nor elaborate ritual and ceremony had any place therein; we must keep the everlasting covenant.
MEN IN THE ARMED SERVICE
To our men in the armed service everywhere we send our greetings and love. We repeat our message, renew our admonitions, rebestow our blessings recited in our message at the conference of last April. We pray in a prayer which daily ascends to our Heavenly Father, that you will live righteously, that you will be preserved, that God will hasten the working out of His purposes among the nations, so that peace may come and you be restored to your loved ones, as clean as the day on which you left them.
Our constant prayer is that He will give us wisdom to help you in your sacrificing service to your country.
We are making every effort that opens to us to aid you. Your frequent skirtings from place to place, made necessary by the exigencies of your duties, increase our difficulties almost immeasurably. But we shall do the best we can. We are setting up a special committee whose particular duty and function it shall be to devise and carry out means of keeping in touch with you men in the service.
Realizing that one of the greatest blessings that can come to you is words of cheer from your loved ones at home, we renew and make urgent our request that these loved ones send you frequent letters. No parent should let a week go by without a letter sent to his loved ones in the service. Every wife should write as frequently, and so should sweethearts. Every bishop either himself directly or through one of his counselors, should write at least once a month to every member of his ward who is in the armed service, and so should every presidency of a Priesthood quorum with a member in the field. This is little enough for us to do for those prepared to sacrifice all at their country's behest.
Under our direction, you brethren in the service have been requested to organize Mutual Improvement groups in your camps, so that both your recreational and spiritual needs may be served. This you brethren may do wherever you go. Let your organizations be set up after counseling together and by mutual consent. In your gatherings you can, the proper Priesthood officers officiating, administer the sacrament. You, who hold the proper authority, can administer to the sick; you can teach and exhort one another to works of righteousness. You can build up and support, one in the other, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, in His atonement, and in the gospel, and this faith will hold when all else seems gone.
We are prepared to send you Church books and pamphlets as you may need and desire.
We wish to bring to you every spiritual comfort and consolation, every encouragement, every upbuilding influence which we can command, We and the brethren and the whole Church pray for you constantly, And again we pray here: May the Lord bless and preserve you and keep you clean,
But we urge you to remember that your righteousness rests between you and your God, Others may exhort, encourage, and support, but you only can win the victory for your salvation, aided always by the love, the mercy, and grace of your Heavenly Father, who will be always near you in your righteous life, wherever your lot may be cast.
Again we say, God bless you.
THE WAR
We renew the statement made in our message of the last April conference, that obedient to the direct command of the Lord given to us more than a hundred years ago the Church is and must be against war, for war is of Satan and this Church is the Church of Christ, who taught peace and righteousness and brotherhood of man.
As those chosen and ordained to stand at the head of the Savior's Church, as followers of the lowly Jesus trying to live His gospel and to obey His commandments, we must call upon the leaders of nations to abandon the fiendishly inspired slaughter of the manhood of the world now carrying on and further planned.
We condemn the outcome which wicked and designing men are now planning, namely: the worldwide establishment and perpetuation of some form of Communism on the one side, or of some form of Nazism or Fascism on the other. Each of these systems destroys liberty, wipes out free institutions, blots out free agency, stifles free press and free speech, crushes out freedom of religion and conscience. Free peoples cannot and do not survive under these systems. Free peoples the world over will view with horror the establishment of either Communism or Nazism as a worldwide system. Each system is fostered by those who deny the right and the ability of the common people to govern themselves. We proclaim that the common people have both this right and this ability.
We renew our declaration that international disputes can and should be settled by peaceful means. This is the way of the Lord.
We call upon the statesmen of the world to assume their rightful control of the affairs of nations and to bring this war to an end, honorable and just to all. Animated and led by the spirit of Christ, they can do it. The weeping mothers, the distraught and impoverished wives, the fatherless children of the world, demand that this be done. In this way only will enduring peace come; it will never be imposed by armed force. Hate-driven militarists and leaders, with murder in their hearts, will, if they go through to the end, bring merely another peace that will be but the beginning of another war.
We call upon the Saints the world over to pray to God constantly in faith, nothing doubting, that He will bring His purposes speedily to pass and restore peace again to the earth to bless His children.
TO THE OFFICERS AND MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH
We pour out our thanks to our Heavenly Father for the faithfulness and devotion of the great body of the Church, without which the work of the Lord would languish. To the faithful members we extend our deep and sincere gratitude for their loyal support to their ward and stake officers and to the General Authorities of the Church. Except for this also, the growth and stability of the Church would suffer.
For the faith of the Saints as shown in the payment of their tithes and offerings we thank the Lord. We renew to them the promise, so graphically pronounced by Malachi to ancient Israel, that for their faithfulness the Lord will open the windows of Heaven and pour out His blessings upon them.
We are grateful likewise for the willing and effective response of the people to the Welfare Plan. We call attention to the repeated official warnings which say that we face the urgent likelihood of a shortage in many of the necessities of life. We point out that the very purpose of the Welfare Plan is to help the people in such circumstances. We again urge that they wholeheartedly support and work out this plan in its full measure.
We thank the Priesthood of the Church for their increased activity and devotion. The carrying forward of the Lord's work rests upon their shoulders. We say to you brethren, bearers of God's Holy Priesthood, duly ordained to your high and holy calling by the servants of the Lord holding His authority thereto, be faithful to the divine agency that has been bestowed upon you, magnify your offices, seek for the blessings of the Lord.
To the auxiliaries we are grateful for the work of each in the sphere assigned to it. You represent the First Presidency in the labor assigned to you. Seek earnestly to carry out not only the letter but the spirit of the instructions from time to time issued to you; to do otherwise will bring trouble and a lessening of the good you are counted upon to do.
Again we thank the officers of stakes and wards for their devoted service. The Lord will give them manifold blessings for the great burdens they carry in His service.
Lastly we give to our brethren and associates of the General Authorities, our unstinted love and gratitude for their loyal devotion to the cause of the Lord, for the unfailing assistance they give to the First Presidency in carrying the great burdens of these troublous times, and for their faith and the righteousness of their living.
Upon all we ask the Lord to bestow His choicest blessings.
We close with a prayer:
Our Heavenly Father:
In deep humility we Thy people, Israel of today, come to Thy throne pleading for Thy grace and Thy mercy. Forgive what Thou hast seen amiss in us, overlook our waywardness, keep not in mind our lightmindedness and our forgetfulness of our debt to Thee for all we have and are, but hold in memory our desire to serve Thee and to keep Thy commandments, and increase these to us from day to day. Let nothing be betwixt us and Thee at this hour. And standing thus, our Heavenly Father, we beseech Thee speedily to work out Thy purposes in the earth. Bring quickly to those against whom Thy righteous anger has gone forth because of their iniquity, a sense of their sins and great guilt, and plant in their hearts a will to repent and hereafter to walk in Thy paths, guided only by Thy commandments, that, Thy purposes accomplished, peace, Thy peace and the peace of man, may return to bless the earth.
Stay the hands, O Father, of the Destroyer. Let him not further curse the world with the slaughter of Thy children, nor pour out upon them a fuller measure of the sore afflictions of famine, plague, and pestilence. We know what Thou hast decreed against a sinning world, but we humbly bow at Thy throne and with our whole hearts we pray Thee that, as seemeth to Thee well, in Thy infinite knowledge and wisdom, Thou wilt abate Thy righteous indignation, take away from the full measure of Thy punishments, hasten the carrying out of Thy purposes, shorten these days of world tribulation.
We know how we, Thy children, have erred, we know how we have failed to live the lives Thou hast marked out for us, but at this time, O Father, we humbly pray that Thou wilt close Thine eyes to our misdoings and recall not our frailties, nor withhold forgiveness for our transgressions, but grant us this, our prayer for the speedy fulfilment of Thy purposes, that peace may come, that the cries of a wailing world may no longer afflict Thine ears and that Thy people may again go forward in their work of spreading Thy gospel and bringing salvation to the honest in heart.
Bless the needy, the sick, the world over; make easy the pains of the innocent and righteous ones who have been torn by war; comfort the mothers, the widows, the fatherless. Be merciful to all who suffer in mind or body or spirit.
For Thy boundless mercies to us we are humbly grateful. Lead us day by day so to live as to be more worthy of Thy manifold blessings, without which we should perish.
Grant us these blessings, O Father, for we ask them humbly in the name of' Thy Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Joseph F. Smith
Joseph F. Smith, Conference Report, October 1942, pp. 17-18
I know that my Redeemer lives. Once in January of this year, and again in April, I lay in the valley of the shadow of death. I returned therefrom only by the power of the priesthood and the faith of those who love me. Let sophists scoff-let worldly learned men rationalize: I know-as I know that I stand here-that I am alive this day by the power of the Priesthood and by the faith of my loved ones.
Many nights have I lain and pondered the Lord's goodness to me -goodness which I must confess seemed all too unmerited. There are no words for me to tell you what went on in my heart this day as I saw this great body of men holding the holy Priesthood sustain me in the calling to which the Prophet of God has summoned me.
I know that my Redeemer lives. I know that Heber J. Grant is His chosen and properly-ordained mouthpiece upon earth. God grant that we as a body of Priesthood, that our families, that our brethren and sisters who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints may have the wisdom and the strength to hew closely to the words which have issued and which shall issue from the constituted authority of the Church. Only by so doing will we have the strength to face the trials that are to come. The hearts of the strongest may quail. Obedience to the word of the Lord is the only thing which will fortify us in the days to come.
God grant that we may be Latter-day Saints. I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Joseph Fielding Smith
Joseph Fielding Smith, Conference Report, October 1942, p. 18
First, I wish to endorse all that has taken place and all that we have heard this morning.
We have here assembled in this important historic building the leading men who hold the Priesthood who have been called to great responsibility. Never before in the history of the Church has the responsibility which has been given to the Priesthood been more necessary of fulfilment than today. Never before have we been under greater obligation to serve the Lord and keep His commandments, and magnify the callings which have been assigned to us.
The world today is torn asunder. Evil is rampant upon the face of the earth. The members of the Church need to be humble and prayerful and diligent. We who have been called to these positions in the Priesthood have that responsibility upon our shoulders to teach and direct the members of the Church in righteousness. I would like to read the words of John as found in the third chapter of the First Epistle of John:
Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure..
John was speaking to the men who held the Priesthood. He calls them the sons of God. We are the sons of God. That same divine authority has been bestowed upon us. We, too, in this day should be just as grateful and just as willing to serve and keep the commandments of the Lord and magnify the callings which have been given unto us as were these men in former days who were the sons of God. I wonder if we realize the greatness of our callings-yes, all the elders in this Church-do they realize that they hold the Melchizedek Priesthood? Do they know that through their faithfulness and their obedience, according to the revelations of the Lord, they are entitled to receive all that the Father has -to become the sons of God, joint heirs with our Elder Brother, Jesus Christ, entitled to the exaltations in the celestial kingdom? Do we realize that? We, too, if we do realize it, should be like those of former days, and every man that hath this hope in him, will purify himself even as Christ is pure. Brethren, that we may do so, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Elder Stephen L Richards
Stephen L Richards, Conference Report, October 1942, pp. 20-23
In June I had the privilege of visiting some of the shrines of the Church, places made sacred by memorable events in the history of the restored gospel. I am happy to report that wherever these places are owned or controlled by the Church they are maintained in good condition, creditable to the great cause and momentous things they commemorate. So significant to Latter-day Saints is every shrine that a discourse might be built around each one. That, of course, is infeasible. I must be content merely to give you a little of my reflection and feeling as I came into the atmosphere of these historic places.
Many of them are in western New York, centering around the city of Palmyra. The Prophet's boyhood home, the Sacred Grove, the Hill Cumorah, scenes associated with the translation and publication of the Book of Mormon, the Peter Whitmer home where the Church was organized, and the site of the first baptisms-all are within short drives of Palmyra. Not far distant on the banks of the Susquehanna River is the area in which the Priesthood was restored.
In this historic section perhaps nothing is quite so conspicuous and impressive as the Hill Cumorah. Capped by the beautiful monument which the Church has erected, it is the outstanding landmark of the countryside. A well designed cottage-bureau of information at the base of the Hill with beautifully landscaped grounds, a commodious parking space for cars, and the illumination of the monument at night which gives to it and to the statue of the Angel Moroni which crowns it the appearance and atmosphere of an ethereal apparition projected high and impressively into the night sky, all combine to make this spot a mecca for tourists. When, as has been the yearly custom, the missionaries stage a sacred pageant on the crest of the Hill, representing figures and events of the past, culminating in the coming forth of the new witness for Christ, and when the trumpeters in the stillness of the night, stationed at the base of the imposing monument, sound their clarion call heralding the advent of the new dispensation of the fulness of times, thousands of spectators, gathered from far and near, coming mostly out of curiosity, are hushed in speechless and awful reverence for the sacred and mighty thing the representation portrays.
In the Sacred Grove there comes to one of faith, a solemnity and feeling that are indescribable. It is believed that many of the large stately trees that gave shade and seclusion to the humble boy a hundred and twenty years ago still live. Standing beside these ancient silent witnesses who know the truth it is not difficult to secure confirmation and added support for testimony and conviction. That something which we call the soul of man responds to such an environment. His inner feelings are stirred, the spark of divinity within him is kindled anew, and each one of the seventy persons gathered together in a five-and-a-half-hour missionary meeting in this exquisitely beautiful Grove knew, as perhaps he had never known before, that the experience of Joseph within these woods was actual, that he did behold the Father and the Son, that he heard Them speak and that his incomparable mission in life was divinely given to him.
Each historic scene brought similar feelings and confirmation. There was rejoicing in our hearts as we contemplated the great labors and accomplishments of the Prophet as we tried to reconstruct important episodes in his life. The supernatural translation of the Book of Mormon, its publication, the attestation of its divinity, the bestowal of the Aaronic and the Melchizedek Priesthoods, the organization of the Church with its unique and efficient government, the marvelous missionary work carried forward under his direction, reaching out into most of the nations of the world when travel and communication were extremely difficult, the unparalleled accretion to the Church resulting from the wide acceptance of the restored gospel by brave souls the world over, the inspired interpretation of the gospel message with its new and beautiful concepts which for centuries had escaped a professedly Christian world-these and many other comparable meditations filled our hearts with inexpressible gratitude.
Throughout our visit, however, there was ever a strain of sadness. We realized that every accomplishment had been attended with persecution and with sorrow. This was particularly emphasized on our way home in Nauvoo, Carthage, and Winter Quarters.
It was inspiring to behold the magnificent site of Nauvoo. The state of Illinois has constructed a scenic highway along the banks of the Mississippi. Nowhere is the view more impressive than at the bend of the river where Nauvoo is located. What a thrill must have come to Joseph and his friends as they saw this city grow with its lovely homes and business institutions, its adjoining farmlands, its churches, schools and recreational facilities, climaxed by the million-dollar temple that symbolized perhaps more than anything else the devotion, the sacrifice, and the true faith of the Saints. Nauvoo is pretty much a ghost city today, but enough remains to help us visualize what it was when it was the largest city in the state -a bigger city than Chicago was. It died with the depredations of the mobocrats nearly a century ago and has never revived.
Carthage is only a few miles distant, It was here that our feelings were most deeply touched. The jail which for many years was used as a residence has been restored by the Church as nearly as may be to its original condition. It is now surrounded by lawn, shrubs, and flowers, and a cottage for the keeper has been erected nearby. Many visitors come to this place. They are taken up the narrow stairway to the upper floor where the mob ascended on that fateful June 27, 1844, to reach the object of their malice. Visitors are taken into the room in which the Prophet and his friends were incarcerated. They are shown the faint trace of the martyred Hyrum's blood on the oak floor and the window through which the Prophet was shot and fell as he gave himself to seal his testimony for the cause he loved more than his life.
It is but natural, being in this building and recalling the tragedy enacted there, that I should think of my grandfather. I thought of his devotion to the Prophet, his offer to give his very life for him, how he declined to part from him even at the risk of great personal danger, his care of the wounded John Taylor, and his taking the bodies of Joseph and Hyrum back to Nauvoo. I knew that he had had the closest personal relationship with Joseph and that if there had been anything untrue about him he would have discovered it. I know that Willard Richards had the utmost confidence in the Prophet and an absolute conviction of the divinity of the latter-day work. This realization, as I visited this sad but hallowed scene of our history, seemed to intensify within me my responsibility to be true and as helpful as my capacity would permit to the cause for which my grandfather gave his devotion, his loyalty, and his life. I prayed to God that it might be so and that all of us in the Church who are the descendants of these noble men and the beneficiaries of their sacrifice and devotion might also be true and worthy.
On our journey westward we came to the cemetery at Winter Quarters near Omaha, Nebraska. Within the grounds the Church has placed beautiful statuary and other embellishments to commemorate the heroic dead, more than six thousand of whom lost their lives in westward migration to establish Zion in the Rocky Mountains. The chief statue is a representation of a pioneer man and his wife bowed in grief over a shallow grave wherein is laid the body of their child. The feeling that this work of art brings is one of deep sorrow. You must weep with the mother who is to leave her little one on the lonely prairie, never again even to see the spot where her child is buried. But rising above the sorrow are a great courage and a consoling faith that take the stricken parents resolutely forward in their quest for freedom and right and make them know that in the end "all is well." On a large fiat plaque are inscribed the names of about six hundred who were buried in this cemetery. Among the names I found my own kin and those of many other families prominent in the settlement of our western commonwealth.
It was all very sad, and I kept thinking how much of the tragedy might have been avoided if only kindness and tolerance and brotherly love had been in the hearts of men. There was a pathetic side to every historic scene attributable to man's inhumanity, bigotry, and selfishness, but in my reflections I consoled myself with the thought that no great thing has ever come into the world without trial and tribulation, and that the greater the cause, the greater the sacrifice necessary to establish it.
Today we find ourselves engaged in a worldwide struggle to preserve liberty and tolerance, the foundations of peace in the earth. Let it be remembered that these were the very principles for which our progenitors have made the tragic sacrifices of which I have briefly reminded you. Every shrine of the Church is a monument to freedom and truth. There have been no more sincere and valiant defenders of true democracy than the Latter-day Saints. No higher concepts of the liberty of man, the Sonship of God, and the brotherhood of race have been given to the world than those which have emanated from the Prophet of the last dispensation.
It is my humble prayer that God will reward the heroism, the sacrifices, and the devotion of the past with the perpetuation of liberty and goodness in the world, and that peace-peace founded in truth and in virtue and in Christian brotherhood-may speedily come, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President Heber J. Grant
Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1942, pp. 24-26
I am grateful beyond my power of expression for the faith and prayers of the people and for the blessings of the Lord in my behalf. For two and one-half years I have been gaining a little since I became ill. I have been home since that illness overtook me a little longer than two years, and when people have asked me how I am, I have said, "Better than I was yesterday," and this is really true-I have been gaining a little all the time. To begin with I could not move my left leg or my left arm. The doctors said it was not a paralytic stroke, but it must have been at least a second cousin to it. I could walk upstairs only one step at a time and drag my left leg up. Now, I can walk up and down stairs. I can walk across the floor without scraping my foot on the carpet; I can throw my left leg over my right one with perfect ease, and back again; my improvement is very remarkable considering the condition I was in, and I attribute it to the prayers of the Saints in my behalf. I am grateful to them beyond expression, and I am grateful to the doctors who have so very kindly taken care of me in California and here at home. I am truly appreciative of the interest they have taken in my behalf. I feel almost normal.
I have decided to tell in detail one or two very remarkable things that have happened in my life.
I was made one of the apostles in October, 1882. On the 6th of October, 1882, I met Brother George Teasdale at the south gate of the temple. His face lit up, and he said: "Brother Grant, you and I"-very enthusiastically-and then he commenced coughing and choking, and went on into meeting and did not finish his sentence. It came to me as plainly as though he had said the words: "Are going to be chosen this afternoon to fill the vacancies in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles."
I went to the meeting and my head swelled, and I thought to myself, "Well, I am going to be one of the apostles," and I was willing to vote for myself, but the conference adjourned without anyone being chosen.
Ten days later I received a telegram saying, "You must be in Salt Lake tomorrow without fail." I was then president of Tooele Stake. The telegram came from my partner, Nephi W. Clayton. When I got to the depot, I said: "Nephi, why on earth are you calling me back here? I had an appointment out in Tooele Stake."
"Never mind," he said; "it was not I who sent for you; it was Brother Lyman. He told me to send the telegram and sign my name to it. He told me to come and meet you and take you to the President's office. That is all I know."
So I went to the President's office, and there sat Brother Teasdale, and all of the ten Apostles, and the Presidency of the Church, and also Seymour B. Young and the members of the Seven Presidents of the Seventies. And the revelation was read calling Brother Teasdale and myself to the apostleship, and Brother Seymour B. Young to be one of the Seven Presidents of the Seventies.
Brother Teasdale was blessed by President John Taylor, and George Q. Cannon blessed me.
After the meeting I said to Brother Teasdale, "I know what you were going to say to me on the sixth of October when you happened to choke half to death and then went into the meeting."
He said, "Oh, no, you don't."
"Yes, I do," and I repeated it: "You and I are going to be called to the apostleship."
He said, "Well, that is what I was going to say, and then it occurred to me that I had no right to tell it, that I had received a manifestation from the Lord." He said, "Heber, I have suffered the tortures of the damned for ten days, thinking I could not tell the difference between a manifestation from the Lord and one from the devil, that the devil had deceived me."
I said, "I have not suffered like that, but I never prayed so hard in my life for anything as I did that the Lord would forgive me for the egotism of thinking that I was fit to be an apostle, and that I was ready to go into that meeting ten days ago and vote for myself to be an apostle."
I was a very unhappy man from October until February. For the next four months whenever I would bear my testimony of the divinity of the Savior, there seemed to be a voice that would say: "You lie, because you have never seen Him." One of the brethren had made the remark that unless a man had seen the Lamb of God-that was his expression-he was not fit to be an apostle. This feeling that I have mentioned would follow me. I would wake up in the night with the impression: "You do not know that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, because you have never seen Him," and the same feeling would come to me when I would preach and bear testimony. It worried me from October until the following February.
I was in Arizona in February, traveling with Brigham Young, Jr., and a number of other brethren, visiting the Navajo Indians and the Moki Indians. Several of our party were riding in "White Tops" and several on horseback. I was in the rear of the party with Brother Lot Smith. He was on a big fine iron-grey horse, and I was on a small mule that I had discovered was the easiest and best riding animal I had ever straddled.
We were going due east when the road changed and went almost north, but there was a trail ahead of us, and I said, "Hold on, Lot; stop."
I said, "Brother Smith, where does this trail lead?"
He said, "It leads to a great gully just a short distance away, and no team can possibly travel over it. We have to make a regular mule shoe of a ride to get to the other side of the gully'"
I said, "Is there any danger from Indians if a man were alone over there?" "None at all."
I said: "I visited the spot yesterday where George A. Smith, Jr., was killed by a Navajo Indian, who asked him for his pistol and then shot him with it, and I feel a little nervous, but if there is no danger I want to be all alone, so you go on with the party and I will take that trail."
I had this feeling that I ought not to testify any more about the Savior and that, really, I was not fit to be an apostle. It seemed overwhelming to me that I should be one. There was a spirit that said: "If you have not seen the Savior, why don't you resign your position?"
As I rode along alone, I seemed to see a council in heaven. The Savior was there; the Prophet Joseph was there; my father and others that I knew were there. In this council it seemed that they decided that a mistake had been made in not filling the vacancies in the Quorum of the Twelve, and conference had adjourned. The chances were the Brethren would wait another six months, and the way to remedy the situation was to send a revelation naming the men who should fill the vacancies. In this council the Prophet said, "I want to be represented by one of my own in that Council."
A little while before this I had attended the funeral of Brother Snedeker, a counselor in the bishopric of Mill Creek Ward, and Brother Joseph E. Taylor spoke at the services. In his remarks he became very pathetic to think that the Prophet had given his life for the Cause and that he had no representative in the quorums of the Priesthood of the Church. He was followed by Brother Joseph F. Smith, and Brother Smith said: "'We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly', and I believe it is translated correctly when it says that if a man die his brother shall marry his widow and raise up seed to the dead man, and I need to take only two steps from where I am standing now to place my hand on the shoulder of a man who is one of the Twelve Apostles of the Church, who is a son of the Prophet Joseph," and he pointed directly at me.
It made a very profound impression upon me, and I wondered if I should tell the people about it. I had always understood and known that my mother was sealed to the Prophet, and that Brigham Young had told my father that he would not marry my mother to him for eternity, because he had instructions from the Prophet that if anything happened to him before he was married to Rachel Ivins she must be sealed to him for eternity, that she belonged to him.
That is the reason that Father spoke up in this council to which I have referred, and said: "Why not choose the boy who bears my name, who belongs to you, to be one of the apostles?" That inspiration was given to me.
I can truthfully say that from February, 1883, until today I have never had any of that trouble, and I can bear my testimony that I know that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the world and that Joseph Smith is a prophet of the living God; and the evil one does not try to persuade me that I do not know what I am talking about. I have never had one slight impression to the contrary. I have just had real, genuine joy and satisfaction in proclaiming the gospel and bearing my testimony of the divinity of Jesus Christ, and the divine calling of Joseph Smith, the prophet.
Now, brethren, I could go on dictating by the hour, there are so many things that have happened in my life that I would like to tell you.
I once more thank the Saints for their faith and for their prayers, and for the strength that I have today in comparison with two and one-half years ago.
May God's blessings be and abide with you, one and all, and all the Saints and all the honest people the world over, is the prayer of my heart, even so. Amen.
President Rudger Clawson
Rudger Clawson, Conference Report, October 1942, pp. 27-28
Brethren, I have read the Bible several times. I have read the Book of Mormon, studied it, and rejoiced in the teachings thereof. I have rejoiced in reading and studying the book of Doctrine and Covenants, and also the Pearl of Great Price. I recommend these books to many honest souls asking questions about them. These books constitute a library, one of the greatest libraries in the world, because It sets forth the truth, and calls attention to the wages of evil, and warns against the evil.
There are many interesting and instructive stories and principles in these good books. If we will follow the teachings thereof closely through our lives, we will reach a safe journey's end.
I was reading the other day, from the book of Alma, who was the son of Alma. I think likely you would be interested if I read some, this afternoon from the character of Alma the Second.
This Alma, the Second, was addressing himself to his son Helaman. This is where the story begins, and very soon has an ending.
My son, give ear to my words; for I swear unto you, that inasmuch as ye shall keep the commandments of God ye shall prosper in the land.
I would that ye should do as I have done, in remembering the captivity of our fathers; for they were in bondage, and none could deliver them except it was the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and he surely did deliver them in their afflictions.
And now, O my son Helaman, behold, thou art in thy youth, and therefore I beseech of thee that thou wilt hear my words and learn of me; for I do know that whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day.
And I would not that ye think that I know of myself-not of the temporal but of the spiritual, not of the carnal mind but of God.
Now, behold, I say unto you, if I had not been born of God I should not have known these things; but God has, by the mouth of his holy angel, made these things known unto me, not of any worthiness of myself;
For I went about with the sons of Mosiah, seeking to destroy the church of God; but behold, God sent his holy angel to stop us by the way.
And behold, he spake unto us, as it were the voice of thunder, and the whole earth did tremble beneath our feet; and we all fell to the earth, for the fear of the Lord came upon us.
But behold, the voice said unto me: Arise. And I arose and stood up, and beheld the angel.
And he said unto me: If thou wilt of thyself be destroyed, seek no more to destroy the church of God.
And it came to pass that I fell to the earth; and it was for the space of three days and three nights that I could not open my mouth, neither had I the use of my limbs.
And the angel spake more things unto me, which were heard by my brethren, but I did not hear them; for when I heard the words-If thou wilt be destroyed of thyself, seek no more to destroy the church of God-I was struck with such great fear and amazement lest perhaps I should be destroyed, that I fell to the earth and I did hear no more.
But I was racked with eternal torment, for my soul was harrowed up to the greatest degree and racked with all my sins.
Yea, I did remember all my sins and iniquities, for which I was tormented with the pains of hell: yea, I saw that I had rebelled against my God, and that I had not kept his holy commandments.
Yea, and I had murdered many of his children, or rather, led them away unto destruction; yea, and in fine so great had been my iniquities, that the very thought of coming into the presence of my God did rack my soul with inexpressible horror.
Oh, thought I, that I could be banished and become extinct both soul and body, that I might not be brought to stand in the presence of my God, to be judged of my deeds.
And now, for three days and for three nights was I racked, even with the pains of a damned soul.
And it came to pass that as I was thus racked with torment, while I was harrowed up by the memory of my many sins, behold, I remembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world.
Now, as my mind caught hold upon this thought, I cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me, who am in the gall of bitterness, and am encircled about by the everlasting chains of death.
And now, behold, when I thought this I could remember my pains no more; yea I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more.
And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain!
Yea, I say unto you, my son, that then could be nothing so exquisite and so bitter as were my pains. Yea, and again I say unto you, my son, that on the other hand, there can be nothing so exquisite and sweet as was my joy.
Yea, methought I saw, even as our father Lehi saw, God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels, in the attitude of singing and praising their God; yea, and my soul did long to be there.
But behold, my limbs did receive their strength again, and I stood upon my feet, and did manifest unto the people that I had been born of God.
Yea, and from that time even until now I have labored without ceasing, that I might bring souls unto repentance; that I might bring them to taste of the exceeding joy of which I did taste; that they might also be born of God, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.
Yea, and now behold, O my son, the Lord doth give me exceeding great joy in the fruit of my labors;
For because of the word which he has imparted unto me, behold, many have been born of God, and have tasted as I have tasted, and have seen eye to eye as I have seen; therefore they do know of these things of which I have spoken, as I do know; and the knowledge which I have is of God.
And I have been supported under trials and trouble of every kind, yea, and in all manner of afflictions: yea, God has delivered me from prison, and from bonds, and from death; yea, and I do put my trust in him, and he will still deliver me.
And I know that he will raise me up at the last day, to dwell with him in glory; yea, and I will praise him forever, for he has brought our fathers out of Egypt, and he has swallowed up the Egyptians in the Red Sea; and he led them by his power into the promised land; yea, and he has delivered them out of bondage and captivity from time to time.
Now, brethren, this is a remarkable case. It shows the love and mercy of God that was shown to this man when he repented of his sins. God took mercy upon him and forgave him of his sins, and he accomplished a mighty work among his people, and he became high priest in the Church.
May the Lord bless you, my brethren. This large audience is a great sight, but I must not linger as there are others yet to speak.
Peace be with you. Amen.
Elder Oscar A. Kirkham
Oscar A. Kirkham, Conference Report, October 1942, pp. 28-29
I am grateful for this privilege and trust that I may enjoy the blessings of the spirit of the Lord.
In the twelfth chapter of Hebrews we read: "Yet once more I shake the earth-that those things which cannot be shaken may remain."
Great is our stewardship! May we be worthy of it and magnify it!
Under the calling of the First Presidency of the Church, I find myself concerned primarily with two great programs-our youth and our great missionary work.
Here lies opportunity-youth with its great spiritual possibilities, and trained to do its duty, and the world hungering for the gospel message.
Recently while visiting in the Northern States Mission we were traveling one day through the state of Indiana. We were impressed with the great farms and the great corn crop. "How many kernels of corn are there on a cob?" asked President Muir. I did not know. "Well," said he, "there are many cobs that have as many as 1000 kernels." I had my doubts and at the next prosperous farm, I requested that the car stop. I went in and proffered to purchase a large cob. A boy near by said: "Come on, I'll give you an ear of corn." We went to the barnyard and as I passed a large crib I said-"There is a fine big ear, may I take this?" "No," said the boy, "that is our seed corn." He found me a large cob soon, however, and to my surprise there were nine hundred and forty kernels on the cob. This number of kernels soon became a secondary thing, however, for I was still thinking of what the boy had said. "No, you can't have that. It is our seed corn.
I remember reading that when Robert E. Lee was being pressed in the south to conscript the sixteen-year-old boy for service in the Confederate Army, he said: "No, we cannot do that, they are our seed corn."
We, today, in our own Church have the task to preserve our youth-"that those things which cannot be shaken may remain".
Among the many things which we may do, I suggest-A greater and deeper sincerity among us-we who are called to lead.
A boy recently speaking to his chum about his father, who had asked him to attend his quorum meeting, said: "I felt something deeply sincere in father's voice today-and I liked it."
A president of a stake recently after reviewing the results of a stake Priesthood meeting said: "Before this meeting I should have had an hour of meditation and prayer." Yes, brethren, our task calls for our best-a deep sincerity in what we do.
We must give them our companionship. We must be nearer to them.
One of our sons recently came home from college for a few days before he went into the armed forces of our country. I was asking him what he needed-how much money for travel and so on. I was surprised to hear him say-"Well, Father, what I need most is a long talk with you." And I shall never forget those sacred hours. He may have been helped a bit-and I know I was helped a great deal. We shared the conversation as we spoke of the importance of faith in oneself, and faith in our dreams of the future, never to falter or fail; faith in mankind, although we may be greatly tried; and faith in God, for His love will endure forever and be a protection and help in the hour of great need.
Yes, and we must be nearer to the thousands at home in our own community life. A boy or girl with a purse full of money, with a natural urge for a good time, a hundred questionable places to go, is a real individual and social problem and a most vital challenge to us-their leaders. Have we provided the best we can? Are we meeting their needs? Do they feel a sense of cooperation? We must be nearer to them. They are waiting and willing to be led.
We must teach them the gospel of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as restored by the Prophet Joseph Smith. For this great message has been entrusted to us. We must teach them that it is not only for the enrichment of their own lives but that they may become the ambassadors of the gospel-for it is to be preached to all the world.
Last week in Akron, Ohio, I was greatly blessed: I baptized five friends. After they had been confirmed, one of them, a girl in her early teens said, with tear-filled eyes, "Oh, how grateful I am! This is the happiest moment of my life!"
Yes, the gospel is the most joyous gift of life.
May we preserve and train these youth for their great destiny. And if we do our part sincerely, humbly, and aggressively, lo, the Lord will work the miracles with us and our hearts shall be filled with courage and joy. "Yet once more I shake the earth-that those things which cannot be shaken may remain."
I humbly pray for us-the strength, wisdom, and the love to do our task, and I ask for these blessings in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Elder Rufus K. Hardy
Rufus K. Hardy, Conference Report, October 1942, p. 30
To you, my beloved brethren, to you who have been chosen, selected, and invited to attend this great conference, I extend my love, and also my great admiration for that which is going on in this Church. All my life, as I feel that also all your lives, you have seen the hand of God in its operation. And yet, for the moment or two that I have to stand here, I would like to say something that might make us feel just a little bit more of an urge to do that which we know should be done.
This great gathering blessed with the choicest diadem of God, His Priesthood, is for what? Surely we all can answer; it is for but one purpose, and that purpose is to bring to pass the salvation of the souls of men, and is so declared by the Lord through the Prophet Joseph Smith: "Behold, this is my work and my glory-to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man". No more plainly stated is this, than that which is declared in the first chapter of Genesis in our holy sacred history, the Bible. You will recall that God, after having formed this earth-after having created this great universe-after all things, both animal and vegetable had been made by Him, and in the great firmament above that He had placed great lights, the sun, the moon, and the twinkling stars, those heavenly traffic signals that we should obey, for they turn the days into weeks and the weeks into months, and the months into years-then God did something which to me is one of the most marvelous things that I have read about. God spoke to His companions and said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness." "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them".
And then the thing which was performed which brings us nearer to God than anything that I can imagine, was this: "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul".
That which God has made He desired protected and kept. Even so every declaration that we have in our sacred history handed down to us by tradition bears this same record and this same declaration: preserve and keep and save the souls of men.
And, so, especially to our seventies, especially to these men upon whose shoulders rests the responsibility directly from God of teaching and preaching this gospel abroad and at home, I would say remember that which is choicest of all things in God's heart is the souls of men, and preserve them and keep them.
I am grateful for my associations-thankful to God for the opportunity I have had of being associated with these fine men who stand at the head of this Church, and I trust and pray that I may always be worthy-that I may do that which will bring to pass that which God would like accomplished and that we all, you fine presidents of stakes, presidents of quorums, bishops of wards, together, may bend our efforts to bring to pass God's wish that the souls of men may be saved in His kingdom, I ask, in Jesus' name. Amen.
Bishop LeGrand Richards
LeGrand Richards, Conference Report, October 1942, pp. 30-32
With all my heart, brethren, I appreciate the opportunity of being here today, feasting on the spiritual food that we have been receiving from our leaders and associates. I thank the Lord that there never has been a time in my life that a shadow of a doubt has crossed my mind as to the divinity of this work and the divine calling of the Prophet Joseph Smith and those who have succeeded him in the Presidency of this Church. I thrilled today with President Grant's testimony, as it was read to us by President McKay, and I was delighted with the message of the First Presidency delivered to us this morning by President Clark. Of all the leadership in the world today, surely there is none comparable to that which we have in the Church. How safe and secure we should feel in following their precepts and their example.
A few days ago I received a letter from a man in the East with whom I have had some, correspondence-a prominent business man, but not a member of our Church. I forwarded him some of our literature. He and his wife have read the Book of Mormon three times. He has just read the Articles of Faith and writes a beautiful appreciation for the truths contained therein. But I would like to read from his letter his comment after having read the message of the First Presidency delivered at the April conference. He says: "The message of the First Presidency was read with intense interest. It portrays the mind of a soul deeply interested in the welfare of a higher civilization, with a clear understanding of 'mercy and justice.'" It is good to know that thinking men, though not of us, recognize the power of leadership of those whom the Lord has placed to guide His people in these days.
We have a great responsibility, those of us who are here today. For we represent the leadership of this Church -the General Authorities and those who preside in the stakes, the wards, and the Priesthood quorums of the Church. We have problems and responsibilities and opportunities probably such as we have never had before, particularly in these defense areas. I hope we will realize that there will be more expected of us-that our arms will be just a little longer, and our love a little deeper, and our faith a little more sincere, and that our confidence and trust in God and the ultimate triumph of His work in the earth may never falter.
I hope the bishops will realize that they are in very deed fathers of the people, all who live within the confines of their wards whether their names be on their records or not. Many have come from outside places and they need care and attention. I hope the bishops will also sense their great responsibility as presidents of the Aaronic Priesthood in their wards-that the ward teachers will realize that their responsibility is greater than ever before, that the presidencies of Priesthood quorums and all charged with responsibility in this Church will respond thereto as never before. And I wouldn't like to overlook the seventies, for I feel with Brother Kirkham the great importance of missionary work, for the Lord has decreed that the gospel shall be preached in all the world for a witness to all nations, even to every creature. I feel that there are added opportunities within our reach today, and I hope that we will meet these responsibilities in such a way that whoever comes into our communities need never go away and say that he was not given an opportunity to hear the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ from the elders of this Church.
I would like to leave one other thought with you before closing. It has been said that those who live in glass houses should not throw stones. Probably it was because Paul never had any children of his own that he wasn't afraid to tell the bishops and deacons that they should be able to rule well their own houses, for said he: "If a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God". Some of us may not have dared say such a thing, but I believe that under present conditions we should give more thought to this, each one of us individually, than we have ever done before.
We listened to President Clawson a few minutes ago reading the words of Alma. It has always occurred to me that that great mission of Alma, the son, was the result of the faith and the prayers of Alma, his father, who pleaded with the Lord until the Lord saw fit to call him back from the error of his ways. I wonder if we are doing that for our boys and girls. I wonder if we are holding council meetings as husbands and wives, and fathers and mothers, to try to meet the new conditions and temptations that are in our midst. I wonder if we know each one of our children well enough to know that they are making their contribution to the building up of the kingdom of God in the earth. Are our children setting an example because of our power as leaders and priests in our own homes?
A few days ago, I received a letter from one of our boys in the service, and I commend the counsel given in this conference, that we write them. He said he had just been ordained an elder in the Church, and he thanked the Lord for that more than for any other thing. While he has been in the service he has changed his way of living so that he is setting an example in upholding the standards of this Church.
But how did he get started in the way of righteousness? His grandmother in one of our stakes was concerned about him, because his mother was dead. She wrote a letter and asked if we would write to this boy. We finally located him, and the first letter we received told how he was in California and heard two missionaries speaking on the street corner and lady missionaries singing; and he said he wouldn't have gone and spoken to them for anything in the world. He was afraid. He drew a diagram showing how he went down to the corner and back again, and then down to the corner and back again, and finally he found himself standing talking to the missionaries. In his letter he asked: "Do you think the Lord had anything to do with this?" As far as I am concerned I think the prayers of that grandmother and the importunities probably of his mother who had gone beyond, were the means of bringing that boy back into line of duty and righteousness.
God help us to labor with our children, to pray with them, to see that our own are setting an example in the Church. It will do more than all the preaching we can do. God help us to do it, I pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
Elder Levi Edgar Young
Levi Edgar Young, Conference Report, October 1942, pp. 32-33
I was deeply, touched by the address of President Grant, which was read by President McKay this morning. On the day that President Grant was chosen as one of the Twelve Apostles by a revelation of the Lord to President John Taylor, my father was also called and ordained a member of the First Council of the Seventy. He succeeded his father, President Joseph Young, who was ordained to his position by the Prophet Joseph Smith in the Kirtland Temple in February, 1835. My grandfather and my father both had deep and abiding testimonies of the divinity of the gospel of Jesus Christ as it was restored by the Prophet Joseph Smith. I am grateful to the Lord for the same testimony, for I know that God lives, that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, and that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, for he spoke for God and was sharer of God's counsels. He was the bearer and preacher of God's Word, and opened one of the greatest stages of religion in the history of mankind.
My brethren of the seventies, we are awakened to the great responsibilities of teaching the gospel to all mankind. If ever the world needed the Word of God, it is today. For this reason we must have vision, which gives us a view of the future as well as insight into conditions of the present. The calling of the seventy is an ideal of fellowship, with sacred obligations to God. Our spiritual obligations must make for unity and concord, and promote a spiritual culture within our ranks, which will give us power to teach the Word. From now on, we of the organizations of seventy will glorify our work as never before, for I believe that the world is waiting for the truths of God. Every one of us has a sacred duty and trust, and while we as missionaries have our daily vocations, the most joyful recreation is in going to the homes of people with the gospel message. Remember the divine injunction: "Not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord". Our hearts need not be troubled or afraid, if we have the simple faith in God and the work He has given us to do. We remember the words of the Prophet Micah:
... in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. And many nations shall come, and say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord.
The nations have come to the mountain of the Lord, and they will continue to come and be taught by you, my brethren, for the prophet continues and says:
... they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
You stake mission presidents should call your brethren around you and teach the gospel. Remember when you approach people, you will receive from them the same thought that you give them. If hate, you will receive hate; if love, it will be love. God will be the judge of institutions and people; it is your duty to "love the Lord thy God with your might, mind, and strength, and thy neighbor as thyself". In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul speaks of the grace that is given each one:
... for the work of the ministry... Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.
We pray that the missionaries of all the stakes of Zion will from now on have new life. We must turn our thoughts forward, for the gospel will meet every man's wants, and protect and guide his life. You will see your labors rewarded. Sowers and reapers will rejoice together. You are committed to nothing but the truth. People will listen to you. God bless all the missionaries in the Church, that they may see the importance of the work as never before, and go forth with the Light of God in their hearts, I humbly pray. Amen.
Elder Joseph L. Wirthlin
Joseph L. Wirthlin, Conference Report, October 1942, pp. 36-37
I sincerely trust, my brethren, that the same spirit that has guided and inspired those who have spoken to us during this conference may guide and direct me the moment or two that I stand before you.
I have been deeply impressed with the spirit of prophecy and revelation that has characterized this conference. And why shouldn't there be a spirit of prophecy and revelation? For we declare to the world, "We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God".
This declaration of faith is wholly consistent and compatible with the Lord's dealing with His children on the earth whenever the Priesthood has been bestowed upon men. Declared Amos of ancient times, "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets". The writer of Proverbs declared, "Where there is no vision, the people perish".
It is needless to go into the annals of history to prove definitely that where there has been no vision, no revelation, and no prophecy, the people have indeed perished. In the days of Moses and Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Peter, and Paul, revelation was in the present tense. Consequently doubters, disbelievers, critics, and those who stoned the prophets, were to be found in great numbers, and time alone has proved the validity and the authenticity of the revelations of the Most High to His servants in all dispensations.
We declare to the world that we do not only believe all that God has revealed but we believe that He does now reveal His mind and will to those who are His chosen servants upon the earth today. And yet there are those who propound this question: What of present-day revelations? Is God actually revealing His mind and will to those who guide and direct the destiny of His Church? To such I would say that they are seekers of a sign, and as the writer of Proverbs says, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction". We can point out many instances wherein the Lord is revealing His mind and will to those who have been anointed to guide and direct the destiny of this great work.
Seven years have elapsed since the Presidency of the Church requested stakes, wards, and Priesthood quorums to set in motion the great Welfare Program. Well do I recall there were those among us who doubted that such a plan was necessary and feasible. For, on one hand, those in governmental positions advised and counseled the people to destroy food surpluses. Farmers were paid for crops that were not produced. And yet in the face of such counsel and advice the leadership of the Church admonished us to produce greater abundances of foods and to erect storehouses wherein this food could be stored. There have since been erected milk processing plants, grain elevators, and sewing centers which afford sufficient food, fuel, clothing, and shelter to care for every worthy member of the Church in case of an emergency. Seven years of plenty, of abundance, are about to come to an end, and we may face seven years of leanness and the possibility of famine. The best authorities in the United States are now indicating that a food shortage for the year 1943 is not a remote possibility due to several conditions, too many to enumerate at this time. In retrospect we can all go back in our minds and consider the counsel of the brethren with reference to this matter and observe present-day conditions, which definitely prove that the Welfare Program was the mind and the will of the Lord made known through the power of inspiration and modern-day revelation to His people. With the passing of time, as was the case with the declarations given Moses on Sinai for the children of Israel, the leadership of this people will be vindicated in all of their admonishments to the people, and man will again be convinced that the Lord has and does reveal His mind and will to the prophets of modern times.
The message of the First Presidency delivered to the people in April of this year and the message delivered this morning are revelations to the people, for they contain all of those great truths which are compatible with the mind and will of our Heavenly Father. I am grateful to say that when instructions are given by the First Presidency of the Church and the Quorum of the Twelve, there comes to mind the revelation given to the Prophet Joseph Smith, wherein the Lord had this to say when His servants spoke to the people: "And whatsoever they shall speak when moved upon by the Holy Ghost shall be scripture, shall be the will of the Lord shall be the voice of the Lord and the power of God unto salvation". There is a test for modern-day revelation, the same test Jesus Christ invited those who heard His teachings to apply, for said He: "My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself".
As leaders in Israel, brethren, we should accept wholeheartedly modern-day revelation as presented to the people by His chosen servants, applying it in our lives to the end that we shall be a shining example to all of those who come under our direction-admonishing the people that they, too, can know of the doctrine, modern-day revelation, by following the admonition of the Lord when He declared: "Therefore, if you will ask of me you shall receive; if you will knock it shall be opened unto you. Now, as you have asked, behold, I say unto you, keep my commandments, and seek to bring forth and establish the cause of Zion. Seek not for riches but for wisdom; and, behold, the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto you, and then shall you be made rich. Behold, he that hath eternal life is rich". And eternal life can only be achieved, brethren, not alone by obeying the principles of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, but by hearkening unto the advice and counsel of those who are in authority that come to us as modern-day revelation.
May God bless us, strengthen us, that we may ever be loyal and devoted to these servants of the Lord, sustaining them in all that they request us to do, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder George F. Richards
George F. Richards, Conference Report, October 1942, pp. 40-41
While sitting here upon the stand, realizing that I might be called upon to speak, I have wondered what I might be able to say that would be germane to this occasion, something in which we might all be interested and possibly be profited. I have come to this conclusion, brethren, that everyone of us is a candidate for the blessings of eternal life and exaltation, and that nothing short of a fulness of glory will satisfy us after this life. That suggests that we have something to do while we live here upon the earth and should not forget the purpose of our being here-the goal of our existence and that which we desire to attain. And if we attain eternal life, brethren of the Priesthood, it will be through the Church and the gospel of Jesus Christ with the Holy Priesthood.
The Savior said to Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, "Except a man be born of the water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God". We are all on common ground again in that we have, all of us, been born again of the water and of the spirit and have entered the kingdom of God on earth and have received our membership in this way. Where we have received blessings of this character from the Lord, the saving ordinances of the gospel, there is always a covenant of faithfulness attached. And so we might ask what is the covenant that we have entered into in receiving the gospel. I can say for myself when I received baptism I was placed under a covenant that I would henceforth keep the commandments of God as fast as they are made known unto me. This was done with uplifted hand before God, angels, and witnesses present.
I do not know to what extent that practice obtained in the Church or how long since it obtained in that particular ward where I was born and where I was baptized, but I have reached this conclusion, brethren, that every person that has been baptized into this Church has received this covenant or has made this covenant, if not verbally, the very fact of accepting the gospel through baptism, and confirmation, has made this covenant. That responsibility rests upon every member of the Church. We hear people, sometimes, in praying, ask the Lord to help us to keep the covenants that we have made at the waters of baptism. I know of no other covenant that we have made in entering the Church through baptism, and that is very important, brethren. The gospel, with our membership in the Church and kingdom of God here on earth, is one of the greatest blessings that our Father in heaven has to give, and necessarily a solemn covenant of faithfulness should be exacted.
Another thing, we all hold the Melchizedek Priesthood. In this we are on common ground; and in receiving this Priesthood on the same principle we have entered into a solemn oath and covenant with God our Father that we will magnify that Priesthood, and He with us, that all He has shall be given unto us. Most of these brethren hold offices that grow out of the Priesthood, and in order to magnify the Priesthood we will have to magnify these offices which we hold.
We have had the privilege and many of us have accepted the privilege of going to the temple and receiving the holy endowments, and there we are told that they are to prepare us to enter into the celestial kingdom and to receive an exaltation therein. But we have to enter into covenants of faithfulness; and any man who desires to be faithful and intends to be faithful in keeping the commandments of God will not be afraid to make covenants of faithfulness. Now be it known that a man cannot go to the temple to receive those endowments until he has received the Melchizedek Priesthood and that makes the receiving of the Melchizedek Priesthood a condition of salvation, to every male member of the Church. We have had the privilege, many of us, of going to the temple, having first received the Melchizedek Priesthood, and receive certain sealing ordinances there, entering into the new and everlasting covenant of marriage, and it is in that covenant that the greatest blessings that our Father has to give to us are given. Those who have attained those higher blessings, that is husband and wife sealed for time and eternity, they are to have an offspring, an eternal increase. It is unthinkable that that condition could be obtained outside of the marriage relations that the Lord hath ordained. Priesthood is necessary in order to receive those blessings. We ought then, brethren, to appreciate this Priesthood which God has permitted us to hold and keep all the covenants we have entered into with the Lord, and be prepared for that which we hope to receive when we have finished this brief period upon this earth. May God help us to this end, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Albert E. Bowen
Albert E. Bowen, Conference Report, October 1942, pp. 41-42
Almost every day we hear it said, or read it, that we are living in a changing world. I don't believe many of the people who use that phrase have any very clear idea about what they mean by it. It sounds good, seeming to imply a penetrating insight into the portent of the times, no matter how nebulous or muddy the thinking behind it may be, so it is freely used.
But I don't want to talk about that. A companion phrase is that we can't go back-we'll never go back to things as they were before. Well, the man who finds himself finally hanged on the gallows is the man who, when he got started off wrong, wouldn't go back. My judgment is that when we get started on the wrong way the sooner we turn back the better. The whole doctrine of repentance assumes a turning back from wrong to right.
But I don't want to go into that, either. I merely want to remind you that, amid all the changes in an ever-changing world there are some immutable things which do not change. They are as steadfast and unchanging as the heavens, which are the same now as when the first man looked out upon them. They are the basis of the moral order of the world which is the foundation upon which our civilization itself is built. The task of today is to preserve, though all else change, man's allegiance, unshaken, to those eternal foundations.
The Ten Commandments, for instance. They cannot be abrogated without abrogating the moral order of the world, shaking down the very foundations upon which our civilization rests. They set forth the law of life and can never be outmoded or rendered obsolete while life endures. They are of just as much binding force today as they were on the day when they were spoken with the voice of thunder out of the clouds on Sinai. They can no more be violated without disastrous consequences than one can violate any law governing in the physical world without being visited with the inescapable penalty.
As I listened to the powerful message of the Presidency, delivered this morning, I was impressed with the importance of that idea. From that message, if we were attentive to it, we learned that as to basic things there is no middle ground. Either we live by them or we pay the penalty of departure from their inexorable commands. They are not subject to modification or interpretation, but stand wholly as given, to be accepted in whole and lived completely.
It is the same with the basic things upon which we have rested our faith. Either a thing is, or it is not. To illustrate: This Church is founded upon the proposition that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that through His mediation it became possible for us to attain immortality and eternal life. We cannot deviate from that. He is the Son of the Living God, the author of our salvation, and must be accepted in that light solely and completely. The whole structure of our own Church revolves about that basic fact. We say that the God of heaven came down in answer to the prayer of a boy and that He brought with Him a personage whom He introduced as His son, and He commanded that praying boy to hear His Son. And out of the teachings which were then given, and followed up by subsequent instructions, this Church was established. Now, that admits of no explanation, of no modification. Either those things happened or they did not happen. There is no middle ground; and if they did not happen then we have nothing, because our whole structure is foundationed upon that assumed fact. We accept it as a fact, and we may not temporize with it, try to explain it away, modify it, or liberalize about it. It stands as the basic thing upon which our whole faith is founded. And our whole system of belief exacts of us that we accept those basic truths, without modification or change. As with the moral order of the world so those things may not be changed. They are as binding today as when they were first declared by the voice of God out of the heavens, and they will never change.
May God grant that we may hold steadfastly to them and that we may order our lives so that we shall not find occasions to depart from them, I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Elder Marion G. Romney
Marion G. Romney, Conference Report, October 1942, pp. 42-44
Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
No one can look into the faces of this extraordinary body of men and partake of the spirit present without being conscious that there is here a power not usually felt in gatherings of like numbers.
The source of this power is, of course, the Priesthood. Each of us bearing the Priesthood, as we do, there should be power in our gatherings, for as Peter wrote to the Saints in his day, so with equal truth it may be said of us, "we are a chosen generation, a royal Priesthood," and it is our calling and opportunity to "shew forth the praises of him who hath called us out of darkness unto his marvelous light."
All who have received the gospel have come from darkness into light, but we, who have been invited to this conference, have been called, also, to leadership in the Priesthood; to be officers in the government of God; to responsibility in a well-defined field of action in which no one else can function so long as we hold the appointment.
Yesterday, the responsibility of leadership was borne by our fathers; tomorrow, it will rest upon our children; today, it is ours. It is now that we should feel the weight of our callings.
As we labor in the Church, two observations force themselves upon us. One is that there is great strength and devotion among the membership of the Church. No one can visit among the branches, wards, and stakes and see the amount of work that is done and the time freely given to service in the activities of the Priesthood quorums and auxiliaries without being impressed with this strength and devotion. It makes one, with the spirit of this latter-day work, thrill to be a part of it.
The other observation is of quite a different nature. It comes when the individual records of members are examined. They show that in nearly every Priesthood quorum in the Church there is a large percentage of our brethren who count the high honor of being ordained to the Priesthood as a thing of naught; who enjoy not its blessings because they magnify not their callings. If they continue in their course, they stand in jeopardy of losing their right to the Priesthood.
I call these well-known facts to your attention, because I am persuaded that if this great host of inactive brethren are ever to be awakened, if they are ever to be called again "out of darkness into His marvelous light," it must be done by more effective action on the part of Priesthood quorum presidencies and their committees.
The Priesthood quorum is an indispensable unit of the Church. The presidencies of Priesthood quorums have the responsibility to see that every member of their quorums honors his calling in the Priesthood, and they, with their quorum committees, can labor with every member if they but have "the will so to do." Instructions as to how to proceed have been and will be given. They should be studied and followed, in order that our activities may be purposeful; but no instructions, and no program, can take the place of "A Will To Do."
We Priesthood officers must shake off our apathy. With the prize of eternal life for our brethren and ourselves at stake, we must not falter. The Priesthood we bear is not of men. Joseph Smith the Prophet received it direct from heavenly messengers. He was instructed by them, and he labored with all the energy of his soul to carry out those instructions.
We bear the same Priesthood he bore; we are called to service in that Priesthood as was he; and we must discharge the responsibilities laid upon us in like manner, if we would share with him in the rewards. Unto us the Lord has said:
Wherefore, now let every man learn his duty, and to act in the office in which he is appointed, in all diligence.
He that is slothful shall not be counted worthy to stand, and he that learns not his duty and shows himself not approved shall not be counted worthy to stand.
Would that every officer in the Priesthood quorums could approach his labors with the spirit and determination of Nephi. When his brothers murmured about going for the brass plates, saying it was a hard thing that was required of them, he said to his father:
I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.
Then after Laman's futile attempt to obtain the plates, and he and Lemuel were about to return to their father, Nephi said:
As the Lord liveth, and as we live, we will not go down unto our father in the wilderness until we have accomplished the thing which the Lord hath commanded us.
Observe that he did not complain that the assignment was difficult, that he had other work which took all his time, that they had done the best they could, nor that they had called on Laban once and that it would be useless to call on him again. What he said was that, "As the Lord liveth... we will not go... until we have accomplished the thing which the Lord hath commanded us."
The manner in which he obtained the plates is a familiar story, as is the manner in which he obtained wild game for food when all their bows were broken. Everything he set his hand to do in righteousness, he accomplished. Why? Because he had the faith, and the courage, and the "will to do" what the Lord required of him, until finally he could say, when his brothers ridiculed him for undertaking to build the ship:
If God had commanded me to do all things, I could do them. If he should command me that I should say unto this water, be thou earth, it would be earth; and if I should say it, it would be done.
The Lord help us, in this Priesthood quorum activity, to approach our work with the spirit of Nephi, that we may indeed be "a chosen generation, a royal Priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people"; and that we may by our works "shew forth the praises of him who hath called" us "out of darkness into his marvelous light", I pray.
Elder Charles A. Callis
Charles A. Callis, Conference Report, October 1942, p. 44
Throughout the precious message we received from the First Presidency, the spirit of Isaiah and Jeremiah, like a golden thread, was in evidence. A true prophet is never popular, because he reproves and denounces, with equal vigor and equal impartiality and justice, the iniquities of the rich and the unrighteousness of the poor.
In this solemn and troubled hour there is an urgent need for the people everywhere to rededicate themselves to God, home, and country. The world is wandering in the wilderness because it is not baptized into the obedience that makes men free. We have been walking proudly, with assumed confidence, as though we were on adamant or the foundations of the world. Really we have been rolling along on parchment beneath which glowed a lake of fire. Lo, we have plunged into the inferno, this terrible inferno of war.
Joshua, the great ruler in Israel, rededicated himself in this way: "Choose you this day whom ye will serve;... but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord". If this nation would refresh its soul with this reconsecration, if the world would awaken and free itself from the fearful enslavement of sin, then the peace of Christ would dawn upon the world, and men, instead of killing each other, would love and save their brothers.
As I regard it, the home is the fundamental, essential unit of civilized society. For the instruction of our children we are depending too much on our Sunday Schools, Primaries, and other auxiliary associations, yea, and on the day school. We are willing that our children should receive instructions, much of them unknown to us, while we sit placidly by in our homes, and feel that the teaching of our children, thrown onto other shoulders, is a relief. This will end in disaster. The home is the place where character is formed and where faith in God is strengthened.
Let us not delude ourselves; let us not lay the flattering unction to our souls, that if we complain at rulers and leaders our duty is ended. Before God every father in Israel is a ruler in the sense of the Lord's definition of the spirit of the Priesthood. A man is a ruler in his house, and he will be held accountable for the manner and the character of his rule. If in justice and love and patience he exercises his authority, having reverence for the dreams of youth, there will be no need for so many public exhortations on the Word of Wisdom, for liquor and other forbidden things will not be found in the home of "one that ruleth well his own house". I believe that all evils are of a family. Immorality is a brother to drunkenness.
With firm assurance we will magnify our calling and rededicate ourselves to the service of God. The General Authorities of the Church, stake presidents, and bishops hold dominion, righteous dominion, under the awful hand of God, and to Him they are accountable for their overseership.
God bless our country. God bless our homes. In properly conducted homes the children are builded up in character, in faith, in the principles of the gospel. A nation in which such training abounds shall increase in glory from day to day. The delight of such a, nation will be not in shedding blood, not to conquer by might or physical power, but to conquer the world in the spirit of Christ along the lines of justice and mercy.
And in the love of Christ we will walk under His banner and bring souls unto Him whose glorious coming is nigh, and he will reign as King of kings and Lord of lords. This is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Antoine R. Ivins
Antoine R. Ivins, Conference Report, October 1942, pp. 45-46
It is a thrilling sight, brethren, to stand here and look into your faces, so many fine and wonderful men, many of whom I know personally. I hope that you will give me your faith and prayers that the very few minutes that I occupy of your time I may be prompted by the Lord in what I say.
Some of you were amused at the last conference in April when I remarked that we needed a few seventies to give the congregation complexion. Tonight we have a large representation of that group of the Melchizedek Priesthood. Unless it might be the high councilmen of the stakes who are present, perhaps the presidents of seventies quorums form the largest group here, and we who stand at their head pledge to the Presidency of this Church the loyal support of that group of men.
If you will read the 107th Section of the D&C; you will learn that they have a very special calling. Their calling is to walk behind the Council of the Twelve in carrying the message of redemption to the people of the world; and if the Church didn't have that charge and that calling I think this group never would have been organized in the Church at all.
We try to impress upon every man who is ordained into the seventies quorums that that is his calling and that if he will not exercise that function he has no right to come into this group of men. They should be the missionaries of the Church. They should be the predominating element in any missionary group in the Church. Now we have two ministries of that type, the foreign mission ministry and a stake mission ministry, all of the same type and class except in some minor details, and we now are interested very much in that stake mission work of this Church. It is proving to be such a wonderful and magnificent work that we are overjoyed with the success that we have realized in the past. But we are worried now, brethren, because we note a falling off in that effort. We are short this year about six hundred missionaries as compared with last year. We are short from the seventies six or seven percent of that missionary group. We would like to ask you presidents who are here when you return to use your influence in recruiting from your ranks other seventies who can go into that work.
Now, there is no more magnificent work in the Church than to testify that Christ our Lord came to earth to redeem mankind, and that is the very special calling of you brethren, the seventies. You testify to that by word of mouth, but you also do it by the example which you live. And perhaps of the two the more potent is the example that one sets. We believe that the reason that conversions are made among the stakes of Zion more easily than in outside countries is that the people of the Church live the principles of the gospel and that there is radiated from them a light which people not of our faith can see, and perhaps see more readily than we ourselves; so we ask you who are missionaries in this stake work, as well as foreign countries, to show by your lives that there is power and efficacy and virtue in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
We appeal to the bishops and the presidencies of stakes to give us the men and the women we need for this work. They are just as essential as any other work we undertake, and we are dependent upon you brethren to supply them for us. All our stake mission presidents can do in that respect is to ask for a group. It is your problem to supply them. And be not afraid, brethren, to give us men of quality and capabilities especially adapted to this work. They are much more successful than the ones who have had no experience, who have no liking for the work. A man to be a successful missionary must have his heart and soul in that work. We pray that you will give us the type of men and women that we need.
Now, in this particular emergency which has lessened our group, we are finding that our wives and our daughters are one of our most effective missionary elements. If you can't supply us men, increase our numbers by giving us good women. We will take excellent care of them. We will give them an opportunity that they cannot have otherwise, likely-an experience which will broaden them and strengthen them and help them. Those of them who are unmarried will make better mothers, and those of them who are already mothers will go to the work with an experience that will qualify them for it.
Brethren, it is an important work and we have that responsibility. It is the charge that has been given to the Twelve in every age when the gospel has been established, and it is our greatest purpose to carry to people who have not learned of the truth a light which will lead them back into the presence of God our Heavenly Father. Will you, then, give us the aid and the support that we need that this work may not falter; that it may not go forth haltingly but that it may go with a tread so firm that nothing can impede its progress and that many people may be garnered into the Church to receive of these wonderful benefits and blessings of which we have heard this evening.
God bless you all I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Elder John H. Taylor
John H. Taylor, Conference Report, October 1942, pp. 46-47
The Lord has said, "I have warned you and forewarned you" -He has warned us attain today through His servants. Perhaps some of us will continue to say that there is a tomorrow when we will repent and lead a finer life, but we all know that as far as each one of us is concerned the time comes when for us there is no tomorrow. The Lord has also said that today is the time to repent.
You remember that the Lord told His prophet, Noah, that he should go out and warn the people and tell them of the coming destruction. But the people, seemingly because they thought there would always be a tomorrow and because the floods did not come that day or the next day, thought they would never come; therefore, they ridiculed the prophets and went their way. But the floods came and they were destroyed, because they would not listen to the prophets of the Lord.
I remember hearing a story of a man who had just lost his oldest son. The father was not a very religious man. In fact, he had disregarded most of the Lord's commandments. Because of his son's being called to the other side, a good man went into the house to talk with the father and to the family. The son had been unfaithful in every way. He had been disobedient unto his parents, to his country, to his God. As the good man talked with the father and the family, the father said, "I think that this is a time for prayer." Perhaps we all think that only when the emergency comes to us it is the time to pray. The efficiency of a prayer is dependent on the type of life we have lived and the way we have made progress upon the earth. When the time comes for the summons, to ourselves or to our family, if we have not repented, if we have not done the things that should have been done, the praying comes rather late.
I trust, brethren, that as we continue traveling along the way of life, we will try to do the things that God through His servants wants us to do. The time is short and there is no telling when it might be too late for us to repent and do the things that we ought to do. It is very easy in an emergency, such as we have in war today, to build big buildings and to make steel and to make airplanes and to build hospitals, Perhaps we can do these things in a material way, but we cannot all of a sudden build character, build decent homes, or have a family who have such confidence in us that they will listen to our words and listen to the words of the servants of the Lord.
May we be humble as we live upon the earth. May we repent of our sins. May we take this message seriously as it comes to us today, and live better and finer than we have ever lived before, I humbly pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
Elder Samuel O. Bennion
Samuel O. Bennion, Conference Report, October 1942, pp. 47-48
One of the most important documents that I have read is the message which was delivered by the First Presidency last spring. Today we have had another equally important message. These brethren are inspired of the Lord. I don't know where we could find such writing outside of Holy Writ itself, and to me it is Holy Writ. We have been called to keep the commandments of God and to walk uprightly before Him. If this great body of Priesthood will yield to the persuasion of these brethren and set the proper example, there will certainly be an influence for good in this great land that never has been felt before, for here is the strength of God, the strength of the Holy Priesthood, vested in this Church.
I often think of the words of the great Solomon who said, "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he". Men who have it in their hears to keep the commandments of God, will keep them. They will not commit adultery who say and feel that it is a sin akin to murder, a thing the Lord has said we shall not do. Such men will not steal, they will not lie, they will not bear false witness, or violate the Sabbath day. Men will not leave the work of God undone if they feel in their hearts that it is the thing for them to do.
Brethren, there never was a time that was more opportune for us than right now. There will never be another time when we will be enjoying this earthly existence. This is your day and mine. We will never go through this world again as we are now; we are here writing our history. We write it every day and there can be no change As we write it, that is the way it will be. We write it by our lives. No matter what our vocation is, no matter where we are, there is nothing that will build us more surely and make us stronger than an assurance that we have the truth. As we work in our fields or in our homes, in our shops or in our offices, let us keep in mind this thought: This is the work of God that I am engaged in.
I know that the Lord, our Eternal Father, appeared to Joseph Smith and introduced to him the Savior of the world and said unto him, "This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!". If we will keep in our minds all the time that the Priesthood of the Son of God is in the earth and that the same leadership that was introduced to the Prophet Joseph Smith is here; if we will reflect constantly upon the high standard of living and teachings that have been ours from the days of Joseph until now; and if we will remember that there has never been a wavering in any way in the leadership of this Church, we cannot help feeling in our hearts and souls that this is the work of God. If we do that we will be strong and we will be able to carry on as the Lord would have us do. We will not be weak, and we will not be tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine, but we will feel in our hearts to know the truth. We will understand the course we should take and the opinion that we should express; we will know that we are the Lord's chosen people.
I am thankful for the testimony that I have, for the privilege of laboring in a small way in this great Church of Christ on this earth in this dispensation; I rejoice that I have been permitted to take a part in building this western commonwealth. I know that is the feeling of every true Latter-day Saint. I pray the Lord to bless the leadership of this Church, for this Church is led by a prophet of the living God who was raised up for this very purpose. He stands as a monument in faith and expression of that code of living which, I want to say to you brethren, commands the respect of all honorable men and women everywhere when they become acquainted with the facts and know us as we are. These are the things we should keep in our minds, and if we do, we will not be weak and we will not fail, but we will die worthy men, Latter-day Saints in full fellowship. To this end I pray, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Elder George Albert Smith
George Albert Smith, Conference Report, October 1942, pp. 48-50
We certainly have had a glorious time today. From the first prayer that was offered, the first hymn sung, this house has been the abiding place of the Spirit of the Lord. Those of us who have assembled have undoubtedly been enriched by the experiences through which we have passed.
Reference has been made to the fact that recently one of the brethren had visited some of our shrines, if we may call them shrines, and that reminds me that within the last year I have been at the birthplace of the Prophet Joseph Smith. It is just about the same size village as it was when he was born. I have been at Kirtland, Ohio, where the Latter-day Saints built a temple. It is the largest building in that section of the country now, and Kirtland is a village shrunk to the point that it no longer has a post office. I also have been at Far West where there were three thousand of our people, when they were driven out, and there are only three buildings on the tract of land that we referred to as Far West-only three, and very poor buildings at that. I have been thinking also of other places where our people lived, where they have developed lands and built houses, and then were compelled to leave their homes and go away. Independence, Missouri, is no larger in point of population, or little larger, than it was a hundred years ago The section of country around Nauvoo is just a village. Nauvoo, when the Saints were driven out, was a city of more than twenty thousand people, and today it has neither a streetcar nor a railroad train, and its population does not exceed one thousand people. Our people came out of the world because they were compelled to come. It was a choice between the world and the wilderness, but see what the Lord wrought and see how He has fulfilled His promise.
"Seek ye first the kingdom of God end his righteousness; and all things will be added unto you".
You will find no place even today, in all America, no house of worship, equal to the house you are sitting in now, in point of convenience and the ability to hear the voices of those who speak. I know of no city more beautifully laid out, in all America, than this with its one hundred forty thousand population, and we have other fine cities. The Lord brought us here when it was a wilderness, and He has made it delightful to dwell in. Surely we are grateful for our heritage.
This morning the patriarch to the Church was introduced to you. His remarkable lineage is worth tracing. He is a son of one of the mighty apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He is the grandson of one of the great presidents of the Church. He is a great-grandson of Hyrum Smith, the martyr, who was the brother of the Prophet Joseph Smith, who gave his life with his brother that this gospel might be kept in the world. He is a great-great-grandson of Joseph Smith, Senior, the first patriarch in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to be so designated, and the first man to receive the testimony of Joseph Smith the Prophet that he had beheld a heavenly vision and had listened to the voice of an angel.
Every family that came into the Church in the early days and remained faithful has enjoyed rich blessings that could be obtained in no other way. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not just another church. It is His Church who gave it His name. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the loving advice of a kind and Heavenly Father who, knowing the end from the beginning, says, "This is the pathway-walk in it, and ye shall find the celestial kingdom," and there is no other pathway that leads to that kingdom.
Where are those who left the Church about the time of the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith expecting to develop a church and lead the people? What has happened to them? I made a mental note while sitting here of the failure of James J. Strang, Sidney Rigdon, Jason W. Briggs, James H. Gurley, Lyman Wight, Granville Hedrick, and I might name others but I will not take time. What became of them and where are their followers today? You could put all of them that make any claim to following those men, in this building and they would be lost. This is only one of the great structures of the Church with which you are identified that if it were required could be filled many, many times over, not by all the people, but by the Priesthood alone.
I am thankful for my membership in this, the Church of Jesus Christ. I think that nobody could be more thankful than I or more grateful for parents and grandparents who were faithful Latter-day Saints. We must not forget that when we see all the richness of our lives we can't separate it from the righteousness of our mothers. It is a wonderful thing to know, as Nephi of old, who said he was born of goodly parents -he didn't say just a goodly father. He was born of goodly parents, and we would do well when we think of our blessings to remember our mothers and our grandmothers and our great-grandmothers. Wherever there was a great leader in Israel there was a great wife or mother or both who stood by his side, I am thankful to be here with you. It is a blessed privilege.
That was a marvelous message that was received this morning from the Presidency of the Church-you can't duplicate it in any other church in the world; and you can't think of anything that would be desirable to enrich the Church and to prepare us for a place in the celestial kingdom that was not included in that message. A marvelous gathering of facts and figures and advice and counsel that we would all do well to listen to and profit by.
Now tonight we are here in peace and quiet. The world is on fire. Everywhere peace has been taken from the earth, and the devil has been given power over his own dominion. God as said if we will honor Him and keep His commandments-if we will observe His laws He will fight our battles and destroy the wicked, and when the time comes He will come down in heaven -not from heaven-but He will bring heaven with Him-and this earth upon which we dwell, will be the celestial kingdom.
What if all the world knew and believed that? What a change there would be in the conditions among the children of men! What joy would be in the place of sorrow and distress today! It is your duty and mine, having received this information, to impart it to others.
We are a little handful of people among the children of men, but possessing the only key to exaltation in the celestial kingdom of our Heavenly Father. I wonder if we appreciate it. If we do we should evidence it by teaching others. Let us set our homes in order. Let our lights so shine that our neighbors who are not of this Church may see our upright lives and be constrained to glorify the name of the Lord. Let us so adjust ourselves in our business affairs that we will be known for our virtues and for our integrity. Let our homes be the abiding place of prayer and let our premises indicate that we rejoice in living in our homes. Let us set the example to the world that the world needs, that of a choice, sweet, wholesome surrounding in the place that we call home.
I am glad to be identified with this group of men here tonight. I thank you, my brethren, for the joy that has come into my life as a result of this companionship. I have been privileged above many other men in the world. I am thankful for it. I am not inclined to boast about it, but I do feel grateful to my Heavenly Father that all my life I have had the privilege of associating with the best boys and girls and the best men and women that I could find in the world, and it has not been necessary for me to seek my pleasure and my company and my education among those who are evil-minded. Tonight, with gratitude in my heart, and with thanksgiving I associate with these men, the General Authorities of the Church, these men who preside over the stakes and wards of Zion-these men who are seeking to build the quorums of the Priesthood as they ought to be-thankful that I belong to this group and pray that as the days go on and as the opportunities are presented that I may do my part. That I may be worthy of this fellowship and this membership, not only here but throughout the ages of eternity, and that we may all be so blessed I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Elder Clifford E. Young
Clifford E. Young, Conference Report, October 1942, pp. 50-51
It was a hundred years ago that Stephen A. Douglas came to Nauvoo to visit the Prophet Joseph. He had previously been employed as counsel in some litigation in which the Prophet was involved, and was a very warm friend of his. As he surveyed that lovely city, Nauvoo he saw the orderliness, the magnetic power that the Prophet seemed to have with his people, and he is said to have remarked that if he could command the leadership that the Prophet Joseph had, he would lead a group of people to the Northwest and give up his political career. He was then in the House of Representatives in Washington.
There is one thing, however, that Douglas seems to have overlooked. We sang today "A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief." The Prophet Joseph was in prison. Everything that he possessed, apparently, was in the hands of his enemies, but there was something that was still within his own soul-there was something that he still possessed that Stephen A. Douglas had not recognized. He could, in the face of his enemy, in the face of persecution conscious of martyrdom-he could still sing with Brother Taylor, at least in his heart, that lovely hymn, a hymn of charity, a hymn of kindness, a hymn of forgiveness, even of his enemy. That was something that Stephen A. Douglas didn't detect. Stephen A. Douglas didn't detect, either, that same attitude of spirit that the Prophet Joseph had, when in Liberty Jail there came to him through the revelation of Almighty God that marvelous prayer in which he instructed the Priesthood, an injunction that stands for you and me today:
No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned;
By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile-
Reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy;
That he may know that thy faithfulness is stronger than the cords of death.
Then in instruction to his people-and mind you he was in prison, in s dingy, dirty, prison, restrained as far as the physical part of him was concerned; everything taken away from him, in the bigness of his soul he said:
Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven.
The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever.
It was this, my brethren, it was this attribute that was manifest in Carthage Jail that Stephen A. Douglas never felt. He saw only, but he did not feel. That is one reason why today it is recognized by people around us that there is a bigness in the coming together, as we do here on these occasions of the general conference, but those who do not know as we know do not sense the bigness of this thing. They do not know what it is that impels men to come hundreds of miles in answer to a call such as this. They do not know what it is that impels men in our outlying stakes to give their all, almost, for the benefit of their brethren, to help build up their social life, their physical life, and, above all, their spiritual life. These are the things that men do not realize when they come in our midst. These are the things that men did not realize when they came to Nauvoo, in the days of the Prophet Joseph. They saw merely the external, not the internal; but there is a power here that you and I feel, and we are grateful to God tonight for it, for the testimony that God has given us of the divinity of this work, and I rejoice with you in it with all my heart, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President J. Reuben Clark, Jr.
J. Reuben Clark, Jr., Conference Report, October 1942, pp. 54-59
Brethren:
I have been trying for a week to relieve you of this experience, but Brother McKay, so kind, so sweet, and so merciful, has been perfectly adamant. So I stand before you here, not to preach, but to counsel with you.
There is a great deal of misapprehension among our people regarding the United Order.
I have not been able to believe that the United Order meant what some people have thought it meant, so within the last months I have spent quite a little time reading the revelations thereon, also reading our history, and at the same time giving some consideration to a dissertation which has been written regarding the Order.
There is a growing-I fear it is growing-sentiment that communism and the United Order are virtually the same thing, communism being merely the forerunner, so to speak, of a reestablishment of the United Order. I am informed that ex-bishops, and indeed, bishops, who belong to communistic organizations, are preaching this doctrine. So I thought that perhaps if I said just a few words to you tonight regarding the way I interpret the revelations that are printed about this in the D&C;, I thought if I said something about it, it might be helpful. I recommend that you, my brethren, read a few of the Sections of the D&C; which cover this matter, beginning with Sections 42 and 51. If you will go over these sections, I feel sure that you will find that my explanation of the United Order will be substantially accurate.
EARLY DEVIATIONS
I may say to begin with, that in practice the brethren in Missouri got away, in their attempts to set up the United Order, from the principles set out in the revelations. This is also true of the organizations set up here in Utah after the Saints came to the Valleys. So far as I have seen there has been preserved only one document that purports to be a legal instrument used in connection with the setting up of the United Order, and that document is without date. It is said to have been found among the papers of Bishop Partridge. It was a "lease-lend" document. You may have heard that phrase before. Under this instrument the Church leased to Titus Billings a certain amount of real estate and loaned him a certain amount of personal property.
This instrument is not in accordance with the principle laid down in the revelations touching upon the United Order.
The basic principle of all the revelations on the United Order is that everything we have belongs to the Lord; therefore, the Lord may call upon us for any and all of the property which we have, because it belongs to Him. This, I repeat, is the basic principle.
One of the places in which some of the brethren are going astray is this: There is continuous reference in the revelations to equality among the brethren, but I think you will find only one place where that equality is really described, though it is referred to in other revelations. That revelation affirms that every man is to be "equal according to his family, according to his circumstances and his wants and needs". Obviously, this is not a case of "dead level" equality. It is "equality" that will vary as much as the man's circumstances, his family, his wants and needs, may vary.
CONSECRATION
In the next place, under the United Order every man was called to consecrate to the Church all of the property which he had; the real estate was to be conveyed to the Church, as I understand the revelations, by what we would call a deed in fee simple. Thus the man's property became absolutely the property of the Church. Then the bishop deeded back to the donor by the same kind of deed, that is, in fee simple, and also transferred to him by an equivalent instrument, so far as personal property was concerned, that amount of real and personal property, which, the two being taken together, would be required by the individual for the support of himself and his family "according to his family, according to his circumstances and his wants and needs." This the man held as his own property.
In other words, basic to the United Order was the private ownership of property, every man had his own property from which he might secure that which was necessary for the support of himself and his family. There is nothing in the revelations that would indicate that this property was not freely alienable at the will of the owner. It was not contemplated that the Church should own everything or that we should become in the Church, with reference to our property and otherwise, the same kind of automaton, manikin, that communism makes out of the individual, with the State standing at the head in place of the Church.
Now, that part of a man's property which was not turned back to him, if he had more than was needed under this rule of "equality" already stated, became the common property of the Church, and that common property was used for the support of the poor of the Church. It is spoken of in the revelations as the "residue" of property.
LAND PORTIONS
Furthermore, it was intended, though apparently it did not work out very well, that the poor coming into Zion, and by Zion I mean, here, Missouri-the poor coming into Zion were to have given to them a "portion" of land, which land was to be either purchased from the Government, or purchased from individuals, or received as consecrations from members of the Church. The amount of this "portion" was to be such as would make him equal to others according to his circumstances, his family, his wants and needs.
The land which you received from the bishop by deed, whether it was part of the land which you, yourself, had deeded to the Church, or whether it came as an outright gift from the Church as just indicated, and the personal property which you received, were all together sometimes called a "portion", sometimes a "stewardship", and sometimes an "inheritance".
As just indicated, there were other kinds of inheritances and stewardships than land or mere personal property; for example, the Prophet and others had a stewardship given to them which consisted of the revelations and commandments; others had given to them a stewardship involving the printing house; another stewardship was a mercantile establishment.
SURPLUS
I repeat that whatever a steward realized from the portion allotted to him over and above that which was necessary in order to keep his family under the standard provided, as already stated above, was turned over by the steward to the bishop, and this amount of surplus, plus the residues to which I have already referred, went into a bishop's storehouse, and the materials of the storehouse were to be used in creating portions, as above indicated, for caring for the poor, the widows and orphans, and for the elders of the Church engaged in the ministry, who were to pay for what they received if they could, but if not, their faithful labors should answer their debt to the bishop.
OTHER INSTITUTIONS
Now, as time went on and the system developed, the Lord created two other institutions besides the storehouse: one was known as the Sacred Treasury, into which was put "the avails of the sacred things in the treasury, for sacred and holy purposes." While it is not clear, it would seem that into this treasury were to be put the surpluses which were derived from the publication of the revelations, the Book of Mormon, the Pearl of Great Price, and other similar things, the stewardship of which had been given to Joseph and others.
The Lord also provided for the creation of "Another Treasury", and into that other treasury went the general revenues which came to the Church, such as gifts of money and those revenues derived from the improvement of stewardships as distinguished from the residues of the original consecrations and the surpluses which came from the operation of their stewardships.
The foregoing is the general outline as it is gathered from the revelations of the law of the United Order which the Lord spoke of as "my law". There are passages in the revelations which, taken from their context and without having in mind the whole system, might be considered as inconsistent with some of the things which I have set out, but all such passages fall into line if the whole program is looked at as contained in all of the revelations.
PRIVATE OWNERSHIP FUNDAMENTAL
The fundamental principle of this system was the private ownership of property. Each man owned his portion, or inheritance, or stewardship, with an absolute title, which he could alienate, or hypothecate, or otherwise treat as his own. The Church did not own all of the property, and the life under the United Order was not a communal life, as the Prophet Joseph, himself said. The United Order is an individualistic system, not a communal system.
THE WELFARE PLAN AND THE UNITED ORDER
We have all said that the Welfare Plan is not the United Order and was not intended to be. However, I should like to suggest to you that perhaps, after all, when the Welfare Plan gets thoroughly into operation-it is not so yet-we shall not be so very far from carrying out the great fundamentals of the United Order.
In the first place I repeat again, the United Order recognized and was built upon the principle of private ownership of property; all that a man had and lived upon under the United Order, was his own. Quite obviously, the fundamental principle of our system today is the ownership of private property.
In the next place, in lieu of residues and surpluses which were accumulated and built up under the, United Order, we, today, have our fast offerings, our Welfare donations, and our tithing, all of which may be devoted to the care of the poor, as well as for the carrying on of the activities and business of the Church. After all, the United Order was primarily designed to build up a system under which there should be no abjectly poor, and this is the purpose, also, of the Welfare Plan.
In this connection it should be observed that it is clear from these earlier revelations, as well as from our history, that the Lord had very early to tell the people about the wickedness of idleness, and the wickedness of greed, because the brethren who had were not giving properly, and those who had not were evidently intending to live without work on the things which were to be received from those who had property.
STOREHOUSES AND PROJECTS
Furthermore, we had under the United Order a bishop's storehouse in which were collected the materials from which to supply the needs and the wants of the poor. We have a bishop's storehouse under the Welfare Plan, used for the same purpose.
As I have already indicated, the surplus properties which came to the Church under the Law of Consecration, under the United Order, became the "common property" of the Church and were handled under the United Order for the benefit of the poor. We have now under the Welfare Plan all over the Church, ward land projects. In some cases the lands are owned by the wards, in others they are leased by the wards or lent to them by private individuals. This land is being farmed for the benefit of the poor, by the poor where you can get the poor to work it.
We have in place of the two treasuries, the "Sacred Treasury" and "Another Treasury," the general funds of the Church.
Thus you will see, brethren, that in many of its great essentials, we have, as the Welfare Plan has now developed, the broad essentials of the United Order. Furthermore, having in mind the assistance which is being given from time to time and in various wards to help set people up in business or in farming, we have a plan which is not essentially unlike that which was in the United Order when the poor were given portions from the common fund.
Now, brethren, the Church has made tremendous advances in the Welfare Plan. We shall have to make still greater advances. As the Message of the First Presidency said this morning, we are being told by Government officials that we face what we used to call "hard times." If the Welfare Plan is fully operative, we shall be able to care for every destitute Latter-day Saint wherever he may be.
THE CONSTITUTION
Now, I would like to say something else, brethren, again by way of counsel I shall be accused, when I do, of talking politics, and perhaps on this point I may say I do not read anonymous letters. When they come in I just throw them into the wastebasket. I only read enough of the signed scurrilous letters that are sent to know that they are scurrilous, and then they follow along. So it is useless for anyone to try to take out any personal feeling in that way.
You and I have heard all our lives that the time may come when the Constitution may hang by a thread. I do not know whether it is a thread, or a small rope by which it now hangs, but I do know that whether it shall live or die is now in the balance.
I have said to you before, brethren, that to me the Constitution is a part of my religion. In its place it is just as much a part of my religion as any other part. It is a part of my religion because it is one of those institutions which God has set up for His own purposes, and, as one of the brethren said today, set up so that this Church might be established, because under no other government in the world could the Church have been established as it has been established under this Government.
I think I would be sale in saying that my fellowship with you in the Church depends upon whether or not I accept the revelations and the principles which God has revealed. If I am not willing to do that, then I am not entitled to fellowship. Anyone else who fails to accept the revelations and the principles which God has revealed stands in precisely the same situation.
In the 101st Section of the D&C;, which contains a revelation received by the Prophet in 1833, when the persecution in Missouri was at its highest, the Lord told the brethren that they should appeal for help. Then He added these verses, which I want to read to you:
According to the laws and constitution of the people, which I have suffered to be established, and should be maintained for the fights and protection of all flesh, according to just and holy principles;
That every man may act in doctrine and principle pertaining to futurity, according to the moral agency which I have given unto him, that every man may be accountable for his own sins in the day of judgment.
Therefore, it is not right that any man should be in bondage one to another.
And for this purpose have I established the Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose, and redeemed the land by the shedding of blood.
INFLUENCE IN THE AMERICAS
I suppose you brethren will all know, but I will recall it to your attention, that the Constitution of the United States is the basic law for all of the Americas, or Zion, as it has been defined by the Lord.
You brethren from Canada know that, your great British North America Act, in its fundamental principles, is based upon our Constitution, and you know that in the courts of Canada, the reports of our Supreme Court, and our Federal courts generally, are just as persuasive as the decisions of the courts of England, and even more so, where questions of constitutional law and constitutional interpretation are involved.
You brethren also know that from the Rio Grande down to the Horn there is no constitutional government except those that are founded primarily upon our own Constitution. In Mexico the revolutionary party which more than a century and a quarter ago rebelled against the king of Spain and established a republic, copied almost verbatim, and practically overnight, our Constitution, and made it their own. Neither Mexico nor the others to the South interpret their Constitutions as we interpret ours. They have different standards and different canons of interpretation, for their fundamental system is the civil law, while ours is the common law. But the great essentials of that document, the Constitution of the United States, which God Himself inspired, is the law of Zion, the Americas.
THE LAW OF ZION
So, brethren, I wish you to understand that when we begin to tamper with the Constitution we begin to tamper with the law of Zion which God Himself set up, and no one may trifle with the word of God with impunity.
Now, I am not caring today, for myself, anything at all about a political party tag. So far as I am concerned, I want to know what the man stands for. I want to know if he believes in the Constitution; if he believes in its free institutions; if he believes in its liberties, its freedom. I want to know if he believes in the Bill of Rights. I want to know if he believes in the separation of sovereign power into the three great divisions: the Legislative, the Judicial, the Executive. I want to know if he believes in the mutual independence of these, the one from the other. When I find out these things, then I know who it is who should receive my support, and I care not what his party tag is, because, brethren, if we are to live as a Church, and progress, and have the right to worship as we are worshipping here today, we must have the great guarantees that are set up by our Constitution. There is no other way in which we can secure these guarantees. You may look at the systems all over the world where the principles of our Constitution are not controlling and in force, and you will find there dictatorship, tyranny, oppression, and, in the last analysts, slavery.
ALLEGIANCE
I have said enough. I believe you understand what I have said. Today, our duty transcends party allegiance; our duty today is allegiance to the Constitution as it was given to us by the Lord. Every federal officer takes an oath to support that Constitution so given. The difference between us and some of those to the South of us is this: down there, their fealty runs to individuals; here, our fealty and our allegiance run to the Constitution and to the principles which it embodies, and not to individuals.
God give us wisdom and enable us in these times of trouble and strife clearly to see our way, that we may be instrumental in sustaining the Constitution, in upholding our free institutions, our civil rights, our freedom of speech, of press, of religion, and of conscience. If we shall stand together we shall save the Constitution, just as has been foreseen, and if we do not stand together, we cannot perform this great task.
God grant that we may be true, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, October 1942, pp. 67-70
"Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth".
That solicitous admonition given by the Savior of men is as pertinent today as when it was first expressed. Men and nations having refused to walk in the Light now as Jesus said stumble in darkness and know not whither they go. Motivated for centuries largely by selfish interests, the human race, judging from present world conditions, is still dangerously near the jungle where primitive passions dominate and govern.
There is a mythical Greek tale that Charon was permitted once upon a time to visit the earth to see what men were doing. From a lofty eminence he looked over the cities, palaces, and other works of men. As he turned to resume his assigned task, he exclaimed: "These human beings are spending their time in building just birds' nests. No wonder they fail and are ashamed."
Men today in far too great an extent are not only spending their time with things which have no permanent value, but ruthlessly destroying much that they have built throughout the centuries. War is making the earth a shambles. Churches, palaces, cottages, hospitals in many parts of the globe lie in ruins as if shaken by a terrible earthquake. As accompaniment to this destruction there is a pall of night Which seems to be enveloping nations as an impenetrable fog-a darkness that springs from Hate; for, "He that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes."
During this very hour while we reverently worship the God of Heaven, millions of men lie wounded, bleeding, maimed, many disabled for life by the hands of their fellow men. Other millions sleep in death, many in unknown graves, some in no graves, their bodies trampled by savage feet stumbling forward toward a coveted and selfish goal. Not only men but women-mothers lying lifeless clasping their babes even in death. Truly it seems that "Darkness covers the earth, and gross darkness the people".
MEN HAVE FORGOTTEN GOD
Why this worldwide holocaust? Why this mad orgy of death? Because man is acting contrary to eternal principles of Right!
In words quite as applicable today as when he declared them, the immortal Lincoln gives the answer as follows:
We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth, and power as no other nation has ever grown; but we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to God that made us. It behooves us, then, to humble ourselves before the offended power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.
I still have confidence that the Almighty, the Maker of the Universe, will, through the instrumentality of this great and intelligent people, bring us through this as he has through all other difficulties of our country.
In the D&C; the Lord says:
If you keep not my commandments, the love of the Father shall not continue with you, therefore; you shall walk in darkness.
THE ANTITHESIS OF CHRIST'S TEACHINGS
No one can doubt that the seeds of this war found nourishment in soil of hatred and dishonor, which are the antithesis of Christ's teachings. The Conversations of Munich, for example, were followed by violations of agreement and broken promises; the invasion of Poland was prompted by covetousness and carried out by the fiendish power of conquest; the attack of Pearl Harbor was conceived in treachery and deceit; Czechoslovakia, Greece, and other nations, too weak to withstand the onslaught, have been cruelly crushed by the forces of one who had defiantly rejected Jesus of Nazareth and His teachings. So the list can be lengthened, showing how principles of Right have been violated, and how Hate has plundered and destroyed.
MEN GROPING BLINDLY, AIMLESSLY
The serious effect of all this is far reaching. Men's confidence is shaken in political forms of government. In uncertainty they begin to question the promised security of well-tried and fundamental principles. They see the discoveries and inventions of science prostituted as a means of human destruction. Old beliefs and ideals are toppling, and as a drowning man seizes a floating substance, men and women grasp at any new idea or theory that is thrown as a bait in this sea of confusion.
The upsetting of the world has forced us into war, and we should be recreant not to go forward. To our soldier boys wherever you are we say God bless and guide you as you defend the divinely-given principles of freedom. May the Light of Truth and the power to resist evil be your constant companions. We all realize with you that you are enlisted in a war against wickedness, and that peace cannot come until the mad gangsters having in their hands science-produced explosives, mechanized equipment, and giant tanks, are defeated and branded as murderers, and their false aims repudiated, let us hope forever. Yes, the conflict must continue though its aims and purposes to many seem terribly complicated, and the establishment of a just peace, a task as herculean as the terminating of the war itself.
THE NEED OF A GUIDING LIGHT
If the ultimate victory for Freedom, we must not doubt; nor harbor either discouragement or despair. As after every night, even in the darkness, rises the morning star, so now in the midst of the blackness of International hatred and bloody conflict, men may behold a Light heralding a new day, if they will but look through the eyes of Reason and Common Sense.
Statesmen, men of science, thinking men in all nations, laymen everywhere sense the need of something definite to which to look forward, some clear beacon that will guide the stranded nations to a safe harbor of permanent peace. As practical steps toward that goal they say: mete out just punishment to villains and murderers; make restoration of sovereign fights to those who have been deprived of them by force; secure equal enjoyment by all nations of world trade and materials needed for prosperity; establish improved labor standards, economic advancement, and social security for all; declare a peace assuring safety and tranquility the world over; grant freedom of the seas to all; exact promise of abandonment by all nations of the use of force, and of disarmament of aggressive nations pending the establishment of general security-these and other expressed aims are worthy ideals and point to the fact that generally in men's hearts there is a desire to treat fairly their fellow men.
THE ONE AND SAFE GUIDE
In all such seeking, however, there is one idea indispensable to the establishment of a permanent peace which too many men and some nations have obliterated from their minds entirely, but which now should be reburnished until it shines as the unclouded noonday sun. I call it an idea, having in mind the fact that "there is more dynamite in an idea than in many bombs." It is as old as the Lord's first message to man, and some of you listening in will call it trite-men in the past have entertained it for a time, have dallied with it, then without attempting to make it a reality have permitted it to drop below the plane of consciousness, and even to sink into the abyss of unbelief. This idea so frequently mentioned but so seldom practiced, connotes things which, if lost, civilization itself is lost. It connotes the right to live, to be treated decently, to be kindly spoken to, to enjoy home, to love, and to be loved. It connotes strength to defend the Right-sympathy for those who, striving, have failed. It connotes justice and mercy. It turns the eye and the heart from beastly passions to noble aspirations.
It is Christ's plan of love and service- summarized in the two great commandments: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and thy neighbour as thyself".
I fully realize with Professor Wieman that:
When one looks out upon the human race, the way it has come and the way it must go, and sees that tiny gate so obscure that one must search to find it, and so lowly that one must stoop to enter it, and yet the only way to life, the only escape from ruin of mankind, one is sobered. And yet civilization will be transitory until men in large numbers go this way of love.
For two thousand years and even more, nations have ignored, and, in many instances, repudiated fundamental principles of the gospel. Even in so-called Christian lands men have spurned the teachings as being impractical. The result is that the earth has literally been drenched with blood.
I have referred to the present-day carnage, even to think of which makes everyone gloomy and sick at heart, to emphasize, if possible, the need of a drastic change in men's dealings with one another. Never has there been a time in the history of the world when a change for the better was so imperative. Now, it ever, as the scripture promises, "a nation should be born in a day" -a nation of men and women with changed hearts and changed attitudes.
Since rejection of Christ's teachings has resulted in disaster and useless bloodshed, with only intermittent periods of respite and progress, why in the name of reason should people not be willing to substitute for selfish aggrandizement Christ's principle of brotherly consideration? As a first step, for example, make truly applicable the simple injunction of putting one's self in the other fellow's place, the surest of all means of eliminating the bitterness that characterizes misunderstandings.
APPLICABILITY OF CHRIST'S TEACHINGS
No thinking person can say truthfully that the application of this one simple act if practiced among individuals and nations would not bring about a better world!
Equally effective and applicable are His teachings regarding the value and sacredness of human life, the virtue of forgiveness, the necessity of fair dealing, His condemnation of the sin of hypocrisy, and of covetousness, His teachings regarding the saving power of love, and of the immortality of the soul. His doctrine of arbitration as a means of settling difficulties and quarrels if applied by warring nations would in itself do away with war.
If America is the "melting pot," the gospel of Jesus Christ is the crucible in which hate, envy, and greed are consumed, and good will, kindness, and love remain as inner aspirations by which man truly lives and builds,
PROCLAMATION OF CHRIST'S TEACHINGS
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes with the Prophet Lehi that America is a "land of promise, a land choice above all other lands" -a land of liberty unto those who keep the commandments of God. But "if the day shall come that they will reject the Holy One of Israel, the true Messiah, their Redeemer and their God, behold, the judgments of him that is just shall rest upon them". The Church believes, also, that before the end of wickedness shall come, and wars shall be no more, "this gospel of the Kingdom must be preached to all the world".
The Constitution of this government was written by men who accepted Jesus Christ as the Savior of mankind. Let men and women in these United States then continue to keep their eyes centered upon Him who ever shines as a Light to all the world. Men and women who live in America, "the land of Zion", have a responsibility greater than that yet borne by any other people. Theirs the duty, the obligation to preserve not only the Constitution of the land but the Christian principles from which sprang that immortal document.
With the appeals for freedom that you transmit to your fellow-countrymen across the seas, send also in messages that connote a sincerity never before expressed, an avowed conviction that Christ is the Way, the Truth, the Life, the only safe Guide to that haven of peace for which men and women the wide world over are earnestly praying. Thus may we hope that there will come an answer to the prayer:
Peace in our time, O Lord, To all the peoples-Peace! Peace that shall build a glad new world, And make for life's increase. O living Christ, who still Dost all our burdens share, Come now and dwell within the hearts Of all men everywhere.
To this end let members of the Church, and honest men in every dime accept, not as an abstract, inapplicable saying, but as an eternal and guiding truth, the declaration of the Redeemer: "I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life". Amen.
Elder Richard R. Lyman
Richard R. Lyman, Conference Report, October 1942, pp. 61-64
In the public press appeared a statement recently from an official of our Navy that we are losing this war and that we do not know it.
If I express, therefore, some rather intense feelings at this trying and terrible time of unprecedented war and bloodshed, I hope I may be forgiven. If I say some things that seem to be critical, I hope you who listen will be good enough to look upon my assertions with charity and regard them merely as suggestions.
A good many years ago my beloved friend, the late Henry van Dyke, put into my hands one of his poems entitled "Righteous Wrath."
This poem reads:
There are many kinds of hatred, as many kinds of fire; And some are fierce and fatal with murderous desire; And some are mean and craven, revengeful, sullen, slow, They hurt the man that holds them more than they hurt his foe.
And yet there is a hatred that purifies the heart: The anger of the better against the baser part, Against the false, the wicked, against the tyrant's sword, Against the enemies of love, and all that hate the Lord.
O cleansing indignation, O flame of righteous wrath, Give me a soul to feel thee and follow in thy path! Save me from selfish virtue, arm me for fearless fight, And give me strength to carry on, a soldier of the Right!
On a large poster in the Strater Hotel of Durango, Colorado, I read recently these words:
"We consider peace a catastrophe for human civilization."-Mussolini
"We shall soon have our storm troopers in America."-Hitler
"I am looking forward to dictating peace to the United States in the White House in Washington. "-Admiral Yamamoto
HOW UNLIKE CHRISTIANITY
How unlike the Christian teaching, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself", or the spirit of the immortal Lincoln who "with malice toward none and charity for all" undertook to settle those great issues for which thousands had struggled on the battlefield.
And under each of those quotations in the Strater Hotel is the statement, "What do you say, America?" And that is the question I ask you citizens of the United States: What do you say?.
As an American citizen I say these statements fill me with that "righteous wrath" of which Henry van Dyke speaks. But with deliberation let us examine some of the conditions in our country today.
THE MATTER OF REPEAL
During the years 1932 and 1933, the people of our nation voted to repeal the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and to repeal also all our prohibition laws. Will I be unpatriotic if I say to you that this action filled me with "righteous wrath"? The people did not then nor will they ever repeal that law of nature which makes alcohol a poison. Nor did the people then nor will they ever repeal that law of God which says, "Strong drinks are not good for man".
In those days the strategy of many of our political leaders seemed to be that we could drink ourselves into sobriety. Ask the mothers and the widows and the fatherless children of the three thousand whose lives were lost at Pearl Harbor December 7th if that strategy was correct. Many of those three thousand, as I have been told by soldiers who were there, were killed by our own bombs because of the inefficiency of our own men, which inefficiency was due to the use of alcoholic beverages. Are the leaders of our nation and those at the head of our armed forces today proceeding on the theory that we can drink ourselves into victory? Alcohol and war will not mix any more successfully than do alcohol and gasoline. Ask the loved ones of those thousands who have lost their lives on our highways because of the use of liquor what they think of mixing alcohol and gasoline.
THE WORD OF GOD
Latter-day Saints believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God. This sacred record of recently revealed truth tells us that the Lord Himself has prepared this land of America as a land choice above all other lands, and that inasmuch as the people on this land keep the commandments of the Lord they shall prosper. This land, the divine record says, has been provided for a righteous people and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, free from captivity and free from all other nations under heaven on condition that the people will but serve the God of this land who is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
These stirring promises of the Almighty are to be effective for the inhabitants of this land only if the inhabitants are a righteous people. This land, the revealed word says, has been prepared and preserved by the Lord Himself and that whoso should possess it "henceforth and forever" must serve the true and living God or they will be swept away-when they are "ripened in iniquity". Let me ask, are we serving the true and the living God or are we ripening in iniquity?
IMMORALITY AND OUR ARMED FORCES
More of the men in our armed forces, it has been said, are rendered unfit to fight because of venereal diseases than from all other causes put together. And it is said also that for seventy-seven days after December 7 prohibition was in force at Pearl Harbor. During the next thirty days after prohibition was discontinued by military order, the number of arrests for drunkenness at Pearl Harbor was more than six times the average during the seventy-seven days of prohibition.
When I think of Pearl Harbor and the American lives which that disaster cost, I am filled to overflowing with that "righteous wrath" of which I have spoken. Let me say with J. Frank, Hanley, I bear no malice toward those engaged in the liquor business, much less toward those young men who in society, by example or otherwise have been taught to drink, but I do hate the liquor traffic. I hate it as virtue hates vice, as truth hates error, as righteousness hates sin, as justice hates wrong, as liberty hates tyranny, as freedom hates oppression. I hate it for its intolerance. I hate it for its hypocrisy. I hate it for its commercialism, for its greed and for its avarice and for its sordid love of gain at any price. I, hate it for its domination of politics; I hate it for its corrupting influence in civic affairs and for the cowards it makes of public men. I hate it for the load it straps on the back of labor and for the wounds it gives to genius. I hate it for the multitudes of human wrecks it has made of men of outstanding ability and promise, for the prisons it has filled, for the insanity that it begets and for the countless graves it has made in potter's fields. I hate it for the mental ruin which it imposes upon its victims and for its moral degradation.. I hate it for the crimes that it commits, for the homes that it destroys, and for the hearts that it breaks. I hate it for the grief it causes womanhood, for the scalding tears of women, for their hopes deferred, for their strangled aspirations, for the burden of want and care which liquor heaps upon them. I hate it for its heartless cruelty to the aged, the infirm, and the helpless. I hate it for the shadow it throws upon the lives of children, for its monstrous injustice to multitudes of the blameless little ones. "I hate it," concludes Frank Hanley, "as Abraham Lincoln hated slavery....
And I sometimes seem to see the end of this unholy traffic, the coming of the time when, if it does not wholly cease to be, it shall find no safe habitation anywhere beneath Old Glory's stainless Stars,"
"ON FIRE FOR GOD AND RIGHT"
The great "Flying Squadron" that visited every state in the Union, all of the states' capitals and many of the other important cities of our country in the latter part of 1914 and the beginning of 1915, delivered stirring addresses in two hundred fifty-five cities in two hundred thirty-five days. These addresses were heard by a million people, it is said. Their slogan was, "We stand for the abolition of the liquor traffic. On this issue we fight. Whenever a politician or an executive officer or a political party prefers the liquor traffic above the public morals, such men must be set aside and such parties abandoned. To the accomplishment of this high purpose," they said, "we dedicate ourselves."
This group of sixteen speakers of commanding eloquence and personal force were all "on fire for God and for the right." The name of President Heber J. Grant might very appropriately be added to this list of distinguished prohibitionists, for he and these other unselfish and effective workers gripped the hearts of thousands of the young and of the old throughout the country and gave to their hearers a clearer and a bigger vision of true Christian citizenship.
We have now unsheathed the sword of the United States of America, and we have carried into this great world conflict "the only flag in all the world that has never known defeat." To complete the mighty task to which we have set our hands, to make the future better than the past, to create a better world in which to live, "America needs every man at his best." Daniel A. Poling says that whatever makes for physical incompetency is an enemy of the state. He says a moral incompetent cannot be a good citizen, an industrial incompetent cannot be a good citizen, a political incompetent cannot be a good citizen, and he adds that the liquor institution is the supreme tangible foe of the state because it is the supreme positive promoter of physical, moral, industrial, and political incompetency. He says, "Millions of citizens, men and women, immediately vital to the national and world program of this republic cannot be at their best until the liquor institution and the evils connected with it are destroyed." Alcohol was once regarded as a food, later as a stimulant. All scientists agree today that alcohol is a narcotic. Its effects upon the human system are the same as those of ether and chloroform. Alcohol, a poison, is the greatest physical menace of the human race. Who would care to converse even with his best and most intimate friend if that friend where drunk or even tipsy.
ANOTHER DRINK OF WHISKEY
The only thing that a drink of whiskey ever suggests is another drink of whiskey. Whiskey never suggested to a drunkard that he buy shoes for his children or furniture for his house, but it has suggested to creatures, once men, that they take the shoes from the feet of their babies, the furniture from their scantily supplied house to buy more whiskey.
Prohibition is patriotic because it has proved itself to be a true friend of labor and a true friend of capital. Rome did not die for lack of college and public games, for the want of culture and refined society, or because she had no army or no navy. Rome died when she rotted at the heart. Rome committed moral and political suicide.
Said Poling:
I fear no yellow peril, I fear no foe that may embark from a foreign shore to do us hurt. I fear only the foe from within, this shackler of bodies, this impoverisher of industry, this moral despoiler, this corrupter of government which is called alcohol.
And may we ever remember the sad lesson our country has learned that statutory legislation and constitutional amendments are helpless in the hands of unfriendly and indifferent political administrations. To our sorrow we have learned that prohibitory law is not an automatic machine. A tool must be used. An ax calls for a man to wield it. Prohibition demands an administration that will enforce it.
PROHIBITION LAWS NOT AUTOMATIC
Duty and patriotism today demand that by legislation or otherwise we do something to protect against themselves our fine and innocent young men, especially those who are serving as soldiers of our country. When in a doctor's office the father of a young man was informed that his son had a venereal disease, the father let loose his uncontrollable temper and berated the boy because of the boy's condition. Soon, however, the tables were turned, according to the doctor's story, so that the father was seated, and the boy was standing. It was then clearly evident that all the temper in the family was not in the father.
"Who is to blame for my condition?" shouted the boy. "You are old and I am young. You knew and I did not. You had the information and I was in ignorance. You are the father and I am the son. Why didn't you teach me, why didn't you warn me, why didn't you protect reel I didn't know there was such a thing in the world as this disease. You are the one," shouted the boy, "that is responsible for my condition." No nation can endure indefinitely with a manhood afflicted with venereal disease and the liquor habit. The great need of our country is spiritual awakening. While our motto is, "In God We Trust," yet as Babson says, World Wars I and II have come about because the leading nations during the last fifty years have been trying to get along without God. If this war is to be fought to a finish it will end only when we repent of our sins, readjust our wasteful standards of living, and once more make God the Eternal Father the ruler of our homes, our schools, our businesses, and our nation.
HAVE WE FORGOTTEN GOD?
During our Civil War, Abraham Lincoln said the great difficulty with our country and our people was, "We had forgotten God." In a modern revelation to you and to me and to the people of this generation the Lord, speaking through the Prophet Joseph: Smith, has said, "Behold, the world is ripening in iniquity; and it must needs be that the children of men are stirred up unto repentance". Let us therefore as a nation return to church, let us partake worthily of the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, let us, come into closest possible communion and cooperation with God, the Eternal Father, and pray that freedom and liberty, that gift of God by us so highly prized, may come to all the people of all nations of the earth. And I pray humbly that we in this land, choice above all other lands, may be a righteous people who deserve the blessings the Almighty has promised to those who love Him and serve Him and keep His commandments, and I do this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Harold B. Lee
Harold B. Lee, Conference Report, October 1942, pp. 71-73
I desire to bear my testimony to you that I know that we are engaged in building up the Kingdom of God on earth and that the teachings of the Church are in truth the fulness of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ restored to the earth in these latter days. That testimony is strengthened as I observe the influence of the Church in the lives of our young men and women today.
What is it that, having, we are strong in overcoming temptations and personal difficulties, and having not, we are afraid, weak, and an easy prey to the temptations of the world?
Often during the past few weeks I have asked myself that question, during which time I have had an opportunity to visit many of our young Latter-day Saint boys in military camps in company with Elder Albert E. Bowen of the Council of the Twelve and President Hugh B. Brown, and to inquire after many others whom we were not privileged to see. There I observed many of our young men who were meeting the problems of their strange environment with great fortitude, and were optimistic and hopeful. They were maintaining the highest Church standards. They were applying themselves diligently to the business of military training and were steadily advancing in rank. They were seeing in this experience a great opportunity for missionary work among their fellow soldiers. They were seeking out other Latter-day Saint boys to enjoy with them, whenever possible, the sweet communion of a sacred hour spent in sacrament meeting or in a study of the gospel in a Mutual Improvement organization. During their leisure hours when on leave of absence from camp, they were finding social relaxation in wholesome associations and seemed to be little affected by the tawdry and cheap entertainment that beckons in the vicinity of nearly every armed camp.
The thought has often been expressed that the discontinuance of sending of young men into the mission field until after the war would result in great spiritual loss to the Church, but after seeing the splendid young men of the Church-many of them returned missionaries-and the work they are doing in armed camps, I am convinced that upon their return home the Church will receive a great spiritual uplift as these young men bear testimony to the guiding hand of the Lord in their preservation and of the good that they were able to do.
Others there were who were melancholy, and discouraged, who seemingly had yielded to the deadly fatalism all too often found among soldiers. These had adopted a sort of indifference and an "Oh, what's the use" attitude that finds expression in the army song they sing, "We're in the Army Now." These, it was observed, are the ones that frequently yield to the enticing invitations that induce to harmful practices and vices and are encouraged in their indulgences by the "Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die" philosophy frequently expressed by men in the armed services.
In one of the army camps we visited on the west coast, we had met with a group of our boys to consider what the Church might do to provide materials for use in religious services and to aid them in making proper social contacts with organized branches of the Church adjacent to the camp. After a prolonged discussion of these matters, a young captain in the group made this remark, "To my mind it's a question of spirituality-if a man lacks that, then there is little gained by anything you try to do for him; if he has spirituality, then he will be all right whether you do little or much."
What is meant by spirituality? The dictionary defines it as "the faculty that gives a feeling of confidence; sense of the spiritual; belief in divine things; an inclination to interpret prospects of promise in one's own favor."
I found out two weeks later what spirituality meant to that young army captain when I met him on the street here in Salt Lake City, and learned that during a short furlough prior to his leaving for Overseas duty he had brought his wife and family with him to the temple where, by the authority of the Holy Priesthood, they were sealed together in the everlasting covenant for time and for all eternity. He was living with "an eye single to the glory of God" to lead him through this trying war period.
Recently I had a visit with a young man returning from a mission. When I asked him what he thought had been the most important thing he had gained from his mission experience, he replied, "I expect shortly to be drafted for army service. I have gained a testimony that if I live a clean life I will be entitled to the companionship of the Holy Ghost that will warn me of needless danger and keep me safe until my work here on earth is completed. Also I have gained a testimony that life on this earth is but a preparation for eternity and that if I live worthily, after this life I will have important work there; so I have overcome the fear of death and am better prepared to go into the army than I would have been without my missionary experience."
In my heart I said, "Thank God for the seeds of the teachings of the gospel planted in the hearts of the youth of Israel that build a faith to fortify them in times of danger, adversity, and temptation."
Sometime in his youth, and through the experiences of his mission, there had been burned into the heart of that young man the truth that if he was purified and cleansed from sin he could ask whatsoever he would in the name of Jesus and it would be done and that the Spirit of the Lord would not always strive with man; and that when the Spirit ceased to strive with man, there came speedy destruction. He had learned that if he were wise and had received the truth and had taken the Holy Spirit for his guide that he should not be hewn down and cast into the fire, but should abide the day. The scriptures had taught him that his body was the temple of the Holy Ghost which was in him, which he had of God and that whatsoever temple is defiled, God shall destroy that temple.
One who has a testimony of the purpose of life sees the obstacles and trials of life as opportunities for gaining the experience necessary for the work of eternity; he sees death as one of the greatest experiences of life. One of the saddest things I see as I travel throughout the stakes and wards of the Church is occasionally a person who because of a little worldly learning or wealth has come to think he has outgrown the Church and the faith of his fathers. To one who has high spirituality, faith in the gospel and in the doctrines of the Church supersedes scientific theories and the philosophies of men; Priesthood quorum activities supplant service clubs and lodges; and Church social and recreational responsibilities come before fraternities and sororities.
Security that comes from the brotherhood of a Priesthood quorum with a Church membership and the living of the Church standards is valued above a fancied security that is purchased with wealth or political prestige.
The spiritually-minded seeks the respect of the high-minded who obey the law, who revere womanhood and virtue and encourage purity of thought and action rather than cater to the applause of the tipsters who secretly despise the man who thinks and acts below the standards he professes.
When prospering in a material way, those with great spirituality show appreciation to God, to whom they are indebted for all that they have, by a thrifty, frugal husbanding of their substance and by extending generosity to the unfortunate according to the laws of the Church, rather than indulging in a reckless, riotous living as a prodigal in defiance of the laws of both God and man. In adversity he does not despair; When his bank fails he does not commit suicide; he lives above his world, and all that he does is with his eye ever fixed upon the goal of eternity.
If face to face with death, such a one will not fear if his feet have been "shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace", and those who lose their loved ones will have the faith of Moroni, the captain of the army, who declared, "For the Lord suffereth the righteous to be slain that his justice and judgment may come upon the wicked; therefore ye need not suppose that the righteous are lost because they are slain; but behold, they do enter into the rest of the Lord their God".
It is my conviction that the present devastating scourge of war in which hundreds of thousands are being slain, many of whom are no more responsible for the causes of the war than are our own boys, is making necessary an increase of missionary activity in the spirit world and that many of our boys who bear the Holy Priesthood and are worthy to do so will be called to that missionary service after they have departed this life.
The Lord, ever mindful of the welfare of His children, has, through His prophets, given wise counsel as to the rock upon which men should anchor their lives.
And now, my sons remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fail.
And again in another place we are counseled:
O, remember, my son, and learn wisdom in thy youth; yea, learn in thy youth to keep the commandments of God.
Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day.
The time is here when we would do well to sing again the song that comforted the pioneers of a former day:
May we survive the fiery furnace of God's judgment and prove true to whatever test shall be made of as and abide the day of the second coming of the Son of Man. I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder John A. Widtsoe
John A. Widtsoe, Conference Report, October 1942, pp. 73-76
Dear Brethren and Fellow Workers:
During the time allotted me I should like to call to mind some fundamentals of leadership. Nearly every member of the Church, at one time or another, is called to some official Church position; but here are assembled the present Priesthood leadership of the Church. In our hands, with the willing cooperation of the membership the Latter-day Saints, lies, in large measure, the future of the Church. We may retard or accelerate its progress. The Lord has given us a great trust.
The Church of Jesus Christ in these latter days has had great leaders. From Joseph Smith to Heber J. Grant they have been mighty men. In their day they may have suffered persecution and derision; but with the process of the years they have come to stand as gigantic figures, worthy of the acclaim of all who love righteousness. They are fruits of the spirit of the gospel of Jesus Christ. To follow the examples of these great leaders is to make our own leadership more worthy and powerful.
Joseph Smith, under Jesus Christ is the head of this dispensation of the gospel. To him we bore tender and touching tribute yesterday. He was indeed a leader worthy of our emulation. His leadership began with a consuming love of truth. Indeed no man can be a safe leader who does not love truth above all else. The words truth and light appear and reappear as the foundations of his teachings. He would not walk in darkness. He knew that the light of truth would banish the night of error. Truth was his measuring rod, therefore he would not and could not support any cause, political, social, or commercial, which did not square with truth. There is never a possible compromise with untruth. Truth must ever be obeyed, or leadership leads downward. What a different world we should have today if the leaders of nations had made truth their first love and had surrendered to it. The Prophet declared his passion for truth, and the power of truth, in a glorious answer to a correspondent:
I combat the errors of ages; I meet the violence of mobs; I cope with illegal proceedings from executive authority; I cut the Gordian knot of powers; and I solve the mathematical problems of the universities with truth-diamond truth.
Love of truth by all members of the Church, from 1830 to 1942, has made the Church mighty; and love of truth and obedience to it will enable us to establish on earth the kingdom of God. By truth we shall achieve the world's leadership.
The history of Joseph Smith reveals further a man who did not pretend to know everything. He was not opinionated. He was not sufficient unto himself. He knew the limitations of man who is born to die. That is another mark of his leadership. In his eager boyhood; when he longed for the truth of religion he went to the Lord for help. As he grew in age and power, he continued to seek help from the Creator of earth and man. He was prayerful. In the record of his life we read again and again, "I enquired of the Lord." There was in his life a constant outreaching for divine help. He knew the source of truth, and sought refreshment at the fountain head. Personal opinions and even the apparently needed help of living men were set aside when the Lord spoke. James Arlington Bennett, recently, baptized into the Church, but without the spirit of the gospel, desired to help the Prophet out of the difficulties of the day. He offered to be the Prophet's "right hand man." Like a flash from the sky came the Prophet's thunderous reply: "God is my right hand man." We can not attain leadership unless we seek help from the Lord, unless we cultivate the spirit of prayer. Again, let me ask, would the world he in its present state of bloody confusion, if its leaders had sought counsel from the Lord?
The truth that Joseph Smith promulgated, the instructions he received from heaven, were applied in the, spirit of love for humanity. That was a further mark of his leadership. He recognized that all are children of the Eternal Father, and to that extent divine. He was ready to afford all men equal rights on the way to salvation. He did not lift himself above his brethren. He had seen the Lord and had conversed with Him; he was a prophet; he was the president of the Church-nevertheless he was but as one with his brethren-a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, striving and struggling for salvation. In him destroying pride was, swallowed up in life-giving humility. Arrogance was absent from his private or official actions. Such forgetfulness of self such love of his fellow men made him a powerful leader. If we who battle for the cause for which he gave his life desire to become successful leaders, we must love our brethren and sisters, be courteous and gentle with them, must be one with them. The Prophet records in his diary that he told some new arrivals in Nauvoo:
I was but a man, and they must not expect me to be perfect; if they expected perfection from me, I should expect it from them; but if they would bear with my infirmities and the infirmities of the brethren, I would likewise bear with their infirmities.
Such an attitude creates leadership. The resulting love quiets "the restless pulse of care" in our human relationships.
Joseph the Prophet met the final test of the leader, that of fidelity. He was true to the cause which he represented. He gave of himself for it. Almost every day of the fourteen years he presided over the Church was one of toil, often of pain and sorrow. But, he continued to be diligent, dependable, ever considerate of the welfare of the people. In the needs of the Church he forgot himself. Opposition to the Church was usually visited upon his head. Fifty times he was charged with offenses, falsely as the record shows, for he was never found guilty. He spent months in a foul jail. He was driven from place to place and robbed of his material possessions. His name became known for "good and evil" the world over. But he did not falter. He built cities and temples; he fought the battles of the Church; he surrendered his own comforts for the benefit of the people; he taught them everlasting truth. When at long last the enemy threatened to take vengeance upon his people, if he would not yield himself to men of the law who were untrue to the law, and because some of his own people were seized by fear, he said, "If my life is of no value to my friends it is of none to myself." And when he accepted arrest he said to the company who were with him:
I am going like a lamb to the slaughter, but I am calm as a summer's morning. I have a conscience void of offense toward God and toward all men.
The words of a worthy leader!
He suffered a martyr's death. He was true even unto death.
The Lord does not require that we give our lives in this manner for the cause of truth. Yet, every man to be true to his calling in this Church must possess the spirit of devotion and sacrifice, of diligence and dependability, of love of man and God, which enabled the Prophet to seal his testimony with his blood. Humanity in its present utter travail and sorrow is calling for leaders, who, rising above human diplomacy and self-interest, are true to the cause of truth, at any cost.
Leaders who follow the example of Joseph Smith receive great rewards. They find daily joy in life. The visions of heaven are theirs. And they win disciples. Others, witnessing their lives, seek to follow them. Brigham Young bore incessant testimony to the joy of being a disciple of Joseph Smith; and his dying words were, "Joseph, Joseph!" John Taylor, with Hyrum Smith and Willard Richards, dared death in Carthage Jail to be with their leader and brother. The lives of Wilford Woodruff, Lorenzo Snow, Joseph F. Smith, and Heber J. Grant, judged by the marks of leadership, conform to the Prophet's life. Love of truth, of God, and of their fellow men, and an unquestioned, unselfish devotion to the latter-day work of the Lord have characterized the actions of these men. To follow the examples of these men is to achieve leadership.
In our respective callings, in stake or ward or in the Priesthood quorum, the signs of leadership which have marked the great leaders of the whole Church, will mark us as successful leaders. Leadership is in essence the same wherever applied.
That which makes a Church official a leader may be used by any and every member of the Church in winning joy in life. It is equally important for the whole membership of the Church, if we are to be as a light upon a hill for the guidance of the nations, to love truth, to go to the Lord for help, to recognize the divine kinship of all men, and to be obedient and dependable, true citizens of the Kingdom of God.
We have a great destiny. We are commissioned to bring peace and happiness to the earth, to lead the world from error to truth, from darkness into light. In that sense we have been called to be world leaders. For that calling let us prepare; let us build the Church with courage and faith toward perfection, until the time when the reign of righteousness shall be ushered in, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President Heber J. Grant
Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1943, pp. 3-8
To the Latter-day Saints all over the world I send my love and my greetings.
My physician, Dr. Gill Richards, pleaded with me not to speak at this conference, but he gave me perfect liberty to dictate anything I wanted to say, I am therefore sitting down to dictate, and if I were to dictate all I would like to say I fear my sermon would be so long very few would read it.
SYMPATHY FOR THOSE WITH SONS IN THE WAR
I want to say that my heart goes out in the deepest sympathy and in the most sincere and earnest prayer that I have ever offered for the comforting influence of the Lord to be given to the brethren and sisters who have sons in the war at the present time. I pray that the Lord will bless each and every boy who has been called or who has gone into the service, and that He will help each of them to live in accordance with the principles of the gospel, so that each may have a claim to the blessings of the Lord to the full extent that accords with His wisdom. I pray that, so far as it accords with the providence of the Lord, each of them may be preserved from accident, sickness, and death to return in due course to his loved ones. I pray God to help them to stand up under the terrible strain which they must meet. I appeal to the Lord to bring the war to an end at the earliest possible date. My heart goes out to all of you. One of my daughters has six boys, five of whom have been called to the service. Her two daughters are married, so that her family consists of herself, her husband, and one son. There are many others in the same condition. Each one of my daughters has sons or daughters that are in the war, and I pray earnestly for the comforting influence of the Spirit of the Lord to be given them to assist them in carrying their burdens. I am praying with all my heart and soul for the end of this war as soon as the Lord can see fit to have it stop, and I am praying earnestly for the sweet and comforting influence of the Spirit of the Lord to be with each and all who have their loved ones in the war.
EXPRESSION OF GRATITUDE FOR RETURN TO HEALTH
I expressed my delight in the following language years ago when I came back after a serious operation:
It is a source of great pleasure to me to once more stand before the Latter-day Saints in this Tabernacle. As most of the Latter-day Saints assembled are aware, it is nearly a year since I occupied this position, during which time I have undergone a very serious surgical operation, which, according to medical journals, should have ended my life. It is recorded that it is impossible for a man to recover who is in the condition that I was found to be at the time of the operation. But I am grateful to be here; and I feel to thank my Heavenly Father, and the brethren of the Priesthood who administered to me and blessed me during the ordeal and promised me that I should recover. Since that time I have also been very sick with pneumonia. Some years ago I tried to insure my life, but the companies refused. Their physicians told me that if I ever took pneumonia I would die. But I am still here, notwithstanding the report of the physicians of the life insurance companies. It is a source of pleasure to me to again mingle my voice with the Latter-day Saints and to bear testimony of the knowledge that I possess of the divinity of the work in which we are engaged.
ARCHITECTS OF OUR OWN LIVES
I express my delight once more today in dictating a message to the Latter-day Saints. Years ago I made a short speech that lasted a minute and a half to the effect that we were the architects of our own lives, and that we and we alone are responsible for not making a success of life. What I said was as follows:
If you want to know how to be saved, I can tell you: it is by keeping the commandments of God. No power on earth, no power beneath the earth will ever prevent you or me or any Latter-day Saint from being saved, except ourselves. We are the architects of our own lives, not only of the lives here, but the lives to come in the eternity. We ourselves are able to perform every duty and obligation that God has required of men. No commandment was ever given to us but that God has given us the power to keep that commandment. If we fail, we, and we alone, are responsible for the failure, because God endows His servants from the President of the Church down to the humblest member, with all the ability, all the knowledge, all the power that is necessary, faithfully, diligently, and properly to discharge every duty and every obligation that rests upon them, and we, and we alone, will have to answer if we fail in this regard.
This would be forty-odd years ago. These were my sentiments as expressed then, and I repeat them as my sentiments today, with all my heart and soul. DAYS FULL OF JOY
I want to thank the people for their prayers in my behalf. I have not been well now for a period of more than three years, and yet during all that time I have never suffered any pain. My days have been full of joy. I have seen the Church grow in these years as I have never seen it grow before. It has been wonderful. The business institutions in which the Church is interested-the sugar business, the key to the establishment of which was given through the inspiration of the living God to Wilford Woodruff-have been greatly prospered. In every respect the advancement of the Church during the time of my illness has been so great that this has been a period of real, genuine joy and happiness to me. I want to thank all the people connected with the various institutions in which the Church is heavily interested, for the wonderful work they have done. I have not the language to express the gratitude I have felt and the joy I have experienced during these three years because of the marvelous growth of the Church and the prosperity that has attended it on every hand. During this time my Counselors have been most helpful to me. I have been relieved of the drudgery of the work. I have been informed on everything that was going on, and I repeat the Church has never before experienced anything like the prosperity it has enjoyed during this time. The way in which these brethren have assisted me, relieved me of burdens, responded to every suggestion, fills my heart with unexpressible gratitude to them and to my Heavenly Father.
I am grateful for the prosperity that has come to me and that I have been able to help in the erection of temples and in contributing to a fund to be used in the erection of other temples not yet built. One of the joys of my life fifty years ago was the dedication of the Salt Lake Temple. As a child I commenced by donating the amount of twenty-five cents a month and continued making contributions for that purpose until finally the little stake over which I presided-the Tooele Stake-raised fifteen thousand dollars as a special contribution just before the dedication. I am grateful to join with you in commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of its dedication.
The Lord has been good to me, and he has answered the prayers of the people as well as my own prayers that while the Lord should leave me here upon earth I should be able physically and mentally to go forward in the furtherance of His work. I feel that the recovery I have made has been really miraculous.
GRATITUDE FOR INCREASE IN TITHING
I am grateful to the Lord for the way in which He has opened the hearts of the people and led them to pay their tithing. The Church has never in all its history been in as strong a financial position as it is today. When I think that in President Woodruff's time the credit of the Church was so low that he could not borrow a thousand dollars and that now the credit is so high we could borrow any sum that we might need, I am made happy beyond all expression. We have enough money to do all the things which it is necessary for us to do in carrying on the work of the Church. I want to say to the people that we are guarding the funds which you place in our hands. We are spending them only for the advancement of the work of the Lord and we feel that these are trust funds of the very highest character. Our tithing for the year 1942 was more than fifty percent greater than in 1941, and notwithstanding the enormous burden of taxes which the people now have to pay and notwithstanding the many and great calls which are made upon them to buy government bonds, to make Red Cross contributions, to contribute to community chests, and to make also their regular Church contributions such as Fast offerings, Welfare contributions, and the like, nevertheless for the opening months of this year our tithing is far and away beyond what it was for the same period in 1942.
TEMPLE BUILDING TO CONTINUE
I am happy to tell you that we have purchased in the Oakland area another temple site. The negotiations have been finally concluded and the title has passed. The site is located on the lower foothills of East Oakland on a rounded hill overlooking San Francisco Bay. We shall in due course build there a splendid temple.
We are prepared to go forward with the building of the Los Angeles Temple on the beautiful site we have there just so soon as it is possible to do so in view of priorities and other war-time conditions.
The Idaho Falls Temple is nearing completion. This is a beautiful building. It is being artistically decorated and furnished, and we look forward to its dedication in the not distant future.
PRAYERS FOR YOUTH AND PARENTS
I am grateful to our Heavenly Father for the faith and faithfulness of this great people, for their devotion to His service, for their effort and determination to live in accordance with His laws and commandments.
I thank our Heavenly Father that He has given them the strength and courage to resist evils as well as they have been able to do so. I pray that He will bless the youth of the Church and give them strength to overcome temptation. I pray that He will bring into the heart of every boy and of every girl a knowledge that cleanliness is next to godliness, that they must live clean both in mind and in body, that they will understand that the sin of unchastity is to the Lord next to the sin of murder.
I pray that the Lord will give to the parents of the youth an understanding and appreciation of the dangers and temptations to which their children are subjected, that they may be led and guided to encourage their children, to direct them, to teach them how to live as the Lord would have them live. The Lord has said He would sift His people, and I pray that when that sifting comes no parent may have failed to do his duty, and no child shall have failed to obey the commandments of the Lord.
BLESSING AND COMMENDATION OF FAITHFUL SAINTS
Under the authority and power given to me, with all my heart and soul I bless the Latter-day Saints. Again I thank them from the bottom of my heart for their faith and for their prayers in my behalf, and I am grateful to have had their faith and prayers. I believe that all true, faithful, diligent Latter-day Saints have given to me the best that is in them, in supplicating God in my behalf, for His Spirit, for health, for vigor in body and mind. I pray that God's blessings may be upon Israel and upon all honest men everywhere. I pray with all my heart that those who have made mistakes will repent; and by this we may know that they have repented-they will confess their sins and depart from them.
I desire especially to extend my blessings to all the men and women who preside in all the stakes of Zion throughout the Church, in all the missions, in all the wards, in all the quorums of the Priesthood, and in all the auxiliary organizations. I am convinced beyond the shadow of a doubt that there cannot be found in any part of the world other men and women giving so unselfishly of their time, of their talents, and of the best that is in them, for the salvation of the souls of men. I am satisfied that there are no other people who are devoting so much of their time, of their money, of their thoughts, and of their very being for the advancement of God's work at home and abroad, as are the Latter-day Saints. And with all the power that God has given me, I desire to bless the men and women who are thus giving their time and thought and are setting examples that are worthy of imitation, not only of those over whom they preside, but of all men. Every man and woman who is laboring for the salvation of the souls of men and keeping the commandments of God is entitled to be blessed, and I pray God that His blessings may come to them.
A TESTIMONY OF THE TRUTH
I want to bear you my witness that no man or woman ever lived and kept the laws and commandments of God and who lived according to the teachings of the gospel of Jesus Christ, that God did hot love and honor. This gospel of Jesus Christ which I have embraced and which you have embraced is in very deed the plan of life and salvation which has been again revealed to the earth. It is the same gospel that was proclaimed by our Lord and Master Jesus Christ.
I bear witness to you here today that we have the truth, that God has spoken again, that every gift, every grace, every power and every endowment that came through the holy Priesthood of the living God in the days of the Savior are enjoyed today. I rejoice in knowing that these things that should be enjoyed-the blessings, the healing power of Almighty God, the inspiration of His Spirit whereby men and women have manifestations from Him, the inspiration of the Spirit of God whereby people speak by new tongues and have the interpretation thereof, and each and every grace and gift-are enjoyed today by the Latter-day Saints.
I know that God lives. I know that Jesus is the Christ. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. I have reached out my hand. I have plucked the fruits of the gospel. I have eaten of them, and they are sweet, yea, above all that is sweet. I know that God chose His prophet Joseph Smith and gave him instructions and authority to establish this work, and that the power and the influence of Joseph Smith are now being felt as the angel promised. His name is known for good or evil all over the world, but for evil only by those who malign him. Those who know him, those who know his teachings, know his life was pure and that his teachings were in very deed God's law. I know that we have the plan of life and salvation, not only for the living but for the dead. We have all that is necessary both for our own salvation, that we may be in very deed saviors upon Mount Zion and enter into the temples of our God, and also for those of our ancestors who have died without a knowledge of the gospel.
I say again: This is the same gospel that was proclaimed by our Lord and Master Jesus Christ, for which He gave His life in testimony, and that the lives of our own Prophet and Patriarch were given as a witness to the divinity of the work in which we are engaged. Mormonism, so-called, is in very deed the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. God has given me a witness of these things. I know them, and I bear witness to you, in all humility, and I do it in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Joseph Fielding Smith
Joseph Fielding Smith, Conference Report, April 1943, pp. 11-16
"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance". So said the Psalmist. This saying it would be well for the people of America to remember.
OUR COUNTRY UNDER DIVINE GUIDANCE
No nation has been more greatly blessed than has the United States. We live in a land which has been called choice above all other lands by divine pronouncement. The Lord has watched over it with a jealous care and has commanded its people to serve Him lest His wrath be kindled against them and His blessings be withdrawn. Our government came into existence through divine guidance. The inspiration of the Lord rested upon the patriots who established it, and inspired them through the dark days of their struggle for independence and through the critical period which followed that struggle when they framed our glorious Constitution which guarantees to all the self-evident truth proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence, "that all men are created equal: that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights: that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." That is to say, it is the right of every soul to have equal and unrestricted justice before the law, equal rights to worship according to the dictates of conscience and to labor according to the individual inclinations, independently of coercion or compulsion. That this might be, the Lord has said, "I established the Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose and redeemed the land by the shedding of blood".
The founders of this nation were men of humble faith. Many of them saw in vision a glorious destiny for our government, provided we would faithfully continue in the path of justice and right with contrite spirits and humble hearts, accepting the divine truths which are found in the Holy Scriptures. The appeal of these men has echoed down the passing years with prophetic warning to the succeeding generations, pleading with them to be true to all these standards which lay at the foundation of our government. This country was founded as a Christian nation, with the acceptance of Jesus Christ as the Redeemer of the world. It was predicted by a prophet of old that this land would be a land of liberty and it would be fortified against all other nations as long as its inhabitants would serve Jesus Christ; but should they stray from the Son of God, it would cease to be a land of liberty and His anger be kindled against them.
DANGER IN FORSAKING RIGHTEOUSNESS
It is a sad reflection, but one that cannot be successfully refuted, that we have forgotten the admonition which has come down to us, just as Israel forgot the commandments which would have blessed that nation in the land of Canaan forever had they been observed. In forsaking these laws we stand in danger of punishment as the people of Israel stood in danger of punishment because they forsook the Lord and failed to repent and accept the warnings of their prophets.
Since the days of our fathers there has been a gradual straying froth the sacred teachings which we have received. In later years we have, in fact, fulfilled the prophecy of Paul:
This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.
This is a very severe indictment made by Paul; but can we honestly deny the charge? The Ten Commandments are just as much the word of the Lord today as they were when written by the finger of God on Sinai. They have not been abrogated; they have not been modified and are binding upon the people with all the force which accompanied them when first uttered. As sure as we live, we are to be judged by them and all other divine commandments, for God will not permit us to mock Him and hold His laws in contempt with impunity.
Have not the people of this land ignored the first commandment?
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
In other words, all that has been revealed for the salvation of man from the beginning to our own time is circumscribed, included in, and a part of these two great laws. If we love the Lord with all the heart, with all the soul, and with all the mind, and our neighbors as ourselves, then there is nothing more to be desired. Then we will be in harmony with the total of sacred law. If we were willing to live in harmony with these two great commandments-and we must do so eventually if we are worthy to live in the presence of God-then wickedness, jealousy, ambition, covetousness, bloodshed, and all sin of every nature would be banished from the earth. Then would come a day of eternal peace and happiness. What a glorious day that would be! We have been endowed with sufficient reason to know that such a state is most desirable and would establish among men the Fatherhood of God and the perfect brotherhood of man.
But as a people have we not forsaken these commandments? Can we say that we love the Lord with all the soul? Can we say we are as Solicitous for the welfare of our neighbor as we are for our own? As we look about us, we cannot fail to see the selfishness, the unbelief, blasphemy, and love of evil which are found everywhere among the people, all revealing to us our weakness and unwillingness to obey these laws. We are not ignorant of the things of God, for they have been made known to us from the days of Adam until now and are recorded in the Holy Scriptures. Messengers from the presence of God have been sent to the earth from the beginning to establish in the hearts of men and to reveal to them all that is essential for man's salvation. If any among us is ignorant of these things, it is due to wilful rebellion. The Son of God came to earth Himself to show us by example the way to eternal life, and was Himself free from all sin. We cannot excuse ourselves for the violation of the laws of God on the ground of ignorance. With all of these commandments before us, we are moral agents responsible to the Most High and under obligation to be obedient. Nevertheless, because of the love of the things of the world and the enticing influence of the powers of darkness, we have departed from the strait path which leads to life and which our Lord has said few men find because they love darkness rather than light, their deeds being evil. We have permitted the philosophies of men, which deny the divinity of Jesus Christ and mock at the sacred ordinances of the gospel, to enter into our schools, our businesses, and our homes, thus weakening our faith and our reverence for our Creator. We have forgotten that man was created in the image of God, that the scriptures declare that we are His offspring, and that we are commanded to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.
LAWS OF GOD TO BE OBEYED
Are we keeping our bodies clean and free from all contaminating influences? We are informed that no unclean thing can inherit the kingdom of God, that "he that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still". So it will be in the judgment. Every man shall receive a reward according to his works. Unfortunately there are many selfish, greedy agencies at work playing upon the credulity and ignorance of the people, enticing them to indulge in many evil habits which weaken and impair their vitality and drive them from the spiritual guidance promised them through their humility and faith.
Have we observed the Sabbath day and kept it holy? Is it not a fact that we have looked upon this law as being obsolete; something suited, perhaps to the needs of a primitive people, who, like little children, need special care, but not necessary for us to observe in this modern world of superior wisdom? Is it not the fact that through the length and breadth of our land, this sacred commandment has been treated, and is being treated, with absolute contempt? Have we not made of it a day of pleasure, of indulgence, and have we not lost all love for its sacredness? How can we expect the Lord to bless us when we ignore so universally this holy law?
Have we not forgotten to pray and to thank the Lord for His mercies and for His guidance in all that we do? If at times we have been requested to seek the help of the Lord in this great struggle which has deluged the world, have we prayed in the true spirit of prayer? What good does it do for us to petition the Lord, if we have no intention of keeping His commandments? Such praying is hollow mockery and an insult before the throne of grace. How dare we presume to expect a favorable answer if such is the case? "Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." So said Isaiah. But is not the Lord always near when we petition Him? Verily no! He has said, "They were slow to hearken unto the voice of the Lord their God; therefore, the Lord their God is slow to hearken unto their prayers, to answer them in the day of their trouble. In the day of their peace they esteemed lightly my counsel; but, in the day of their trouble, of necessity they feel after me". If we draw near unto Him, He will draw near unto us, and we will not be forsaken; but if we do not draw near to Him, we have no promise that He will answer us in our rebellion.
Are we free from all covetousness? Do we refrain from desiring to possess unjustly the property of others? Have we permitted the lusts of the flesh and the desire to possess that which is not our honest due, to canker our souls?
Have we not come to look upon the sacred and holy bonds of matrimony as merely a civil contract which may be broken at will on the slightest whim by either covenanting party? Has not divorce become a blot upon the nation? How can we reconcile our practices and the statutes of many states with the commandments given us by Jesus Christ in relation to the marriage covenant? The home is the foundation of civilization and vital to the safety of our country. When the home is destroyed, the foundation of the country is in danger of destruction. Such has been the history of the past among nations. Marriage is a sacred ordinance instituted before death came into the world when the Lord said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him".
SUFFERING COMES THROUGH LOSS OF BLESSINGS
Throughout our land we see the tragedy of broken homes, fathers and mothers separated, children denied the natural affections. Children have a right to the blessings coming from this sacred union. They are entitled to the love and care of faithful parents and the happiness and devotion which true worship brings. When these blessings are lost, the whole community suffers and the integrity of government is weakened. It is a shame and a disgrace that so much evil is coming out of broken homes, and this comes largely because we have forgotten God and our obligations to serve and honor Him. Truly we have much room for repentance and a return to the simple worship of true Christianity.
THE NEED FOR RELIGION
President Calvin Coolidge once said:
Our government rests upon religion. It is from that source that we derive our reverence for truth and justice, for equality and liberality and for the rights of mankind. Unless the people believe in these principles they cannot believe in our government. There are only two main theories of government in the world. One rests on righteousness and the other on force One appeals to reason, the other appeals to the sword. One is exemplified in a republic, the other is represented by a despotism.
The government of a country never gets ahead of the religion of a country. There is no way by which we can substitute the authority of law for the virtue of men. Of course we can help to restrain the vicious and furnish a fair degree of security and protection by legislation and police control, but the real reform which society in these days is seeking will come as a result of religious convictions, or they will not come at all. Peace, justice, charity-these cannot be legislated into being. They are the result of Divine Grace.
It is true that a country cannot get ahead of its religion. The higher our ideals, the nearer we observe divine law, and the stronger are our spiritual forces. No Christian country can forsake the divinity of Jesus Christ and not suffer. In those lands in Europe where paganism has superseded the Christian ideals, there is bound to come decay and eventually, if there is no repentance, their former greatness will be forgotten. Jesus said: "And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?".
Here is another inspiring thought. It was copied from a panel on the wall in the chapel at Stanford University.
There is no narrowing so deadly as the narrowing of man's horizon of spiritual things. No worse evil could befall him in his course on earth than to lose sight of heaven; and it is not civilization that can prevent this; it is not civilization that can compensate for it. No widening of science, no possession of abstract truth, can indemnify for an enfeebled hold on the highest and eternal truth of humanity.
What shall a man give in exchange for his soul?.
But some one will say: "Are we not living in the most enlightened age the world has ever seen? Is it not true that great progress is being made to lessen the burdens and increase the happiness of man?" Yes, this is true in regard to many material things. Great progress has been made in mechanics, chemistry, physics, surgery, and other things. Men have built great telescopes that have brought the hidden galaxies to view. They have, by the aid of the microscope, discovered vast worlds of microorganisms, some of which are as deadly as are men towards their fellow men. They have discovered means to control disease; they have, by the aid of anesthesia, made men insensible to pain, thus permitting major and delicate operations which could not otherwise be performed. They have invented machines more sensitive than the human touch, more far-seeing than the human eye. They have controlled elements and made machinery that can move mountains, and many other things have they done too numerous to mention. Yes, this is a wonderful age. However, all of these discoveries and inventions have not drawn men nearer to God!
Nor created in their hearts humility and the spirit of repentance, but to the contrary, to their condemnation. Nearly everything, it seems, which has been given that should be a blessing to men, has been turned to evil. Many of these discoveries and inventions are now being used to bring destruction to the human race. They are being used in the most cruel, most inhuman, godless war this world has ever seen. They are employed by criminals to aid them in their crimes, by the ambitious in their efforts to destroy the agency of man, and by despots who are endeavoring to subjugate the world to an unholy, wicked rule.
Faith has not increased in the world, nor has righteousness, nor obedience to God. What the world needs today is to draw nearer to the Lord. We need more humble, abiding faith in our Redeemer, more love in our hearts for our Eternal Father and for our fellow men. Yes, this is a good time, a vital time-if we are to survive the forces of evil-for every man every man to forsake the paths of sin and turn unto the Lord who will abundantly pardon. If we will do this, we may in confidence call upon the Lord and He will be near. He will help us fight our battles to cleanse the world of despotism and make it a fit abode for all who love the principles of truth and righteousness.
"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord". Let us make our nation all that it was destined to be, and this will come if we will humble ourselves and learn to be obedient to divine law.
May the peace and blessings of the Lord be ours, I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, April 1943, pp. 16-21
Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper, and shall be led to a land of promise.
That inspired promise made over two thousand years ago, referred to America, in loyalty to which every true American can say in his heart:
Breathes there a man, with soul so dead, Who never to himself hath said, This is my own, my native land! Whose heart hath ne'er within him burned, As home his footsteps he hath turned, From wandering on a foreign strand!
A GOD-BLESSED LAND
In the giant forest of the Sequoia National Park there is standing even today, a living tree that was three thousand years old when Columbus discovered America. One cannot stand by the side of this, in all probability the oldest living thing in the world, without wishing that it had the intelligence and power to tell the story of the races and peoples who for forty centuries have lived, flourished, and decayed in this choicest, most wonderful of all lands. The origin and the rise of the Incas might have antedated this old tree's birth, and possibly the coming of the Jaredites might have preceded by a few hundred years this ancient tree's beginning, but the downfall of the Jaredites, the beginning, rise, and end of the Nephites, the influx of European peoples, the conquest of Mexico, the subjugation of the Indians, and the flourishing of European civilization, have all come within the life-span of this awe-inspiring, death-defying, divinely created thing. Nations have risen and nations have perished in the Americas-a land on which it is decreed no king shall ever hold sway.
To each and all of these nations the land was a blessed land, and today is even more glorious than ever. No observer can travel from the sun-kissed beaches of the Pacific to the wooded hills and power-producing rivers of New England without being thrilled by the greatness of these United States. The painted deserts of the West, flower-carpeted in springtime, and holding hidden beauty and entrancing interest in every season-the inspiring monuments of the Rockies, harboring snows as reservoirs for crops in valleys below-the colorful canyons, painted only by the Creator Himself-the fertile food-producing valley of the Mississippi-the mighty forests of the Northwest-the navigable rivers-the climate, varying to suit all needs and conditions-all these and a thousand other equally glorious and productive features bear witness to the age-old declaration that this is a "land choice above all other lands", and inspire every patriot to say, "This is my own, my native land." Millions of Americans today declare with Winthrop: "Our country, to be cherished in all our hearts, to be defended by all our hands."
America, and this includes Canada and the Southern Republics, was a choice land when the Jaredites left the land of Shinar approximately four thousand years ago. So was it fourteen hundred years later when Lehi and his colony formed the nucleus of a nation, prospered on the bounty of the country, and after a thousand years perished because of transgression.
America was a great land when the stately Indian chiefs ruled their tribes, which thrived from the Behring Sea in the north to the Panama and the towering Andes in the south.
Today, yielding to the demands of the greatest economic era since the dawn of her creation America is demonstrating the vastness of her resources and the extent of her natural possibilities as never before. Well may we sing: I love thy rocks and rills, Thy woods and templed hills; My heart with rapture thrills Like that above.
This country is not only the choicest of all lands, but now the preserver of true liberty, and the hope of civilized man!
However, as I have already implied, a country may be ever so great and fruitful, yet a nation subsisting upon it be impotent and decadent. As Lyman Abbott has truly said:
The greatness of a nation is measured, not by its fruitful acres, but by the men who cultivate those acres; not by great forests, but by the men who use those forests; not by its mines, but by the men who work them.
God has made America fruitful; man must make and keep the nation great.
INTEGRITY FUNDAMENTAL
The foundation of a noble character is integrity. By this virtue the strength of a nation, as of an individual, may be judged. No nation can ever become truly great, and win the confidence of other peoples, which to further its own selfish ends will, for example, consider an honorable treaty as "a mere scrap of paper." No nation will become great whose trusted officers will pass legislation for personal gain, who will take advantage of a public office for personal preferment, or to gratify vain ambition, or who will, through forgery, chicanery, and fraud, rob the government or be false in office to a public trust.
Honesty, sincerity of purpose, must be the dominant traits of character in leaders of a nation that would be truly great.
"I hope," said George Washington, "that I may ever have virtue and firmness enough to maintain what I consider to be the most enviable of all titles-the character of an honest man."
It was Washington's character more than his brilliancy of intellect that made him the choice of all as their natural leader when the thirteen original colonies decided to sever their connection with the mother country. As one in eulogy to the father of our country truly said:
When he appeared among the eloquent orators, the ingenious thinkers, the vehement patriots of the Revolution, his modesty and temperate profession could not conceal his superiority; he at once, by the very nature of his character, was felt to be their leader.
Men of sterling statesmanship, unknown or renowned, who strive to emulate his strength of character constitute today as always the greatest asset of our mighty and much beloved United States.
Also bearing record to integrity and honor as being an indispensable element in a truly great nation is the life of the immortal Lincoln, in whom was "vindicated the greatness of real goodness, and the goodness of real greatness," to whose character the passing centuries can add only more brilliant luster.
The purest treasure mortal times afford Is spotless reputation: that away, Men are but guilded loam, or painted clay.
THE AMERICAN HOME
A second essential, fundamental element in the building and in the perpetuity of a great people is the home. "The strength of a nation, especially of a republican nation, is in the intelligent and well-ordered homes of the people." If and when the time ever comes that parents shift to the state the responsibility of rearing their children, the stability of the nation will be undermined, and its impairment and disintegration will have begun.
The increasing divorce rate in the United States today is a threatening menace to this nation's greatness. Race suicide and tandem polygamous relationships made possible by lax divorce laws are enemies of an ideal national life. The increase throughout the United States in the percentage of divorces is alarming, and this insidious evil is increasing in the Church itself. There are too many couples in the Church who, when difficulties arise, seek the remedy in divorce courts.
In the well-ordered home we may experience on earth a taste of heaven. It is there that the babe in a mother's caress first experiences a sense of security; finds in the mother's kiss the first realization of affection; discovers in mother's sympathy and tenderness the first assurance that there is love in the world.
A week or so ago conditions made it necessary that I share a Pullman with forty soldier boys-gentlemen they were, a credit to any nation. In course of a conversation, one of them remarked: "My dad's hair too is white"; then he added in a tone that expressed the depth of his feeling: "How I should like to see that old gray head this morning!"
He and his companions were en route for an encampment to complete their training before embarking for overseas. They are enlisted to defend not only the free agency of man but the rights and sanctity of home and loved ones. Such an affection for home and loved ones as felt by that soldier boy will make death preferable to surrender to an enemy who would destroy all that true American soldiers hold dear.
A NATIONAL NUISANCE
At this point I must mention an insidious evil that is destroying, termite-like, the foundation of character as well as that of the home and nation. I refer to the appalling increase in the use of tobacco, particularly among the young. Of its uselessness, expensiveness, injuriousness to health, I will say nothing. I shall refer only to its undermining effect on character and to its slovenliness.
Respect for another's rights and property is fundamental in good government. It is a mark of refinement in the individual. It is a fundamental Christian virtue. Nicotine seems to dull, if not kill completely this trait of true culture, and women are fast becoming its pitiable victims, and the worst offenders in society. There are still a few trains that carry non-smoking compartments, a few eating places with signs, "No smoking." In violation of such placards, it is not infrequent, however, to see a woman with utter disregard for the feelings of her fellow-passengers, the first in a car to light a cigarette. On one occasion, when the conductor politely called a woman's attention to the fact that a smoking car was in the rear, she blandly replied: "Oh, I'm quite comfortable where I am, thank you!"
It is not uncommon now to see bureaus, dressing tables, desks, mantles, and other pieces of furniture in first-class hotels marred by burning cigarettes. Ashes litter costly carpets. Railroad stations, theatre and hotel lobbies are littered with burnt-out matches, stubs of cigarettes, and cigars. Smoking has become our nationwide nuisance number one. If men and women must smoke, and it seems that many are now slaves to that habit, then for the sake of cleanliness and neatness, and pride of our country, as well as of consideration for others, let them refrain from marring furniture, and from strewing ashes and burnt-out matches and cigarette stubs in buildings where people assemble either for pleasure or instruction. Because of thoughtlessness in this regard, many of our public places are littered as unkept barns.
I appeal to young men and women of the Church to refrain from this obnoxious habit. To bishops, I would say: Choose no person to act as either an officer or teacher in your quorums or auxiliaries who is guilty of using tobacco. If teachers cannot teach by example, their precepts will be as "sounding brass and tinkling cymbal".
CHASTITY AN IMPORTANT FACTOR
I mentioned the home as the most important factor in building a great nation. The most vicious enemy to home life is immorality. At the present time social workers are greatly concerned over the number of young girls between fifteen and nineteen who seem to have lost all sense of decency and who shamelessly sacrifice themselves on the altar of lust. Of this evil, Victor Hugo writes impressively:
The holy law of Jesus Christ governs our civilization; but it does not yet permeate it; it is said that slavery has disappeared from European civilization. That is a mistake. It still exists; but it weighs now only upon woman, and it is called prostitution.
Life and social order have spoken their last word to her. All that can happen to her has happened. She has endured all, borne all, experienced all, suffered all, lost all, wept for all. She is resigned with that resignation which resembles indifference as death resembles sleep. She shuns nothing now. She fears nothing now. Every cloud falls upon her and all the oceans sweep over her!
This corroding evil is just as demoralizing to the young man as it is to the young woman. In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints there is no double standard of morality. The young man should approach the marriage altar just as fit for fatherhood as his sweetheart is worthy of motherhood.
And what has all this to do with the greatness of a nation? The answer is apparent. Pure water does not flow from a polluted spring-nor a healthy nation from a diseased parentage.
Chastity, not indulgence, during the pre-marital years, is the source of harmony and happiness in the home, and the chief contributing factor to the health and perpetuity of the race. All the virtues that make up a beautiful character-loyalty, dependability, confidence, trust, love of God, and fidelity to man-are associated with this diadem in the crown of virtuous womanhood and of virile manhood.
The word of the Lord to His Church is: Keep yourself unspotted from the world.
Yes, America is a "land choice above all other lands". It is the responsibility of Americans to build a mighty and superior nation. The history of the nations of the past proves that nations in the most fruitful and most productive of all lands may become senile and decadent.
While our sons, sweethearts, and husbands are offering their lives in defense of the God-given gift of free agency and for the right to live without the domination of tyranny, let us in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as citizens of our beloved country, use our influence to see that men and women of upright character, of unimpeachable honor are elected to office, that our homes are kept unpolluted and unbroken by infidelity, that children therein will be trained to keep the commandments of the Lord, to be "honest, true, chaste, benevolent, and virtuous, and to do good to all men". Cherishing such ideals, we can with all our hearts say with the poet Longfellow:
Thou, too, sail on, O Ship of State! Sail on, O Union, strong and great! Humanity with all its fears, With all the hope of future years, Is hanging breathless on thy fate!
In the present crisis of the nations of the globe I pray that this great nation and the Dominion on the north may be truly the harbor of freedom, and a safe guide to the confused peoples of the world.
May the members of the Church of Jesus Christ, preaching the restored gospel, ever remember the Savior's injunction: "Ye are the light of the world.... Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven".
Elder Rudger Clawson
Rudger Clawson, Conference Report, April 1943, pp. 23-24
My brethren, at the set time Columbus appeared, and the new world was born. At the set time Joseph Smith appeared, and it was predicted that a great and marvelous work was to commence. Both characters were here and had their part to play among the children of men. Columbus discovered the new world on October 12, 1492. Joseph Smith organized the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints April 6, 1830, and it is destined to fill the whole earth.
A VISION IN THE KIRTLAND TEMPLE
I am impressed this afternoon to read a few words froth the D&C;, Section 110:
The veil was taken from our minds, and the eyes of our understanding were opened.
We saw the Lord standing upon the breastwork of the pulpit, before us; and under his feet was a paved work of pure gold, in color like amber.
His eyes were as a flame of fire; the hair of his head was white like the pure snow; his countenance shone above the brightness of the sun; and his voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters, even the voice of Jehovah, saying:
I am the first and the last; I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain; I am your advocate with the Father.
Behold, your sins are forgiven you; you are clean before me; therefore, lift up your heads and rejoice.
Let the hearts of your brethren rejoice, and let the hearts of all my people rejoice, who have, with their might, built this house to my name.
For behold, I have accepted this house, and my name shall be here; and I will manifest myself to my people in mercy in this house. Yea, I will appear unto my servants, and speak unto them with mine own voice, if my people will keep my commandments, and do not pollute this holy house.
Yea, the hearts of thousands and tens of thousands shall greatly rejoice in consequence of the blessings which shall be poured out, and the endowment with which my servants have been endowed in this house.
And the fame of this house shall spread to foreign lands; and this is the beginning of the blessing which shall be poured out upon the heads of my people. Even so. Amen.
After this vision closed, the heavens were again opened unto us; and Moses appeared before us, and committed unto us the keys of the gathering of Israel from the four parts of the earth, and the leading of the ten tribes from the land of the north.
After this, Elias appeared, and committed the dispensation of the gospel of Abraham, saying that in us and our seed all generations after us should be blessed.
After this vision had closed, another great and glorious vision burst upon us; for Elijah the prophet, who was taken to heaven without tasting death, stood before us, and said:
Behold, the time has fully come, which was spoken of by the mouth of Malachi-testifying that he should be sent, before the great and dreadful day of the Lord come-
To turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse-
Therefore, the keys of this dispensation are committed into your hands; and by this ye may know that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at the doors.
It is shown here very clearly that before this marvelous work and wonder should be accomplished certain keys should be given to the earth, and I have read in your hearing concerning these keys, and it throws a great deal of light on this subject. It emphasizes the responsibility resting upon Latter-day Saints to familiarize themselves with these keys and laws and testimonies that are given.
A TESTIMONY
I testify to you, my brethren, that this revelation was given for our profit, and I express to you my testimony in these words, that I know the Lord is with us, that Jesus is the Christ, and that Joseph Smith was and is a prophet of God. We are engaged in a glorious work. It is a marvelous scene to look out upon this gathering of Priesthood.
I trust that I may never lose this testimony that I have.
God bless you, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Levi Edgar Young
Levi Edgar Young, Conference Report, April 1943, pp. 24-26
Ninety years ago, on the sixth of April, 1853, three missionaries were called to go to China to carry the gospel message to the people of that country. One of those young men was Hosea Stout, then a Regent of the University of Deseret. They were to go to San Francisco, and there take a sailing ship bound for Asiatic ports. The history of that missionary endeavor is among the most thrilling in the history of the Church. During that same year, Elder Lorenzo Snow laboring in Italy edited and printed the Book of Mormon in Italian, and Elder John Taylor supervised the printing of the same book in French, in the city of Paris. What a far-reaching work was done in those early days by the missionaries of the Church!
IMPORTANCE OF LOCAL MISSIONARY WORK
When the First Presidency issued their decision in 1936 that every stake of Zion should maintain an organized mission, the message was received by all the stake presidents as a clarion call. Within a few months, every stake had its local organization, and hundreds of missionaries had begun their work. The splendor of their spirit and the nobility of their achievements have already become known, for by their efforts hundreds of souls have been brought to a knowledge of the gospel.
The call of these local missionaries is just as important and sacred as the call of the missionaries to go into foreign countries. While it comes through the stake presidents, it is none the less important and divine, for the First Presidency has delegated the stake presidents to attend to this important work. The mission is for two years, and when a brother or sister accepts the call, it is a sacred promise to God that he or she will go forth with joy and faith to explain the message of eternal life. They may have felt at times something of fear, but they recall the words of the Apostle Paul to Timothy:
Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
ADVICE GIVEN TO MISSIONARIES
As you go to your work, remember that the value of your teaching depends upon the spirit in which it is done. With your gifts and opportunities you converse with people of all classes, and you show them how they may glorify their lives through the gospel of Jesus Christ. The call you have accepted is much larger than can be met by any ethical code or teaching of philosophy. You put into your work your best thought, and that dignifies your lives. You are capable of doing better work than ever before, for you are to give every minute of your spare time to filling your minds with knowledge, for to be missionaries, you must be good teachers. Plan your work and devote your lives to it. You missionaries are not to do any other Church work than that of the true missionary, and no gifts of God can make good unless you give your spare hours to quiet and devoted study. Your success will depend upon the spirit of genuineness, of faith, and of humility, which characterize your words. Thousands of people have come recently to live in Utah. Remember that the world is full of good people everywhere, and it is for you to stir up the gift of God within them. It is not only the matter but the manner; not only the doctrine, but the man that count. Read the Church works with deep intent and purpose, and with prayerful hearts. You will appreciate the growing strength of your own powers. A noted scholar of Oxford University spent thirty-eight years in studying the book of Exodus, and think of the many scholars who have given their lives to the study of the book of Job. If you will read carefully the first chapter of the first book of Nephi in the Book of Mormon, you will see why one student has spent months in analyzing its fine content. The greatest and most enduring satisfaction comes from your studies and in your influence on individuals; in guiding them, helping them, saving them.
There is something noble, something ineffably rich and magnificent about your work. All that is expected of you besides your labors in the field and your hours of study is your attendance at sacrament meetings as well as your regular quorum and Priesthood meetings. Fulfill your missions with all your hearts and may God bless you in your noble work. Look to the future. Build upon the past, but look to better days. Strive for more knowledge and a better understanding of the "spirit of true religion." Glorify your Father in heaven by glorifying the divine gifts that He has given you. Then you will have power and strength, and people will sense your sincere purposes and your deep and abiding testimonies of the glory of the Lord.
If you missionaries will accept your call as a divine purpose, then you shall walk unafraid every day and enjoy your hours with the people whom you meet. You will trust instinctively and naturally the guidance of the Holy Spirit on which you learned to rely in the days of your strength. May the Lord bless you in your sacred endeavors, I ask in His name. Amen.
Elder Marion G. Romney
Marion G. Romney, Conference Report, April 1943, pp. 26-29
Since October Conference six months ago, a most unusual experience has been mine. With Brother Roscoe W. Eardley, I have visited in more than one hundred and twenty of the one hundred and forty-three Stakes of the Church in what may be called an inspection tour of Welfare projects and activities. We have held regional Welfare meetings in sixteen of the seventeen Welfare regions. I have appreciated this assignment and the gracious manner in which you brethren have received us.
PURPOSE OF WELFARE PLAN
Being thus intensely engaged in the activities of Church Welfare, I am led to refer to some of them here. In April, 1936-just seven years ago-the First Presidency, in "An Important Message to the Presidents of Stakes and Bishoprics of the Church," stated the guiding principles of the "Church Welfare Plan." At the October Conference following, they read a report of what had been accomplished during the intervening six months. Their reason for inaugurating the plan was stated as follows:
Our primary purpose was to set up, insofar as it might be possible, a system under which the curse of idleness would be done away with, the evils of the dole abolished, and independence, industry, thrift and self-respect be once more established amongst our people. Work is to be re-enthroned as the ruling principle of the lives of our Church members... The Church aims to help provide for the care and sustenance of those on direct relief-federal, state, and county, as also for those for whom the Church has heretofore cared.
The progress made in Welfare production since the beginning has been remarkable. The evidence of it is apparent in every stake. A record of the time, means, and enthusiasm voluntarily contributed to Welfare production and processing would fill volumes.
From those first general instructions given in April, 1936, that "every bishop should aim to have accumulated by next October conference sufficient food and clothes to provide for every needy family in his ward during the coming winter," has developed what has come to be known as "the annual Churchwide Welfare budget," prepared each year with great care. The one for 1943 now in your hands, if produced, processed, and delivered to bishops' storehouses, will supply eighty percent of life's necessities for thirteen thousand people. We are getting some very valuable experience in producing.
There are, however, two objectives of Church Welfare, for the accomplishment of which we must accelerate our efforts. First, we must prayerfully and diligently seek to develop production and other projects through which work, that is, employment, suited to the capacity of our non-self-sustaining members shall be provided, and second, we must with vigor and in the spirit of true charity, which is "the pure love of Christ" seek to induce these, our brothers and sisters, to help us in our Welfare activities and to be cared for in the Welfare way. Only thus can we help to do away with the curse of idleness, abolish the evils of the dole, and once more establish industry, thrift, and self-respect amongst our people.
DUTY OF CHURCH MEMBERS TO BE LEADERS
There is still a tendency amongst us to place our hope and confidence for economic security in governmental and other welfare agencies rather than in our own industry. We have no business being carried away by the false panaceas of the world. We are the members of the Church of Christ. The Church and its members are to be leaders-not leaners-in the solution of the problems which confront us. We of the Church possess the "everlasting covenant, even the fulness of the gospel", which is to be our guide in resolving all issues. On this subject the Lord hath thus spoken:
I have sent mine everlasting covenant into the world, to be a light to the world, and to be a standard for my people, and for the Gentiles to seek to it, and to be a messenger before my face to prepare the way before me.
And again, when giving instructions for the organization of His people, in regulating and establishing the affairs of the storehouse for the poor of His people, the Lord stated His purpose to be:
That through my providence, notwithstanding the tribulation which shall descend upon you, that the church may stand independent above all other creatures beneath the celestial world.
Now, the Welfare plan points the way to that independence. At the base of that way lie some fundamental principles for the Latter-day Saints-and for all peoples in the world, for that matter-to practice.
First, every individual should value his or her independence and labor with all his might to maintain it by being self-sustaining. This the Lord enjoined upon us when from the Garden of Eden He sent forth our first parents under the stern command, "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground".
Second, next to himself, the responsibility for sustaining an individual rests upon his family-parents for their children, children for their parents. It is an ungrateful child who, having the ability, is unwilling to assist his parents to remain independent of relief.
Finally, the individual having done all he can to maintain himself, and the members of his family having done what they can to assist him, then the Church, through the Welfare plan, stands ready to see that its members, who will accept the plan and work in it to the extent of their ability, shall each be cared for "according to his family, according to his circumstances and his wants and needs".
AN EXAMPLE OF SELF-SUPPORT
Here is an example of what I mean by accepting the plan and working in it to the extent of one's ability.
There is an enterprising bishop in the Church who had living in his ward a retired cabinet maker, owning enough tools and power machinery to equip a small shop. In the Welfare way a shop was built, equipped, and stocked with lumber and other necessary materials. In that shop such articles as tables, benches, chairs, and cabinets are made. Many of them have been placed in our meeting houses in that area. The day I learned of this project, I was happy to see there an elderly brother who had many years ago helped teach me the carpenter trade. He has passed the most active years of his life and cannot now hold a job in the competitive world. He can, however, do considerable work in that shop. He responded with spirit to the invitation and there gives his full services. From the bishops' storehouse, well-stocked from Fast offerings and Welfare-produced commodities, he receives a comfortable living. He is thus sustaining himself and his wife. This accomplishment has been duplicated many times in our Deseret Industries and on other Welfare projects.
The Church has within itself the power to make every one of its members, who can do anything, self-sustaining in the same way, if the leaders will only use that power in the spirit of their calling and our people will be converted and work and be cared for in the Welfare way.
THE NEED FOR PERMANENT PROJECTS
I repeat again, my brethren, you and the Church members in general have responded magnificently to the calls made upon you for Church Welfare. You have given time, money, work, and property unstintingly. There is one more thing required. To succeed wholly we must give ourselves to the solution of the individual problems of our brothers and sisters. If we would draw them closer to us, win them to the Welfare way, we must have as great an interest, or greater, in them as individuals in the solution of their personal problems and in the success of their lives as we do in obtaining the material things which sustain their lives. We must develop projects which will call for the service which they can render and demonstrate to them that the plan needs them as much as they need it.
Presently we are acquiring and developing permanent projects. This is well. We need permanent projects to insure the production of the necessities of life. We need them so that we shall have a place where our members can work in producing those necessities when their present employment ends. As we develop these projects, let us keep close to the people who should be sustained by the products thereof. Let us bring them in and give them a hand in the developing. Unless they work upon the projects, unless there are projects upon which they can work, according to their capacities, and by so doing sustain themselves and thus re-habilitate their lives, the Welfare plan shall not have served its full purpose.
TRUE SERVICE CALLED FOR
Oh! I know that such an approach calls for patient, intelligent, devoted, and Christ-like service. I know that it is easier just to give money or to go and do the work ourselves, but just giving money and doing the work ourselves will not build up and rehabilitate our brethren. We often do for our children that which they should do for themselves, rather than spend the time and effort, and exercise the patience necessary to teach them how, and induce them to do it. But to what end? To the ruin of our children in many cases.
Through the Welfare plan we shall make a practical application of the divine command, "Love thy neighbor as thyself". When we do, "the curse of idleness will be done away with, the evils of the dole abolished, and independence, industry, thrift, and self-respect be once more established amongst our people." Then the Church shall "stand independent above all other creatures beneath the celestial world", in very deed "a light... for the gentiles to seek to".
God help us to speed the day, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Bishop Marvin O. Ashton
Marvin O. Ashton, Conference Report, April 1943, pp. 29-32
If ever I prayed in my heart that I would have the Spirit of our Heavenly Father, it is today. I hope that whatever I say will be perfectly understood. If what I am going to say is not understood, I certainly will be in very bad shape.
CONFUSION OF WAR BRINGS WORRIES
This man Sherman who marched to the sea, gave a real definition of war-it starts with "h," the second letter is "e," and the last two letters are alike. I do not suppose there was ever a time when we did more real tall thinking, than today. The business man is wondering what is going to happen to his business, what is going to happen to his securities. He is worried. The educator is very much concerned. He is wondering if the clock is being turned back, going to be turned back, and if things considered fundamental are to be thrown in the ash can. Probably I am not putting it too extreme.
The man who champions religion is downcast. Yes, he is upset.
However, as we are brought dose with death there are two philosophies facing one another-One "eat and drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die" -the other "there are no atheists in fox holes." With men as they are brought, if you please, face to face with God, the latter philosophy is predominating. Men though sometimes skeptical otherwise, are turning to God as they never were before. Whether they admit it or not, deep down in their soul, there is religion. Sometimes a man won't admit it-but in an unguarded moment-the bottom of his soul reveals itself and you see him in his true light. He lets the cat out of the bag-like the boisterous fellow who blats out, "My father was an atheist, my grandfather was an atheist and, thank God, I am an atheist."
A PILOT CONFESSED HIS BELIEF
I had the pleasure the other night of eating dinner with this man Whittaker, one of the co-pilots with Eddie Rickenbacker. He is one of those rough and ready fellows we read about, with no pretensions. He says he never went to church in his life. After the meal was over, I walked out in the hall with him, and I asked: "If you don't mind, I would like to ask you a question-very pertinent, or impertinent, whatever you would call it."
He said, "Go to it."
I said: "During those three weeks trial did you have anything of a religious nature come over you?"
He came back strong. "Decidedly so. I have two new words in my vocabulary-'I believe.' " He said: "We didn't pray to God, we talked to Him. If you were going down a lonely street and were waylaid by ruffians and you called and shouted, and the police came to your assistance, you would believe in the police, wouldn't you?" He concluded, "I believe."
Many details of that trip that man told us that were decidedly inspiring. As men get up against real trouble, they get more religious.
Last but not least, we are worried over our morals. To read the statistics of the liquor control in the State of Utah knocks you cold. In 1941, one small county consumed hard liquor to the tune of $60,000--1942 it was $180,000. Now just a few things like that remind us where we are going.
FRANKNESS FROM A YOUNG SPEAKER
Now we are at the point where we are getting onto a dangerous subject. May the Lord help me that I am understood. A typical young Mormon boy in one of the wards the other night made a talk. I had a copy of that talk given me by a friend, because she thought that maybe I might be interested in it. The boy started out something like this:
"I am going to be frank, I want to be. I hope that I am understood." He continued: "Generally when I am asked to give a talk in Church-a few days ahead Pa writes it, Ma corrects it and then Bill runs it off on the typewriter. Then, of course, I learn it off by heart. Now tonight I am not going to do that. I am going to speak just the way I feel." And by the way, I think we ought to encourage more of that kind of talks than we do; we ought to encourage originality; we ought to encourage people to have the courage of their convictions and say what they think. You know, if more talks were given extemporaneously we would get closer to the hearts of the people. Even Mark Twain said he believed in extemporaneous talks. He said he had been studying on one for fifteen years. When he got a chance, he said he wanted to give it. Now, I believe that.
Let's encourage more freedom of speech. It is as refreshing as a drink from a cool fountain. Let's have more expressions that are spontaneous-yes, if you want, call it spontaneous combustion.
The boy proceeded. He started to talk about his friend John. "John was raised in a good family, good parents, good home atmosphere. He goes away to school, gets away from the home fireside, and the first thing you know, John starts to smoke."
John is like some other good men. He has weakness. You bishops of the wards, what attitude is yours with John? Are you kind or are you rigid? Do you take an attitude, do the people of your ward take an attitude that means John is not wanted any more? If I understand Christ, that was not His attitude. Do you want to drive him away from Church?
That boy is somebody's good son; some mother loves him; some father wants him to keep the standards of the Church. Are you going to drive him out, or are you going to put your arm around him and bring him back. "To err is human, to forgive divine."
A PLEA FOR THE BOYS IN THE ARMED SERVICE
I did not say we should have less regard for the standards of the Church; we ought to have more regard for them. We ought to put them up higher; but when a lad makes a mistake, let us be kind. Do you think I am getting too broadminded? Bernard Shaw says: "Be open-minded, but don't get in the draft." Do you think I am in a draft? Oh no, I don't think so. I would rather die of pneumonia through getting in a draft than I would die from hardening of the arteries. A lot of people die of that. In plain American English, are you too rigid?
Now, you have 25,000 boys in the service; you are preaching to them; you are corresponding with them. They are in a new world. They have been taken from the workshop into this new life; they have been taken from the farms, from taking care of beets, into this new life. "An idle brain is the devil's workshop." I am not saying those men are particularly idle, but there are moments when they don't know What to do with themselves; they are tempted as they never were before. What about the boy that stays at home and is not tempted? What about that boy that is tempted? What are you going to do with him when he comes back? Is your attitude going to be one of rigidness, or are you going to be kind to him?
The sun and wind had a meeting one day, and the wind said: "I can take that fellow's coat off quicker than you can." The sun replied: "Go to it." The wind started to blow, and the harder it blew the harder the man pulled his coat around himself. The coat stayed on. The Sun said: "All right, give me a trial." He beat down on that fellow's back, and soon the coat came off. Kindness.
A STOREKEEPER AND A POUND OF BUTTER
My mother told me a story once I never forgot. It was about a fellow who had sticky fingers. He went to a shop and when he thought the merchant was not looking lifted a pound of butter. He concealed it under a big stiff hat that he wore. It was in the days of the big beaver hats. Some merchants are like some schoolteachers-they have eyes in the back of their heads-the storekeeper knew where the pound of butter was.
Now, he's going to call the police-he's got him hands down. That's what you think. But the grocery man had another way of teaching that fellow a good lesson. Yes, he was going to turn on the heat-but with kindness. It was winter. He led his friend over to the fire and with all the warmth of hospitality beckoned him to the stove. "Sit close up to the fire, John; it's a cold day." Yes, he put on the coal. The stove was a crimson red. So was John. Now John began to sweat. It wasn't a question of rendering lard, it was rendering kindness.
Well, now, the shop man got his butter back. The story is a little far-fetched I agree, but John will never again "worlds without end" make a larder of his hat.
AN APPEAL FOR KINDNESS TO THE ERRING
Now, in closing: let us be kind; do not forget that the man who has his weakness is that fellow that charges up San Juan hill to give you your liberty; that fellow that leads his fellows in battle with: "We lick them today or Molly Stark is a widow"; yes, the daredevil that bares his breast to Japanese bullets at Guadalcanal. He may have his weakness, but when you put on your slippers at night and huddle yourself to the fire of liberty, do not forget there is somebody out there who has faults, but who is the one that dares to face death to give you your liberty.
Judge not the working of his brain, And of his heart thou canst not see. What looks to thy dim eyes a stain, In God's pure light may only be A scar, brought from some well-won field Where thou wouldst only faint and yield. -Proctor
May the Lord help us to be kind. Someone, when asked the definition of heaven replied: "Heaven is the place where everybody is kind." And we will get twice as far if we will be less rigid and more kind.
So many Gods and so many creeds, So many paths that wind and wind, While just the art of being kind Is what the sad world needs. -Wilcox
May the Lord help us in it.
Elder Alma Sonne
Alma Sonne, Conference Report, April 1943, p. 36
To most of us a General Conference of the Church is an important event. From it we receive strength and courage. It occurred to me as I sat here this morning and this afternoon that the Church is a great educational institution, supplying the training and the education so much needed in this world, torn asunder at the present time by war and destruction. Its purpose is to enlighten and exalt humanity.
CONFERENCES AN INSPIRATION
Today, in conference assembled, we rejoice in the efficiency of this Church, in its vitality, its power, its growth, its leadership, in its comprehensive program, and in the wide scope of its activities. The conferences of the Church have always been a great inspiration to the Latter-day Saints. We come here to be renewed in our faith, to be encouraged in our labors and to be strengthened in our responsibility, and we never go away disappointed.
RELIGION A PRESENT DAY NEED
The challenge to you and me today, as workers in this Church, has never been greater. "There was never a time more cut off from Christ," says a modern writer, "than the present, and there was never a time that needed Him more."
We have witnessed in recent years a departure from fundamentals long established, a breaking away from standards and doctrines that are as old as the Decalog. The paramount need of the hour, it seems to me, is a return to the old-fashioned virtues that formed the very bedrock of our social and economic life. We should have learned long ago that paganism and true Christianity can never be welded together. You cannot serve God and Mammon, said Jesus. That doctrine was true centuries ago when it was uttered; it is true today. A compromising, distorted and vacillating Christianity was never taught by Jesus and His apostles, or by Joseph Smith and his followers. They were firm and unyielding in their requirements for Church membership
REJOICES IN CHURCH
I rejoice in the testimonies which have come to me concerning the divinity of God's work. It is a great work, as I said in the beginning. The Church is great in purpose and plan, in its program. It is great in its achievements, and in its missionary endeavor. In these days of crisis and turmoil we must not fail, for much depends upon our faith, our integrity, and our activity in the Church.
May God bless the Latter-day Saints, that they may be true to their responsibilities and true to their convictions, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder John A. Widtsoe
John A. Widtsoe, Conference Report, April 1943, pp. 37-39
Dear brethren, fellow-workers in the cause of Christ, I pray that I may be guided by the good spirit that has been with us throughout this day in the few words I may say.
I should like to comment on the theme which was placed before us by President Clawson. This conference coincides, so it happens, with the fiftieth anniversary of the dedication of the great Salt Lake Temple. That beautiful edifice, made of granite and lifting its spires heavenward, is an evidence of the willingness of the Latter-day Saints to yield obedience to the will of God, and to sacrifice in behalf of His cause.
THE IMPORTANCE OF TEMPLE WORK
The work done in the temples of the Lord represents the culmination of the obligations, privileges and blessings of the Priesthood. No man has completed-nor a woman with him-the Priesthood cycle until he has received the blessings that the temple has to offer.
It is sometimes thought that the work done in the temples is for the aged, and decrepit. Temple work is, primarily I was about to say, for those engaged in the active affairs of life, for those who are in the midst of life's battle, the young and the middle-aged. Perhaps they need it most. Certainly, it is quite as much for these as for those who seek refuge in their old age in the blessings of the temple.
Work in the temples is also for the dead. That we all know. Imbedded in the temple ceremonies and endowment is one of the most glorious of all the principles of truth given in this day-the principle of universal salvation. We are all the children of God, His very children; and He desires to bring all of us back into His presence, into His kingdom. He has provided means by which this may be done. He has no favorites, except as we ourselves by our imperfect living may defeat His desire. That is one of the great doctrines of the Church; unique and peculiar to this people. It is a challenging doctrine, that though a man may fail to bear the gospel upon earth, though he may fail, when he hears it, to comprehend it, he may yet have the opportunity after the grave, after this life is over, to participate in the blessings of the gospel, and to win his place in the kingdom of God.
It is a marvelous and comforting thought that there is hope beyond the grave. Millions have died in sorrow, and those who have been left behind have sorrowed and suffered, because they have failed to understand this law, one of the fundamental, basic principles of the gospel.
Temple work is very important. The Prophet Joseph Smith is reported to have said-it is so recorded and printed-that there is no more important duty resting upon the Latter-day Saints than to do the work for which we have erected temples. It is interesting to remember that in the D&C;, the collection of some of the revelations given by the Lord to the Prophet Joseph Smith, the oldest revelation, therefore really the first, deals almost wholly with the subject of salvation for the dead. It is a significant fact of history, also, that Brigham Young had been in this valley only four days when he came to a spot a few feet from where we are meeting today, in the midst of the sagebrush, and placed his cane in the ground, saying: "Here we shall build a temple to the Most High." The pioneers were hungry and weary; they needed food and rest; a hostile desert looked them in the face; yet in the midst of such physical requirements they turned first to the building of temples and to the spiritual food and strength that the temples provide.
Sometimes we forget the greatness of this work. It is a glorious thought that you and I, ordinary men, may do work upon earth that will be, is, recognized in heaven; that we may be as saviors to those who have gone before us into the unseen world. The Lord came upon earth and, in our behalf, in behalf of the whole race of God's children, did work which will bring us eternal life and joy and blessings. So, in a humbler manner may we, each one of us, do work for the dead that will bless them eternally, if they accept our service. We, also, may become saviors -"saviors on Mount Zion". That is a glorious thought that should remain in the minds of Latter-day Saints. It certifies to the claim that mankind are equally the children of God. It extends the doctrine of brotherhood to the whole human race.
LOVE IS SHOWN BY SACRIFICE
The Savior gave of Himself, gave His very life that we might live. To sacrifice that others might be blessed was His word, His work, His life. Sacrifice is the evidence of true love. Without sacrifice love is not manifest. Without sacrifice there is no real love, or kindness, the kindness suggested in the splendid theme discussed by Bishop Ashton. We love no one unless we sacrifice for him. We can measure the degree of love that we possess for any man or cause, by the sacrifice we make for him or it.
As the Lord gave His life to prove His love for His brethren and sisters, the human race, we may show the spirit of love more vigorously than we have done if we will make the small sacrifices necessary to seek out our genealogies, to spend time and money for the work, to take time to go to the temple ourselves for the dead. All such service may entail sacrifice, but sacrifice lifts us toward the likeness of God, the likeness of our Elder Brother Jesus Christ. If we Latter-day Saints have any great ideal, it is that of our Elder Brother. All that we strive for, and all that we have fought for, and all that we pray for, is to become more and more like Him as our days and years increase. As He gave His life, unselfishly for us, so each of us, extending the open door of salvation to the dead, most of whom are but names to us, may then by our unselfishness claim in very deed to be followers of Christ.
POWER AND STRENGTH CAN COME FROM UNSEEN WORLD
Temple work, in form and substance, reflects the fundamental principles and thoughts belonging to the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. We must dig deeply to taste the sweetness of the gospel. We cannot merely move about on the surface to secure the full gift of the Lord's plan of salvation. Deep down in the eternal realities, of which temple work is one, lies the real meaning, message, and blessing of the gospel.
These are trying days, in which Satan rages, at home and abroad, hard days, evil and ugly days. We stand helpless as it seems before them. We need help. We need strength. We need guidance. Perhaps if we would do our work in behalf of those of the unseen world who hunger and pray for the work we can do for them, the unseen world would in return give us help in this day of our urgent need. There are more in that other world than there are here. There is more power and strength there than we have here upon this earth. We have but a trifle, and that trifle is taken from the immeasurable power of God. We shall make no mistake in becoming collaborators in the Lord's mighty work for human redemption.
So my message to you, my brethren, the leaders of Israel, is that in performing our many duties, we remember to give a good share of our time and thought and energy to the work for which this great Salt Lake Temple, and the other temples, were erected.
The story of the rising of the Salt Lake Temple, round by round, in the midst of poverty and hardship, and under the unspeakable persecution of our people, is one that will never be forgotten by the Latter-day Saints. It will rise to become an epic of man's devotion to truth. It should be a great inspiration for us in our day. We do not want easy days; we want days, no matter how hard they may be, that lead us into the likeness of our Brother, Jesus Christ, and into His presence, and His Father's.
God bless us and prosper us in our work, and make us capable to do the work which has been placed upon us, I pray, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder John H. Taylor
John H. Taylor, Conference Report, April 1943, pp. 43-46
I am very happy, my brethren, to have the opportunity of being in this conference to hear the words of inspiration, counsel, and instruction that have come to us. I trust that I may be able to say something that will be helpful and that I may be humble in the things that I say.
I heard of a speaker who, in telling of his experiences in delivering a sermon, said that as he stood before a congregation he felt he was a great waterfall pouring out the word of the Lord into the hearts of the thirsty people. A man who was standing by him said, "Brother, from where I was sitting in the audience you didn't look like much of a waterfall. In fact what I saw looked more like just a trickle."
INCREASE IN VISITORS TO TEMPLE SQUARE
As you know, I am connected with the Temple Square Mission. We have many thousands of people coming there. We thought that the war would interfere with this mission, that we would not have very much to do. We were mistaken. During the months of January, February, and March of last year, when the grounds and tabernacle were open, we had something like forty-three thousand people. This year during the same three months when the tabernacle has been closed, we have had something like fifty thousand people. Three times as many people are going out with the guides this year as did last year. In the same three months of last year we sold two hundred seventy-six copies of the Book of Mormon. The three months of this year we have sold five hundred thirty-six copies of the Book of Mormon.
I am giving you this information because a number of people, principally members of the Church, thought that because the tabernacle is closed no one would come to visit with us and that we would not be able to do the type of work that we were able to do previously. In fact, among our own membership we often hear it said that the closing of this very historical building is a great calamity and that we are failing to reach the people whom we should reach.
I grant you that the opportunity of coming into this building is a choice one. Inside this building there are a sacredness, a spirit of worship, and a quietness that reach into the hearts of men and women and in some way go down deep into their souls. It makes them remember the great faith and courage of our pioneers who made it possible to have this building, this block, and this city of ours. However, I am quite sure that many of us forget that the Block is also a sacred spot and that in it there is the spirit of worship, that God is here with us, and that all men and women who come within our gates are blessed and may feel the inspiration of the Lord as they come among us.
CLOSING OF THE TABERNACLE
I surely wish our people could realize this fact and not feel that all has been lost simply because the tabernacle has been closed. Seemingly, we have no objections from our friends. We have any number of army men and civilians who, when we say the building has been closed because of the war emergency, say that that is the right thing to do. The only opposition that we have, seemingly, comes from our own membership. The work that we are doing in the Block is of immense value to the people who come here. The guides are having the same opportunity of preaching the gospel. We ask our guides to make an hour the maximum and about forty or fifty minutes the minimum of time to hold the people as they take them through the Block. So our guides are using the fifty and sixty minutes, just as they have always used in preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. When men and women go away, I am quite certain they go away with a more kindly feeling concerning the Church of the Lord that has been established in these latter days. Without any doubt we are doing a work that is valuable in spreading a knowledge of the gospel among the people.
STORY OF A CONVERSION
Because of the nature of our work we have the opportunity of seeing people change their viewpoint, changing their way of life, rearranging their thinking in regard to the religious problems of the day. We have people coming into the Church because of their contact here. Recently, we had a very intelligent and outstanding woman visit with us. Much of her life had been spent in France. She came on the Block and went around with one of our guides and was so impressed that she came again. She was going down to California and thought she had better stay here long enough to hear more about the Gospel. So we taught her the Gospel; and one of our guides was so considerate that she took her to some of our meetings and young people's gatherings. The woman kept coming back. Then we talked things over with her, and one day we said to her, "You know we have the Word of Wisdom in the Church; it has to do with smoking and drinking and the use of tea and coffee". It was quite a surprise to her, and in a way shocked her because the use of some of these things had been a part of her life. She asked, "Is that one of the teachings of Joseph Smith?" We answered, "Yes, that is one of the revelations which were given to him." "Well, if Joseph Smith said that, that is what the Lord wanted His children to do; I am going to do it." So since then she has left all these things alone. She continued her investigation and is now a humble, faithful, and sincere member of the Church.
You know you have to change, turn around, think differently and do things differently when you come into the Church of Jesus Christ. I wish all of us as we think about things could say in our hearts, "Well, if the Prophet Joseph Smith said that, and it was given to him by the Lord, we will do it just as he wants us to do."
A FATHER AND MOTHER CHANGE THEIR VIEWPOINT
One day a father and mother came onto the Block. They followed several of our groups. As they went around the third or fourth time, they thought that perhaps the people behind the counter would wonder why they were going so often. So they made this explanation: "We have a son who is over in England in the military work. One day he wrote to us and said that he had met the Mormon missionaries who are now in the army and said, 'They surely are a splendid lot of fellows.'"
Nothing more was said by the son about his companions until some time later when they received a letter saying that he had joined the Mormon Church. "We were so ashamed and embarrassed," said the mother, "that we just could not go out and meet our friends or talk about things, because of our son's joining a church that had such a bad name and reputation as the Mormon Church." I could not blame her so much because of the many lies which have been told about us.
Several days later they decided to come to Salt Lake and find out for themselves just what kind of church their son had joined. "We have been in the city a few days and have gone around with the guides several times and have bought some Church works. Things look very different to us now. We have enjoyed our visit and admire many of your teachings."
May the Lord bless us. May we catch the spirit of missionary work. May we be helpful to the men and women who are around us that no one shall go into the presence of God and have any complaint to make because we Latter-day Saints were untrue to the testimony and the obligations resting upon us to help our friends to see and understand the beauties of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I humbly ask in Jesus' name. Amen.
Bishop LeGrand Richards
LeGrand Richards, Conference Report, April 1943, pp. 46-50
Brethren: You are the shepherds of the flock. I cannot help feeling that in the marvelous work you are doing in feeding the sheep and the lambs, you are demonstrating your love of Him, as the Savior expressed Himself to Peter; and I believe we might read between the lines, His love of those who undertake such a marvelous work as you do.
WORK IN CHURCH BRINGS OWN REWARD
Bishop Nibley once said, speaking of the bishops, that he thought Paul made a mistake when he said, "Those who desire the work of a bishop desire a good work". He should have said, "a good lot of work."
We hear a great deal about how the bishops are overloaded, have too much to do, how many of them are wanting to be released because of the great responsibility they are carrying. I have taken occasion during these few conference days to inquire of many of them, "Bishop, how are you enjoying your work?" and each has replied in about these words, "Very much-it is the grandest opportunity I have ever had." And I believe that is the way the bishops feel about it.
When I was on my first mission, I received a letter from my father in which he said in words such as these, "My son, I would like to say to you that there is no organization, corporation, or society in the world that will pay as great dividends on your time, your means invested, and your talents as the Church and Kingdom of God." And I want to bear testimony to you this day, brethren, of the truth of this statement. I feel that the Lord owes me nothing for what I have done in the Church. He is the best Paymaster I know anything about.
GATHERING PREDICTED
I would like to read a few words from the thirty-first chapter of Jeremiah. Jeremiah saw the gathering of the Latter-day Saints in our day and described the same as plainly as you can read it in Church history, even to the long trek along the Platte River in order to reach these valleys of the mountains. And so I read from that chapter:
For there shall be a day, that the watchmen upon the mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto the Lord our God....
Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the Lord, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all....
And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the Lord.
I do not believe you could go anywhere in the world and find men engaged in the ministry, I care not how great their salaries are, who would testify that the Lord has satiated their souls with fatness and they are satisfied with the Lord's goodness to them, as are you brethren who bear the Priesthood of God and are privileged to feed the flock under His divine leadership and inspiration.
THE WORTH OF SOULS
You are dealing with the most precious things in all the world; you are dealing with the souls of men, and I want to remind you of the words of the Lord to the Prophet Joseph given in the eighteenth section of the D&C;, where He says:
Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God;
For, behold, the Lord your Redeemer suffered death in the flesh wherefore he suffered the pain of all men, that all men might repent and come unto him.
And he hath risen again from the dead, that he might bring all men unto him, on conditions of repentance.
And how great is his joy in the soul that repenteth! Wherefore, you are called to cry repentance unto this people.
Then He adds:
And if it is so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall he your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father.
I would like to say, brethren, that these souls who are so precious in the sight of God are not only those who live out among the gentiles, but many of them are the sons and daughters of Israel. In the veins of some of them flows the very best blood of this generation, and many of them are inactive and they are waiting for you to call them into service.
When I was laboring as president of the Southern States Mission and we mission presidents met in the temple with the Quorum of the Twelve, following the reports of the mission presidents, President Clawson told us the Lord had created the earth and the fulness thereof, and then he described at some length the marvelous creations of the Lord. Then he said, "But, brethren, I say unto you that the soul of one of His children is more precious in His sight than all the earth and the things He has created."
How precious are the souls of the sheep of the flock among whom you brethren are called to labor! Now those of you who have had the privilege of laboring in the mission field have seen men arrive, some of whom had never prayed in public in their lives, never done anything in the Church in a public way, and yet you have seen what they have become in a year or two under the inspiration of the Lord. I have come to feel that there is no man in Israel who is without potential power for good in the midst of the people, if he is only given opportunity to render some service.
GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT
I want to read a few words from the twelfth chapter of First Corinthians, what Paul says about the gifts of the Spirit:
Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.
And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.
And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.
Then I skip some for brevity:
But the manifestation of the spirit is given to every man to profit withal.
For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge, by the same Spirit.
The Lord has not left any without some gift and as you look about you, you will find that where one is strong in one way he may be weak in another. The Lord never did give all His gifts to any one individual. Even in the great work the Prophet Joseph accomplished, the Lord told him that his gifts were limited in some respects. You remember how Alma of old said he would that he had the voice of an angel, that he might cry repentance to all the world, but the Lord did not grant his desire, even though he was a prophet. Paul carried a thorn in his flesh all his days, but the Lord did not see fit to remove it; and the Book of Mormon says thereto are we given weaknesses that we might remain humble. Is there one among you who does not feel his weakness and would that he had greater power than he possesses for achievement in this great and mighty latter-day work? And yet you have to satisfy yourselves to do the things that are within your own reach and with the gifts that the Lord has seen fit to bestow upon you. But remember, "The manifestation of the spirit is given to every man to profit withal" -that is why the Lord gave the parable of the talents. To one He gave five talents; to another, two; and to another, one. And remember the Lord will return and expect an accounting according to the talents given.
ACTIVITY IN CHURCH WORK BRINGS JOY
I am grateful for the great Welfare program of the Church. I see in it a marvelous opportunity to use some of the men who have not applied themselves in more spiritual activities. A man sat in my office not long ago who had only recently become active in the Church. He had been very successful in his own business affairs, but apparently the bishop had never asked him to do anything. Then they had to build a church and the bishop selected him to head the finance committee, and he did a marvelous job.
This man said, "Why couldn't my bishop have given me something to do twenty-five years ago so I could have known the joy of service all these years?" Then he told me about having a son who had married in the temple and was not doing anything in the Church. He said, "Why cannot the bishop give him something to do so he will not remain inactive as I have been?"
Brethren, I am pleading for every man whom the Lord has endowed with His gifts through the power of His Spirit, that we find a way whereby they can fit in and do something for the building up of the kingdom. We have the opportunity of ward teaching, missionary work, and of stake, ward, and auxiliary officers and teachers. We can go even further, for there is so much to be done in a temporal way, in beautification, in the Welfare program, in the building of storehouses, in the acquiring of land, and in the production of the things not yet being produced which are needed for the storehouses; and some of the finest leadership in the Church is available, but as yet inactive. I scarcely ever return from a conference without thinking of some of the outstanding men I have met, successful in a particular field, almost beyond words to describe; and I wonder how we can reach into the lives of those less fortunate and lift them to the same level. Then I think of the marvelous possibilities within the Priesthood quorums, of lifting men, of rehabilitating them, and causing Zion to put on her beautiful garments, as the Lord declared to the Prophet Joseph two years after this Church was organized that she should do, because, He said:
Zion must increase in beauty and in holiness; her stakes must be strengthened; her borders must be extended; yea, verily I say unto you Zion must arise and put on her beautiful garments.
PRIESTHOOD ARBITRATION COMMITTEES
I would like to discuss another thought here today. I do not know how right I am in this, but I am going to give Paul the responsibility for the thought. I do not know just what the mechanics ought to be, but I have had an idea for a long time that if we could go out into the stakes and establish arbitration committees among the Priesthood there would be many fine men who could be brought into service.
I spent a good many years in the real estate business. We had what we called a multiple listing system, where we all worked on the sale of the same homes. That naturally brought us into troubles because often two or three men would sell the same home, sometimes the same day; and we settled all our differences through an arbitration committee. I know the Lord set up the bishop's court; I know He set up the high council court, where men can be tried for misconduct. But why couldn't we have an arbitration committee where men could go when they have differences? I do not know a great deal about the law, but my experience in the execution of the law among the ordinary laymen is that it is not so much the righteousness of the law which governs the decisions of the courts as it is the ability of the attorneys who represent those who go to law. And so the decisions are not always righteous. If the brethren of the Church were making decisions, I think the decisions would be righteous. To my friends who come to me inquiring whether they should sue their brethren for this or that, I say, "Brother, if you win, you lose," and that is almost invariably true when you go into the courts.
I would like to read a few words by Paul in First Corinthians, sixth chapter, commencing with the first verse:
Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints?
Do you not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?
... Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? Why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded?
Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren.
Now I want to read what the Lord said to the Prophet Joseph, as it appears in the D&C.; This is to Joseph and Oliver:
And whosoever shall go to law with thee shall be cursed by the law.
Now, brethren, it is my feeling that when we can be, as Brother Romney pointed out yesterday from the revelations of the Lord, free and independent from every power beneath the celestial kingdom and become so united that we as members of the Priesthood of the living God can settle all our troubles within our own ranks, then we will literally become a light upon a hill, an ensign unto the nations.
God bless you, my brethren. God help us that we may all be worthy shepherds of the flock, and that we may bring into activity in our wards and stakes of Zion every man who is a member of this Church, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Clifford E. Young
Clifford E. Young, Conference Report, April 1943, pp. 50-54
I sincerely trust, my brethren, that what I say shall not in any way detract from the lovely spirit of this conference. We have all been built up in our faith, and may we go home from here strengthened in our desires to serve more faithfully than we have in the past. It is a great thing for men to come together such as we do on these occasions, and as we yesterday observed this vast body of Priesthood we could not help but feel the power and the strength that is here.
STANDARDS FOR THE PRIESTHOOD
In the very beginning of this work the Lord said to the father of the Prophet Joseph, through His prophet:
Now behold, a marvelous work is about to come forth among the children of men.
Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind, and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day.
Then He goes on to point out that the field is white, ready for the harvest, that he that thrusts in his sickle may reap. Then He adds:
Remember faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, brotherly kindness, godliness, charity, humility, diligence.
It seems to me the Lord has here set forth the standards by which we should operate in this great Priesthood work, and thinking of the fields as referred to in the revelation and trying to apply them to our own everyday work, I have thought that they might be classified in five divisions.
IMPORTANCE OF AARONIC PRIESTHOOD WORK
First, we have our duty to our boys-the Aaronic Priesthood. Our boys today are standing at a crossroad. You will recall, you brethren who are working in the Aaronic Priesthood, that bit of verse that appears in your Handbook, pointing out to us the boy who stands at the crossroads knowing not which way to go. The road stretches east and the road stretches west, and the boy not knowing which road is best, strolls on the road that leads him down, and he loses the race and the victor's crown. And then, we are told, at the selfsame road another boy stands with high hopes and ambitions, but someone is there to show him the road and he wins the race and the victor's crown.
We have here, my brethren, suggested to us our responsibilities in this great work of the Aaronic Priesthood. There is a great inspiration that is going out from the Presiding Bishop's office to all who are interested in the boys' work of the Church, and this work is being followed up. I join with Bishop Richards in commending the bishops and their committees for the fine work they are doing. But there is so much to done. Our boys need every ounce of energy that we can give, all the interest and direction, and if we but can stand at the crossroads with our boys, in ten years from now we shall have solved the problem of the adult Aaronic Priesthood. And so we have that field.
Then we come into the field of the adult Aaronic Priesthood, another field that is white, ready for the sickle, ready for harvest, thousands and thousands of our brethren in this Church, our own flesh and blood whom we have somewhere neglected. We are not altogether responsible, of course, for their misdeeds, for their shortcomings. Every man must assume his own responsibility, there is no question about that; but there has been failure somewhere along the line; someone has failed in his responsibility in this great work or we would not have the high percentage of men we do have who are for all intents and purposes outside the pale of the Church. In most of the stakes of Zion you will find that half of the men who hold the Aaronic Priesthood are in that adult class; young men who were ordained deacons, perhaps teachers, then were lost as far as the influence of the Church is concerned. Today many of them find themselves out of the Church and its activities. That is another field that demands our attention, our earnest effort. I am only suggesting it here today. You brethren in the stakes and wards are conscious of this, I am sure.
ELDERS AND SEVENTIES
Another field that we are concerned about is the field of the elders, and that might apply also to the seventies, not so much to the high priests. But in our elders' quorums we find that seventy-five percent and over of the membership is inactive-just think of it, seventy-five out of every hundred of the men in this Church that should be active are indifferent to the opportunities and blessings that come through service in the Church. This is another field that is ripe, ready for the sickle, and it is a challenge to us and commands the attention of every thinking man who is interested and feels the responsibility of this work.
OUR DUTY TO STRANGERS
Then we come to another field that we have not been made conscious of until recently. We are having thousands of strangers come into our midst, men and women who come with prejudices, men and women of the type of which President Taylor spoke a few minutes ago. Many of them are cultured and refined, who have not heard of the virtues of Mormonism, only the negative things. They are coming here to make their homes. We have been sending our elders out in the world to preach the gospel. Now men and women are coming here where we may preach to them, and I commend to you, my brethren in the stakes and wards, this field. I know that a lot of interest is being taken, and, as was suggested here yesterday, what an opportunity for our missionaries, our stake missionaries, the greatest opportunity that they have ever had to bring to our friends who come here the message of peace, that they may know that the Latter-day Saints are in very deed saints of the living God, because of their standards of living, because of their devotion, their friendliness and their kindliness.
Coming back to the statement recorded by the Prophet Joseph: "Remember faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, brotherly kindness, godliness, charity, humility and diligence." In that spirit, my brethren, must we attack this problem as we go into this field, that we may be in very deed ambassadors of the truth. We want to be friendly, we do not want to make the people who come here feel that we are contacting them in the spirit of warning, in the spirit of criticizing their failings and their shortcomings, but we do want in a positive way to point out the great virtues that lie in the Church of Christ, and in that way we will build up the kingdom. It is not a good policy and never has been to say unkind things about other faiths; we are not concerned about that. We are concerned about the faith of our own Church; we are concerned about the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, with all of its virtues, with all of its strength, and in going forth in kindliness, and in charity, and with faith, we may preach the gospel in that spirit, and it seems to me that is the only way we shall be able to attack this problem, so I commend this field for your consideration.
And then another activity, and I can only just suggest it, and that is the field of the boys who are in the armed service. A great deal of good is being done, we have had evidence of that, testimonies of what it means to the boys to be contacted by the people back home through letters and otherwise. As I have gone out into the stakes, some of the outlying stakes, I have found a vast amount of good that has come through the services of President Brown and others and through letters that have come from the stakes. In one of the stakes every boy who has gone into the service has received a letter every month without fail, and many of the responses to these letters have been encouraging and have demonstrated the fact that here is a field that must not be neglected.
So, brethren, I am just suggesting these fields as they occur to me; they are very vital in this great work.
ILLUSTRATION FROM LIFE OF HELEN KELLER
And may I, in conclusion, point out another thing that seems to give us strength, that has given me strength. Sometime ago I had the pleasure of reading a book by Doctor William Dana Thompson who for many years was head of the Roosevelt Hospital in New York. He is now dead.
His book is entitled Brain and Personality, and in it he describes two fields of the scientists, the field of the physical, which he calls the field of the brain, and the field of the spiritual, which he calls the field of the personality. In one of his chapters he refers to the life of Helen Keller, You who have read her life will recall that as a child at nineteen months she was stricken with a very serious malady which resulted in her losing her hearing, her sight and, of course, she was not able to speak. The whole world with all its loveliness was shut out of her life. When she was seven years old, her father was persuaded by Alexander Bell, the great telephone magnate, to take the child to an institute in Boston, which institute had adopted the method of lip reading for the deaf. It was here that Helen came in contact with that splendid woman, Miss Anne Sullivan, who was from then on to be Helen's tutor and companion. Doctor Thompson tells how difficult it was to penetrate the darkness in which this child lived. He tells how one day Miss Sullivan, taking the girl out to the pump, and placing a glass in the palm of her hand, she Pumped water in it until it overflowed, and as the water trickled down the child's arm, and as the child felt the sensation of the water, Miss Sullivan had her place he hand on Miss Sullivan's lips as she repeated the word "water," and thus the child learned her first word. That was the beginning of light coming into her soul, and Doctor Thompson tells of the little girl's having a little pet pup and how in her ecstasy she takes it to the well and pumping on its little paw, tries to teach it the word "water," but the pup only wags its tail. Doctor Thompson then goes on to point out that the pup was an animal who could see and hear and after a fashion speak, and on the other hand, here was another of the animal kingdom who could neither see nor hear and up till this time could not speak, yet, one remained only a pup while the other was destined to become a great soul. The reason, says he, lies in the fact that the pup was just a dog while in this child there was an immortal spirit-personality he calls it-the offspring of God, the Creator.
As I read that interesting part of Helen Keller's life, I thought what great potential powers do we have as men holding the Priesthood of the living God. We are not only the physical creation of Him, but we have within us that immortal spirit that has come from God, and with that consciousness that all of our brethren are the immortal offspring of our Heavenly Father, and furthermore being endowed with a power that enables us "to grow up unto Him who is the Head, even Christ", how great is our responsibility in that great field that is already white and ready for the harvest!
God help us to appreciate our opportunities and our responsibilities. I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Rufus K. Hardy
Rufus K. Hardy, Conference Report, April 1943, pp. 54-56
I am impressed, my brethren, today with the great gathering which is here and which was here yesterday, and I am thinking that perhaps there will never come into the lives of men that they may build a thing so perfect even as we now see it constructed before us-I speak of the organization of the Church. Here, according to President McKay this morning, is every officer of the two Priesthoods, the Aaronic and the Melchizedek, represented in this building.
PRIESTHOOD A CHOICE GIFT
This Priesthood is referred to as "being without father, without mother, and without descent, and has neither beginning of days or end of life." Each of us is called with a peculiar calling, each in his respective calling to do vastly different things. Every appointment and calling in the Priesthood is of such importance that all of the time devoted by each man to his designated sphere, in close application to his work, will not begin to encompass the greatness and eternal decrees of God.
One thing, however, of which we must ever be wary is the warning which God has given. That warning is that "all other authorities or offices in the church are appendages to this priesthood", and then again, God gave a revelation to the Prophet Joseph and told him this: "For I have conferred upon you the keys and power of the priesthood, wherein I restore all things, and make known unto you all things in due time". And, yet, I am sure, my brethren, that we zealous and energetic laborers in the work of God are tempted at times to exaggerate our own importance, to accomplish personal ambitions, but we should adopt the humble attitude of standing still "to see the glory of the Lord pass by"; this would accomplish a great deal more. We grow despondent with what we think is delay, forgetting momentarily that since the very beginning of time God has planned and wrought with patience, and has seen afar the very time in which we now find ourselves.
Let us remember that we are blessed with the choicest of God's gifts, the inestimable calling in the Priesthood which we ourselves hold; "that the rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and that the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness".
It is a revealing and marvelous thing that God has brought about the many miracles that we see performed in our midst this day.
A LAND BLESSED OF THE LORD
When we consider the early sending forth of the Priesthood bearers and the scattering of the membership of this Church and Priesthood, which then we looked upon as a calamity, to the various parts of the earth, and the gathering of it all here and concentrating its executive power in this locality, and then to look at the beauty of our land compared with what it was, to realize that it has become an inviting, charming place, and behold these buildings, now in our midst, we must give fervent thanks to God. This surely is the land of Joseph, the land which God gave and blessed in the beginning that all men who came here might enjoy it who would lend ear to that which God has given us, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the only land, my brethren, which is surrounded on all sides by friends and not enemies, God's blessed land.
PRESENT NEED FOR MISSIONARIES
Now, in this turmoil through which we are passing, we have a need, a great calling, to put to work that thing which God has given us, the Priesthood. We need missionaries to teach these hungry, eager people, strangers within our midst, something of the Gospel, to let them know how it came about and was restored, and why God's children are here doing what they are.
I am very sure that in our council, the First Council of the Seventy, every man is keenly alert to this situation. Notwithstanding the two thousand-odd who were baptized last year by our stake missionaries, we have not touched the surface.
God will bless us in this work if we will put our mind and attention to it, and I sincerely trust and hope and pray that this may be the case, and that we may recognize in this strained and trying condition that besets us the privileges which are ours now, and that will be, for they were given by the Lord, even as He says: "Wherefore, now let every man learn his duty, and to act in the office in which he is appointed, in all diligence".
I pray that God will give a keen desire to each man to serve in his own sphere to the best of his ability, that His work may roll on and that these blessings which are ours may be given to others, which I do in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Charles A. Callis
Charles A. Callis, Conference Report, April 1943, pp. 60-62
Softly beams the sacred dawning Of the great Millennial morn, And to Saints gives welcome warning That the day is hasting on.
Splendid, rising o'er the mountains, Glowing with celestial cheer, Streaming from eternal fountains, Rays of living light appear.
CHRIST'S COMING THE HOPE OF THE WORLD
I do not believe that hope has bade the world farewell. I think, I firmly believe that in this huge, ugly mass of evil that is rolling and swelling there is some good, imprisoned temporarily; that this good is working towards deliverance and triumph.
This earth, according to the scriptures, is moving towards a glorious ideal. We believe that Christ will reign personally upon the earth and that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory. By prophets this glorious condition has long been foretold. Christ's reign on earth, when He will establish the millennium-and it will not be established before He comes-has been the consolation of martyrs and the hope of suffering saints. It is the hope of the world. The mission of this Church, I understand, is to preach the gospel, to prepare a people for the great millennial reign. This Church has been established and dedicated for that very purpose, and in his first visit to the Prophet Joseph, the angel Moroni told him that the preparatory work was about to commence; to prepare a people for that glorious event. We do not hope to convert all the world before the second coming of the Son of God, but through this gospel and the government that God has set up in the Church, it is our destiny, our bounden duty, to prepare a people to meet the Savior.
PREPARATION FOR THE MILLENNIUM
We talk, and justly so, of the greatness of our Priesthood quorums and all of our auxiliary organizations, and I would not for the world underestimate their strength and power and the great work they are doing, but what about the home, what about the evident lack of parental control? Solomon said: "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it". If our people will obey the injunction of the Almighty and teach their children the principles of the gospel, not only by precept but by example, you are going to see a people such as the world has never before beheld, for the children brought up in righteousness will be fit to meet the Lord when He comes in power and great glory. This blessed millennium, the account of which shines upon the pages of holy writ-the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the D&C;, and the Pearl of Great Price-sounds as you read these pages regarding the millennium, like a trumpet calling us to preparation. If we are earnest and devoted in our duty to preparing a people for the millennium, you will not see liquor stores disfiguring our mountain valleys. The tremendous price paid for liquor in the valleys of Ephraim, it seems to me, is a warning, at least an indication, that the vision of our destiny has been somewhat blurred. I plead for stronger, more persuasive, more loving teaching in the homes of the Latter-day Saints.
Conditions during the millennium are going to satisfy the soul. Holiness will be triumphant, Satan will be bound, and men to a very large extent shall be relieved from temptation. The swords are going to be beaten into plowshares, and the spears into pruning hooks, and nations shall not learn war any more -
When the common sense of most shall hold a fretful realm in awe, And the kindly earth shall slumber, lapt in universal law.
LABORS DURING THE REIGN OF CHRIST
During the millennium we are not going to be idle. God forbid. Jesus Christ said in the Book of Mormon: "... for my work is not yet finished; neither shall it be until the end of man, neither from that time henceforth and forever".
As we are co-laborers with the Almighty, how can we indulge in the vain hope that we shall be idle during the millennium. No, we shall be co-laborers with Jesus Christ throughout all eternity. I am so grateful that the hopes and the fond desires of the saints concerning immortality and eternal life are voiced in the doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Apostle Paul tells us that when the Savior comes to reign in power and in great glory, from the very headwaters of immortality there is going to flow a stream of immortality, for he says:
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
The Prophet Joseph, the solver of problems, the comforter of humanity, told a mother who had lost a baby in death that in the resurrection when the Lord Jesus Christ appears, her baby would be resurrected and that she would have the joy, more joy than she could have had in mortality, in the resurrection, of rearing that baby, or the young child, young children, who have died, to manhood and womanhood.
Horace Greeley, one of the greatest editors that ever lived, lost a boy who was five years of age. He said: "Now, all that deeply concerns me is the evidence that we shall live hereafter... If I felt sure on the point of identifying and being with our loved ones in the world to come, I would prefer not to live long." Well, all that doubt is removed by obedience to the doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
PRESENT ADVERSITIES FOR OUR GOOD
We are told that when the Jaredites in their barges set forth for this land of promise, fierce and terrible tempests prevailed. The winds blew and they were in imminent danger all the while on that perilous journey. God sustained them. And we read that although these gales and tempests raged, holding destruction in their wake, that the wind was continually blowing toward the Promised Land. And these adversities through which we are passing, these terrible wars and all the horrible things that are prevailing, are in the power of God. He can stop them when He chooses, when His divine purposes are fulfilled. But let us not forget that through this sea of trouble, our adversities, the experiences through which we pass and which God will make work together for our good, if we will obey Him-all these are blowing us forward to the haven of rest, to a glorious future, to eternal life, and unitedly we join in John's loving response "... even so, come Lord Jesus". Amen.
Elder George F. Richards
George F. Richards, Conference Report, April 1943, pp. 63-67
I have enjoyed with you, my brethren, the spirit and instructions of this conference, and while I have been sitting upon the stand and realizing that I would be called at some session of the conference to speak, my mind has entertained a variety of thoughts and I wonder if I can bring to your mind some of these reflections in a way that will be appreciated and worthwhile.
I see in this large body of men a representation of the Priesthood and ministry of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and I realize, to some extent at least, what the responsibility of holding the Priesthood and being a minister of the Lord means.
SACRED COVENANTS
When we embraced the gospel by baptism, by that act we covenanted that we would keep the commandments of God. When we received the Priesthood, by that act we covenanted to magnify that Priesthood, and when we received these various positions which grow out of the Priesthood, and which we as a part of the ministry have received, it has been usually with a promise on our part that we will magnify that calling to the best of our ability. That comes in the nature of a solemn covenant made before the Lord and His servants and should not be regarded lightly on our part.
THE COUNCIL IN HEAVEN
I congratulate you and myself, brethren, on being engaged in the work of the Lord-the greatest and grandest and most glorious work in which man, angels, or Gods can be engaged. All that we know, all that we have heard that has come from our Father in heaven and from His Son Jesus Christ, pertains to the salvation of the souls of men. As the Father walked and talked with His servant Moses, He explained to Moses, "... behold, this is my work and my glory-to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man". Accordingly a council was called in heaven where the plan of man's salvation was considered, and Jesus, the First-born of the Father in the spirit, came forward with a proposal to do the will of the Father. Said He: "... Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever". He was chosen as the Savior of the world and by Him, under the Father, the world was created and made and all things therein. We sanctioned the plan of salvation and our resolves without a doubt were that we would abide by that plan in all particulars, that in the end we might be like our Father and dwell with Him in His kingdom; and the morning stars sang, and we, the sons of God, shouted for joy in this great plan, all looking toward the saving of the souls of our Father's children-all of us, for the Prophet Joseph tells us that we were all there in the Council of Heaven, that we saw the Savior chosen and appointed and the plan of salvation made, and we sanctioned it. Then it is not going too far, I think, to say that this is the noblest work in which even the Gods can be engaged. And what an honor it is, and we should so regard it, to be privileged to work with the Father and for the Father in the accomplishing of His purposes, looking to the saving of souls. I wonder if we fully appreciate this honor.
EFFECTS OF WAR UPON THE CHURCH
We are living in perilous times. Many of the Latter-day Saints are troubled in their minds, have great anxiety because of the war and because their loved ones-husbands, brothers, and sons-must of necessity engage in the war, many of whose lives have been lost and others are in jeopardy and in danger. We regard the cause as a just one. This country was given to us of the Lord. The constitution and laws of the country were given to us of the Lord. Our liberty and our freedom came from the Lord, and, where it is necessary, we must fight to maintain that freedom, and liberty, and peace. It is only reasonable to believe that the Lord intends that these things be preserved unto us, if only we will be worthy and keep His commandments. But there is trouble just the same, troubled hearts and minds, and the war has not only affected the individual members of the Church along with other people of the world to their sorrow, but also the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints feels its effects. We can see its baneful effects in all the organizations of the Church. As we move among you brethren in the stakes of Zion attending the conferences, we note how the quorums of the Priesthood are disrupted, officers and members alike called into the service of their government, and the work is greatly hampered. Because of the rationing of rubber and of gas for our motor cars, the auxiliary associations of the young men and the young women do not have the attention which they heretofore had. The leading officers are not able to visit and associate with them and encourage and help them along as formerly.
I receive each month a report from the various temples of the work being done. Since the beginning of the war there has been a tremendous falling off in the amount of temple work done in all the temples of the Church-a lamentable condition.
We receive a monthly report through the First Council of the Seventy of the missionary work in the stakes of Zion, and we observe that there has been a great falling off of accomplishment in that work.
Our elders are returning from the mission field in large numbers, but very few going into the field to replace them, and we wonder what the results are going to be. I wonder, brethren, if we are doing all we can to improve this condition in the Church.
SUGGESTION FOR CARRYING ON MISSIONARY WORK
I had the pleasure this last week of interviewing a returned missionary whom I set apart six months ago to go into the mission field for a short-term mission. He is seventy-three years of age, and this was the eighth mission for him. Every winter for eight years he has spent about six months in the mission field. He is not a wealthy man, he has no farm to return to, he has no business, but he informed me that he has an invitation from the mission president to return next winter; and he intends so to do if in the meantime he can earn enough money for his keep in the mission.
I am wondering, brethren, if in your quorums of the Priesthood, if in the stakes and wards of Zion, and possibly in the mission fields, there are not a number of men who are not needed in the service of their country, and women also, who could go upon missions for short terms. These will usually be men and women of experience, and I think we could get a number of them if we would like, and I feel we would have a forceful corps of missionaries in the missions of the United States if we were to adopt more fully this plan. I remember a number of years ago when the President of the Church called upon the people for volunteers for this kind of work. One of my sons who had ten or fifteen men working for him in his business, volunteered his services and turned his business over to one of his employees and went out into the mission field for six months and performed yeoman service, and at that time I think there were quite a number who responded to the call. I have not heard that the President of the Church has withdrawn the invitation to members of the Church to engage in that kind of service.
LOCAL MISSIONARY LABORS DURING WORLD WAR I
I had the honor during the World War of presiding over the European Mission. During that period missionaries had to come home. In the British Mission we were reduced at one time to seven missionaries from home. We found there women doing men's work as they are doing today, and we concluded that if they could do men's work outside of religious labor, they could do men's work as missionaries, and so we called women folk. We had as many as three hundred seventy-five lady missionaries laboring in Great Britain at one time, and we called young men, who were not old enough to bear arms, into the ministry with the promise that if they filled two years' mission faithfully and desired to come to Zion, their fares would be paid the same as missionaries who came from Zion into the mission field. When I left that mission field, as I remember, we had twenty-three local men laboring, men of families, giving part-time service presiding over districts, and a wonderful work was accomplished. The tithing during nearly three years that I was in Britain nearly doubled itself, and the baptisms were almost as many as when we had seventy missionaries from Zion laboring in that country. While this was going on in Great Britain, a similar work was being done in Germany under the presidency of Angus J. Cannon, and in the Scandinavian countries under the presidency of Brother Christiansen. It can be done today, I think. I think Brother Clawson said on one occasion, speaking about the work that was done in those countries during the war, it was only because there was a war on, otherwise it could not have been accomplished. If that is the case, we have a war on now and the conditions are very similar, and I believe it can be worked out.
CONVERSIONS IN STAKES
Here at home in this stake missionary work I do not know whether these brethren are all aware that we have had more conversions in the stakes of Zion, according to our statistics, during the past few years than we have had in the mission field. There are people here to be converted, and it shows something of the activity of these stake missionaries.
I want to say that here in the Liberty Stake I have a daughter laboring as a stake missionary. She is 58 years of age, a grandmother, and her associate in that work is a lady almost as old. President Merz, the president of that mission, informs me that she is doing a good work. So why not have some of our elderly sisters called, who can be spared, and engage in this work? I think this is one way in which we can offset perhaps, the disadvantages that come through this world war.
THE PURPOSES OF THE LORD TO BE ACCOMPLISHED
And now as a ministry are we doing our full duty-presidents of stakes, bishops of wards, quorums of Priesthood-are we seeing to it, as far as we have influence and authority, that those over whom we are presiding, are doing their duty? Brethren, I know that this work in which we are engaged is God's work. I am sure it will endure forever. No power can prevent its accomplishing its purpose, although it may be hindered temporarily. It is bound to succeed and truth is bound to triumph over error, and right over wrong. I know that God is at the helm, that He is our Eternal Father, that He loves us, that He desires our salvation, and He is glad to use us, weak though we are, in the accomplishment of that work.
For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
That no flesh should glory in his presence.
Weak as we are, with the help of the Lord we can accomplish His purposes. We can do nothing without His aid. He said to His disciples, "... Without me ye can do nothing". I do not know that we are any stronger as a ministry than were the disciples of Christ, who could do nothing without His help, but with His help mighty works may be accomplished. It is a great honor and blessing to us, I say, to receive this Priesthood and authority, and be privileged to work with the Lord for the blessing and salvation of mankind.
May the Lord help us that we may be untiring in our work, that we may not lie down on the job, but that we may be valiant in the covenants which we have made with Him in faithfulness, and earn for ourselves eternal life in His kingdom, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Joseph F. Merrill
Joseph F. Merrill, Conference Report, April 1943, pp. 68-73
First, brethren, may I make a brief report concerning the response to a request sent out to the chairmen of our No-Liquor-Tobacco committees in all the stakes of the Church late last summer and early in the fall.
PASSAGE OF SHEPPARD BILL URGED
Many thousands of letters and names attached to petitions went to Washington addressed to their respective senators and representatives, urging the passage of what was known as the Sheppard Bill, which, if it had been passed, would have brought prohibition to the military reservations and camps and other places where the armed men of this country were serving. The bill failed. The opposition was too strong, but a great deal of good, I am sure, was accomplished. In what way? In the little town of Hollingwood in New Jersey, there was an army encampment established. It was a dry community that felt outraged at what was going on; so by a search of the records they found that in 1901 Congress had passed a law prohibiting the sale or bringing onto the reservations and military establishments of this country alcoholic beverages in any form whatsoever. But in 1933 the Congress of the United States declared that beverages containing not more than three and two tenths percent alcohol were not intoxicating. This law that was found to be already in existence did not mention mild beer, but it touched everything else of an alcoholic nature, stronger than 3.2%. So you read a few months ago that the War Department had by proclamation banned liquor in all its forms except mild beer from military reserves and camps, etc. In other words, the agitation to try to get the passage of the Sheppard Bill succeeded in unearthing what had already been done. So we have in effect in the United States the very thing that it was hoped that bill would accomplish, except for mild beer.
APPEAL FOR CONTACT WITH MEN IN SERVICE
Another thing: I am reading now a brief quotation from an article in a recent number of Good Health, which magazine, in my opinion, is standing valiantly, continually, and persistently for the principles of our Word of Wisdom to an extent that is not exceeded by any other publication in this country. This magazine said, and I read:
Army life tends to break down moral principles, unless they are firmly established. Removal of the restraint of home and business association, evil companionship which would be avoided in civil life, abundant temptation, and the recklessness nearness to death may bring, are among the reasons for this.
I read this, brethren, so that you will be reminded that we have time and again requested our Priesthood quorums that have members in the armed forces of the United States to keep in touch with them, to write letters to them, to provide a set-up in the quorum that shall insure a letter going forward at least monthly to those in the armed services. We heard a report that in one of the stakes this is being done by another agency; but I want to say to the Priesthood authorities in that stake. Brethren, that does not release you of your responsibility. That work is not being done by the Priesthood quorums, by you brethren who have members of your brotherhoods away from home. We can bless them for what they are doing, but will you, too, please do that.
I am not going to enter into a discussion of the good that these letters can accomplish when they are written, but I am making this appeal again, that they shall be written from every quorum of Priesthood in this Church that has any of its members away in the armed forces of the country. We have advised also, and urged, that they keep in touch, quarterly at least with the members of their quorums who are away from home engaged in defense industries of the country.
PRESENT DAY REVELATION
Now, brethren, there is a word or two I would like to say on another topic, and I will introduce it by relating a little incident. A few years ago as I was conducting a class in the mission home, a young lady missionary arose and asked: "Brother Merrill, why do we no longer have revelation in this Church?" It was of course a very surprising question, but I am sure it was sincerely asked, and my answer was: "Sister, there is no time to discuss this; the hour is nearly up, but I say to you if you will go on your mission and give yourself sincerely, wholeheartedly to it, obeying the mission rules and regulations, and be obedient to the authority that presides over you, and live near to the Lord, you yourself before you return will know there is revelation in the Church; besides, you will know that the message that you carry is divine, and you will get that knowledge not because you hear others testify to it, but because you will get it as all others get it, if they really have it, through the channels of revelation direct from heaven."
What authority, brethren, have we for that statement? May I say that for the last five and a half years, since the present policy has been in operation, it has been my great privilege and my delight to interview hundreds of returned missionaries, and I find out from those missionaries by, direct questioning that they have a testimony. All but two of them have said, "Brother Merrill, when I bore testimony, particularly toward the end of my mission, to the divinity of this work I was not expressing an ardent hope or earnest wish that this is the work of the Lord, I was saying what I really knew; yes, I know this is the work of the Lord," or words to that effect.
And you, my brethren, who are here this afternoon, if given the opportunity could, I presume, stand up right now and say that you too know that this is the work of the Lord.
I am not going to discuss the fact that there is revelation guiding the Church, but I want to speak of your responsibility as having received a personal testimony divinely given of the truthfulness of this work. I think, brethren, that that testimony places upon us a very heavy responsibility. It has been mentioned here by other speakers. What is this responsibility? We have been urged to encourage missionary work; we do it all the time, in all of our quarterly conferences, in all our contacts; we do it wherever we go. It is one of the great obligations placed upon, the Church-that of engaging in missionary work. But there are two methods by which we may do it, by precept, as those are doing who are called to devote their time to using that method, and by example. But we are all called to use the method of example. And so, since we know this is the Lord's work, I feel that we are obligated, absolutely obligated-if reason governs, if we are going to act rationally, if we are going to be true to our convictions-to live it; and if we do live it, we are all missionaries, every one of us, all the time. I think our boys who are in the armed services to the extent of twenty thousand or more from this Church, particularly those who have returned from foreign missions for the Church, are finding every day of their lives an opportunity to preach this gospel in a way, and perhaps a more effective way, and to greater numbers than they have ever had before.
There is one here and one there in a company of hundreds, and if they live as they have been taught, if they will be true to their testimonies, their influence for good will certainly be very great. And perhaps their influence and their example will be more effective in inviting inquiries and in leading to investigation than they have ever been in the mission field.
SATAN'S POWER A REALITY
But now, brethren, may I say that while we are obligated to live worthily we must not feel that it is an easy thing to do. Why is it not easy? Because we inherit weaknesses; we are living in a sinful world; we are powerfully influenced by our environment; and the temptations of the evil one all impose handicaps. And the evil one-Satan-to us is not a not a mere name, as it is to a very great majority of our Father's children here in mortality to whom the word devil, the word Satan, is a term that personifies evil, and everybody knows there is evil in the world. But to us Satan, or the devil, is the name of a real person, a man with a spirit body, and he is here on earth, cast out from heaven. And he has a myriad of helpers who are other spirit beings in human form and they are here to bring sin, sorrow, distress, and suffering, and destruction into the world; and they are doing it. Wherever the Saints are, I think the devil will try to be also. If he can overcome the Saints, he has all the world. He is trying in every way with the aid of experienced helpers and according to the intelligence he has to overcome the Saints. Satanic influences are likely to tempt us more or less every day, and in respects where we are weak making it hard for us to resist. But, my brethren, we are bound, I feel, by our testimony to resist, to overcome, to live as we profess. If we do that, we will inspire confidence, we will inspire respect among all of those whom we contact. So let there be no hesitation, no faltering, no excuses in our efforts to overcome temptations.
OUR OBLIGATION TO LIVE RIGHTEOUSLY
I spoke of weaknesses. What weaknesses do we inherit? Many of them. I will name one that all of us inherit to a greater or less amount -selfishness. We may all find an excuse for slipping or failure, if we try hard enough. And we can find an excuse for selfishness, expressed in these words: "Charity begins at home." Yes of course, charity begins at home; we take that for granted. Accordingly, I think of myself; I take care of myself before I think of you or do anything about helping you. I have heard time and time again from representatives of the general Welfare committee of the Church attending our conferences that one of the objectives of that great plan is to help us overcome our selfishness. But, brethren, I repeat, by reason of our testimony of the divinity of this work we are obligated, if we are honest, if we are rational, if we are reasonable, if we are true, we are obligated to live according to our Professions, to our teachings. That obligation rests. heavily upon all of us because we are leaders in the Church, leaders in the stakes and wards and quorums and branches of the Church. We must try so to live that in the sight of our Heavenly Father at any rate we are free from justifiable complaint and criticism due to our conduct. We must not yield to temptations for wrongdoing. Whatever the influence, whatever the temptation, whatever the circumstances, we must stand true so that our lives will be as lights upon a hill. Now the Lord has given each of us, I think, a will power great enough, if used with His help, to live acceptably. But we must have His help. We can get His help if we seek it worthily and persistently. But if we do not seek it, can we get it? There is no promise. In His great sermon on the mount Jesus said: "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you". But suppose we do none of those things? Then what are we promised? There is no promise at all. Seek the Lord is what we are commanded to do; seek Him worthily; seek Him in everything we have to do to get the strength, the courage, and the will to live as we teach, and to meet our responsibilities as they have been placed upon our shoulders in the positions that we have accepted all along the way in the organization and set-up of the Church.
Now, brethren, I feel that any man who accepts a position of responsibility in this Church has not only himself to think about and try to live as the Lord would have him live as a private in the Church, but he has the responsibility upon his shoulders of looking after the welfare of others, and that is a responsibility that everyone before me this afternoon has-the responsibility of looking after the welfare of those who are committed to his charge. You officers of Priesthood quorums are responsible for the activities and everything that you can do to help them.
INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY
In this connection I want to say, however, that while no officer can be relieved of his responsibility to do his duty to those committed to his care, yet failure to do so does not justify the members of his charge in their failure to live according to the teaching and standards of the Church. Each individual will be judged according to his works. No one can justify his failures by accusing another of dereliction of duty. Each man has his free agency. He may serve the Lord or otherwise as he chooses. And while officers are duty-bound by their official responsibilities, so also are individuals obligated by their opportunities. The misdeeds of another cannot justify me in wrongdoing. Careless adults among us should look within rather than without for the causes of their indifference.
Yet I want to make this point: you and I can help the cause of righteousness very materially, every one of us, if we will live as we teach, as we profess. Then our lives will be as lights upon a hill, and others seeing our good works will have their tongues of criticism throttled, if not tied. It is particularly important that we be careful of our personal conduct, avoiding insofar as possible the very appearance of evil, for Satan, the liar and deceiver, is ever alert to use every excuse to inspire criticism among our Father's children.
Brethren, may the Lord help us to be worthy of His blessings, and may we stand true and faithful to our testimonies, to our teachings, to our obligations, that the Lord may use us to the extent of our abilities to promote His work among our fellows, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Joseph F. Smith
Joseph F. Smith, Conference Report, April 1943, pp. 75-77
Brethren: If one or two more whose names are Joseph F. are added to the list of General Authorities, general conference will make of me a total wreck.
As a boy I used to marvel when my father said that at the general conference he lost his appetite, and when he was called upon to speak, his arms, his elbows, and his hands went numb. I now look upon my father as a man of unusual fortitude. I have felt that I was in danger of imminent disintegration south of my Adam's apple.
I trust that the few moments that are mine shall not be spent in vain for you and that your faith will assist me to say one or two things which are of value.
RESPONSIBILITY A SERIOUS MATTER
Six months ago in reporting the general conference, Time magazine, in its characteristic fashion, spoke of the Mormon Church, an organization of less than a million persons, as an organization which took itself very seriously as an international influence. The Salt Lake correspondent for Time, who I suppose wrote that article, wrote better than he knew, and I think that Time could immortalize itself no better than prophetically to hang upon the walls of its editorial offices those words in bronze.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does take itself seriously as an international power. The difficulty is that the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints do not take into sufficient consideration, the international importance of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I submit to you that concentrated under this famous dome there is greater potentiality, were it worthily used, than is to be found in the combined military commands of the warring nations, and, as we have heard time and time again during this conference, that is a great responsibility.
We do not take the Church seriously enough. Yesterday as Brother Peterson, as I recall, former president of the Norwegian Mission, was speaking-I think it was he who told the tale of finding a Sunday School that had been disbanded because the bishopric had gone pheasant-hunting-this large body of Priesthood was moved to mirth. I personally can find no vestige of humor in the fact that men holding the Priesthood and with responsibility to a congregation should disband it in order to break the Sabbath.
We do not take the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints seriously enough. Here are gathered men who hold the Priesthood of Almighty God, and we have been told in no uncertain terms that where much is given much is expected and that we shall be held accountable if we fail to magnify the calling which is ours. It is essential that if we are to be intelligently obedient to the gospel, if we are intelligently to keep the covenants which every one of us has made, it is necessary for us to know what the gospel is and what those covenants entail, which means that every one of us should be a student of the scriptures. Not only should he be a student of the scripture as that scripture is found recorded in Holy Writ, but he should be obedient to the scripture as it shall come from the constituted authority of the Church. Somehow it seems so easy to believe that the word of the Lord is printed in a book, but to some people it seems a little difficult when the word of the Lord comes from a living man.
THE WORD OF THE LORD GIVEN THROUGH THE HOLY GHOST
May I read just a word or two from a revelation that was given to Orson Hyde and some other missionaries:
And whatsoever they shall speak when moved upon by the Holy Ghost shall be scripture, shall be the will of the Lord, shall be the mind of the Lord, shall be the word of the Lord, shall be the voice of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation.
When Heber J. Grant, whom you have sustained, and I expect will again sustain before this conference is over, issues instruction as Prophet, Seer, and Revelator, that word should be scripture to us. It is the word of the Lord Himself through His prophet, and it may be that sometimes that advice is not exactly in accordance with our personal desires. It has never been the business of a prophet of God to tell people what they wanted to hear; it is the business of a prophet, and I imagine it is a very unpleasant business sometimes, to tell the people what the Lord wants them to know and to do, and we who hold the Priesthood should take the Church seriously enough to be obedient to the scriptures.
SUGGESTIONS AS TO KINDNESS
I have been impressed with the times during this conference that the importance of kindness has been stressed, and I heartily concur in those sentiments. It is necessary, however, if we are to be truly kind, for us to be intelligent, for us to be understanding. We hear frequently that we must not drive young men out of the Church because they take up smoking, which is quite true. You will remember Bishop Ashton's remarks yesterday. I think we should go a little further, however, and in being kind to these individuals, make it clear to them that in every case at least fifty percent of the isolation which they feel, and oftener than that a larger percent, is due not to the Church but to the individual who is not conforming.
I had an interesting conversation with a man from Washington not long ago, and he said he did not go to church any more because he did not feel comfortable; they did not make him feel at home; they preached about the Word of Wisdom, and he felt isolated; he felt that he was not welcome, so he stayed away. He had taken up smoking. I asked him if anyone had specifically said that he was not welcome. "No, no, but they preach the Word of Wisdom."
I said "Well, will you have us stop preaching the Word of Wisdom because you have taken up smoking? Shall we not be faithful to the revealed word of the Lord because you have seen fit not to follow that advice?"
Eventually he admitted that the reason he did not feel at home was not a cold shoulder had been turned to him, but because he knew in his own heart that he was doing what he ought not to do.
I think many times it would be kindness to help people understand their own reactions. It is so easy to do the other fellow's thinking for him; it is so easy for me to think because I am not doing what is right, the other fellow is trying to pass me up. The greatest kindness that this body of Priesthood, and the Priesthood wherever it may be, can give to the world is, first of all, courageously to set an unwavering example of righteousness; and second, to bear testimony to the truth. There is no greater kindness which this people can give to the world.
Brethren, we should take the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as an international power more seriously. I promise you that there shall be no solution to our various problems; we shall continue to see the wise men of the world confounded and their wisdom become foolishness, because they suppose they know of themselves; we shall see no solution to our problems until the world starts to accept the Christ in deed, not in lip service; and it is your responsibility and my responsibility as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to see that this word is spread by example as well as by precept.
God grant that we shall see our job, that we will not take our responsibility so lightly that we will look upon negligence as humor, but as tragic in these days, that this work may be the ultimate world leaven which it is destined to be, is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Oscar A. Kirkham
Oscar A. Kirkham, Conference Report, April 1943, pp. 81-82
I do humbly pray that I may enjoy the spirit of the Lord. I bear my testimony to you in all the sincerity of my life that this is the work of the Lord.
BOY SCOUT MEMORIES
This morning I had an assignment at the South gate to meet many of you brethren. While I was there, across the street marched a double column of young men going to be inducted into the army. While I have two sons that marched in a like column only a little while ago, and two more that may go in the months now coming, I must confess to you that the spirit of this occasion caused me to see other young men. I saw lads in Vienna; in Austria, bearing their testimony with such fervor before a group of Saints there that I was thrilled. I saw a boy from Hungary in a tent with representatives from seventeen nations present-all Latter-day Saint boys, and I heard him say, "When I go back and tell my mother and father that I was here at a meeting with the boys of seventeen different nations and they all bore testimony to the truthfulness of the divine mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith, there'll be only one answer from them-they will be in tears."
And I saw a thousand German boys that I've seen in, oh, many, many villages throughout the land, and I received a card just a few months ago from a lad in France that said, "Well, I'll be going up to the front soon. I may never see you again, but we shall never forget each other." Well, out of this tragedy there is only one answer.
APPEAL FOR FAITH IN YOUTH
Dr. Kim, a great minister missionary to Tokyo, was there in 1923 when the great earthquake came. The people were anxious about his welfare and they began to send cablegrams to him until finally the word came back from Dr. Kim, "All gone except faith in God."
These are great days. Nineteen forty-three will never come again. Look at the headlines of this one day and realize what has happened. But it is a great day, and I want to look at it with faith and hope. I want to join my spirit in sincerity with these millions of young men whose inspiration and daring and power are perhaps beyond an equal in all history. These are the hours of destiny-these are the hours of greatness.
I was in an M.I.A. meeting just a few weeks ago where a young man sang an international hymn. I want to read you these words-this was the last stanza.
As sure as the sun meets the morning, And rivers go down to the sea, A new day for mankind is dawning, Our children shall live proud and free.
I want to join with that spirit. I do not want to feel that this is just another war and that the thing will be repeated over and over. I want to lend my faith with the youth of this day that this job shall be faced and faced right. And I appeal to you brethren to join in that faith. Give them that uplift. Give them that true hope as I sincerely feel it for there shall be a new day. The young man who wrote the music to this song, the words that I have just read, wrote that famous Seventh Symphony, the greatest piece of realistic music that has ever been written, according to the world's critics, and it had its birth and its writings at the siege of Leningrad. And that is only in one field. If you dare to step over into science, yes, into many other fields, you would see a great world in the making.
God help us to give that faith to youth.
RESPONSIBILITY TO PREACH THE GOSPEL
Let me read these lines from Will Durant, one of our vigorous American philosophers.
We move into an age of spiritual exhaustion and despondency like that which hungered for the birth of Christ. The greatest question of our time is not Communism vs. Individualism-not Europe vs. America-not even the East vs. the West. It is whether man can bear to live without God.
Now, words from the Prophet Amos:
Behold, the days come, sayeth the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.
A great trust is placed upon this body of Priesthood. We who are here this night, more than any other group in all the world, must answer that hunger. We must fulfill that word of the Lord.
God help us from this hour forth that we shall strengthen every stake mission; yes, double the number. The work is here to be done and what greater work is there to be done, and may I suggest that we begin to pray that that son who now fights may live to carry the word of peace to the world. Oh, God, help him that while he uses the sword he may also use the Word of God, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Richard R. Lyman
Richard R. Lyman, Conference Report, April 1943, pp. 82-86
Long years ago Abraham Lincoln said that "... our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now," said he, "we are engaged in a great Civil War, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure...."
TO ENDURE FOREVER
Today we are engaged in a greater war, a war that covers the whole earth. We are fighting on battlefields around the world for the sacred purpose of demonstrating that, God being our helper, not only one nation, our nation, but that any and all nations "... conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal..." shall not only endure long, but shall endure forever. That is the great cause and blessing for which we are fighting today. And using again the language of the immortal Lincoln, we have resolved that those heroes of the other world war who gave their lives and those of this war who make the supreme sacrifice "... shall not have died in vain...." We have resolved that "under God" the whole world "... shall have a new birth of freedom. and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth...."
BETTER DEAD THAN A SLAVE
Henry Van Dyke says:
Oh, better to be dead With a face turned toward the sky, Than live beneath a slavish dread And serve a giant lie.
Stand up, stand up, my heart, and strive For the things most dear to thee! Why should we care to be alive Unless the world is free?
GIANT ROBBER'S WORLD-WIDE WAR
What he wrote then concerning the other world war and our flag applies to this world war and to our flag with even greater accuracy and force:
O fiercer than all wars before That raged on land or sea, The Giant Robber's world-wide war For the things that shall not be! Thy sister banners hold the line; To thee, dear flag, they call; And thou hast joined them with the sign- The heavenly sign, the victor sign- Of the stars that never fall. All hail to thee, New Glory! We follow thee unfurled To write the larger story Of the Freedom of the World.
THE WHOLE WORLD FREE
On the very day the other war was ended, November 11, 1918, he wrote: Oh, welcome home in Heaven's peace, dear spirits of the dead! And welcome home ye living sons America hath bred! The lords of war are beaten down, your glorious task is done; You fought to make the whole world free, and the victory is won.
How unfortunate that that thrilling and glorious achievement, thus so dearly and so dramatically stated, did not actually become a reality.
A TEMPLE AND THE CENTER OF PEACE
When President Grant was in Europe a few years ago, the mayor of Geneva, Switzerland, took him and as many others of his party as the mayor's car would carry and showed the members of that party the flowers, the parks, the mountain scenery, the loveliness of Lake Geneva, and many other of the attractions in and about that famous city, that great center of peace. President Grant the next day expressed the thought that somewhere among the hills surrounding that city, in that land of freedom and democracy, it would be fitting indeed for the Church of Jesus Christ to build a temple.
OUR ALL UPON THE ALTAR
The mayor later also took the party through the historic municipal and national buildings of Geneva and showed to us, the members of the party, the many and impressive historic documents and other treasures which the people of Switzerland hold dear as we hold dear the original copies of the Constitution of the United States and our Declaration of Independence. Some twenty-one or twenty-two nations are held together in Switzerland by their love of independence and liberty much as our forty-eight states are held together. The elimination of war, that is, the preservation and maintenance of peace, is the principal aim of the officials and people of that great city and that little but great republic, Switzerland. They are endeavoring to secure for mankind in all the world that great blessing of peace and good will which Christ came so long ago to bring, that blessing for which all good Christian people around the whole world are so fervently praying during these terrible and trying times. It is for this great cause that the United Nations including our own beloved country are now unselfishly putting their all upon the altar of war. By force we have had thrust upon us this great conflict and, spurred on by our love of liberty, we, the United Nations, are making gigantic efforts to win.
WILL WIN COURAGEOUSLY
The motto of our country is "In God we trust," and throughout our land we sing-
Long may our land be bright with freedom's holy light; Protect us by Thy might, Great God, our King.
With faith in God the Eternal Father to whom nothing is impossible, we have carried into this mighty and unparalleled struggle "the only flag in all the world that has never known defeat." God helping us we shall not only win, but however great the cost in tears, in blood, in human life, or in economic treasure, we shall win courageously.
And when peace finally comes and the war is ended, the following words of Van Dyke found in his poem entitled "Golden Stars," will apply as appropriately no doubt as they did when they were read for the first time at the Memorial Service held at Princeton University, December 15, 1918, just four days after the Armistice was signed. He said:
But many a lad we hold Dear in our heart of hearts Is missing from the home-returning host. Ah, say not they are lost, For they have found and given their life In sacrificial strife: Their service stars have changed from blue to gold!
ONE TEAR, ONE WORD OF GRIEF
Listen to his expressions concerning the courage, the determination, and the daring of the mothers of these whose stars have changed from blue to gold: O happy warriors, forgive the tear Falling from eyes that miss you; Forgive the word of grief from mother-lips That ne'er on earth shall kiss you; Hear only what our hearts would have you hear- Glory and praise and gratitude and pride From the dear country in whose cause you died. Now you have run your race and won your prize, Old age shall never burden you, the fears And conflicts that beset our lingering years Shall never vex your souls in Paradise. Immortal, young, and crowned with victory, From life's long battle you have found release. And He who died for all on Calvary Has welcomed you, brave soldiers of the cross, Into eternal peace.
Come, let us gird our loins and lift our load, Companions who are left on life's rough road, And bravely take the way that we must tread To keep true faith with our beloved dead. To conquer war they dared their lives to give, To safeguard peace our hearts must learn to live. Help us, dear God, our forward faith to hold! We want a better world than that of old. Lead us on paths of high endeavor, Toiling upward, climbing ever, Ready to suffer for the right, Until at last we gain a loftier height, More worthy to behold Our guiding stars, our hero-stars of gold.
TO THEE NOTHING IMPOSSIBLE
This struggle is like that great war of long ago which was fought in heaven. And the cause for which we fight is the same, that is, liberty and freedom, the right of choice, for all the sons and all the daughters of God. However great the cost, this struggle must go on until we are victorious. These are trying days, terrible times. The agony on the part of the mothers and of the young wives of those soldiers who may be called upon to give their lives on the field of honor is not unlike the agony of the Master Himself in the garden of Gethsemane. It was under the trying conditions then surrounding Him that He exclaimed, "... Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me". Three times He repeated this the most earnest, prayerful appeal that ever fell from His divine lips. The situation was so serious that "... his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground." The load He had to bear was so heavy that "... there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him".
PRAYER OF JESUS NOT ANSWERED
And was this His most earnest prayer answered? It was not. Then came the sublimest moment of His most remarkable life when He added, "... nevertheless, not my will, but thine, be done". Thus, by enduring that great agony, the Savior took upon Himself the sins of all men that all men on condition of repentance might come unto Him.
FATHER, THY WILL BE DONE
And so with us. We, the United Nations, have put our hands to the plow, and this contest, on a world of battlefields, unparalleled as it is in magnitude and extent, we will win, however great the cost. And being followers of Jesus, the Son of God, and members of His Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, let us do as He did at the time of His great agony, that is, appeal to our Heavenly Father in great earnestness and humility for the lives of our loved ones to be spared and for their bodies to be unharmed. But back of these earnest and humble prayerful appeals, let us, as best we can, be courageous and Christ-like. Back of all these appeals may we have, in some degree, that spirit Christ so gloriously exhibited during that sublimest moment of His life when to His most earnest prayerful appeal He added, "... nevertheless, not my will, but thine, be done". Thus courageously and Christ-like, may we plunge with all our might into this greatest of all world wars, and by the power of God may we deserve to win, and by that same power may victory be ours with the least possible loss of blood, and the fewest possible number of tears, and of heartaches, I humbly pray.
Elder George Albert Smith
George Albert Smith, Conference Report, April 1943, pp. 89-93
I trust that I may have the benefit of your faith and prayers, that I may be led to say something that will be helpful, for I realize that the time is very precious when as many men are assembled as are here tonight.
There are thousands of things that might be talked about, but if I am blessed by our Heavenly Father the few things I may speak about will be those that are given to me while I stand upon my feet.
THE SERIOUSNESS OF WAR
The world is in a terrible condition. The references that have been made tonight and during this conference to the fact that many of our young men are away, some of whom may never come back, and some of our young women, too, naturally stirs in us a feeling that we want to do our best-not only that we determine that we will, but that we have the strength to do it. About a month ago we checked on my relatives in the Smith family, and there were more than seventy that were already enlisted, and since that time there are quite a number of others that have gone. We have been told here that we have approximately twenty-five thousand members of the Church that are now at the front or are preparing to go. This is serious for us, and while the papers are full of the successes of the allied forces, and we are told of the powerful guns and bombs that are being utilized against those who are opposing us, the fact remains that we are involved in a terrible struggle and that the implements of war on the other side may be equally powerful and equally effective against us. I do not feel the assurance that some have due to our physical strength when I realize that only one-third of the people of the world are likely to be on our side because of being Christians or believing in the divine mission of Jesus Christ. Two-thirds of the world have never accepted Christianity, and it wouldn't take very much to swing nations that are now quiescent, if I may use that word, to the side of those who are seeking to destroy the liberty that mankind is enjoying.
FAITH OF LAMANITE YOUTHS
I am thinking of the experience of the Nephites, when they were having their perilous troubles, and how just two thousand and sixty boys, striplings as Helaman called them, were brought face to face with men of experience and training in warfare, and they went forward without any question, and when they were gathered from the battlefield, everyone of them having been wounded, after a series of battles, two hundred of them having fainted from the loss of blood, not one had lost his life. When the question was asked, "How could you do it? How could you have the faith?" those boys, like the ones that are going out now, no doubt, eighteen years and a little older, smilingly remarked, "We knew, our mothers knew".
I think that is one of the greatest tributes that has ever been paid to motherhood-that in circumstances such as they were experiencing, when they were surrounded by enemies, they could train their children to have that faith in God that would carry them through and would bring them home without losing their lives.
I have been asking myself the question, "Have the mothers of Israel been preparing their sons?" Have they been teaching these boys that must represent us on the battlefield, that they too, can be preserved; that God will take care of them if they are in the line of their duty, and I want to say that if our mothers have, the fathers have much to be grateful for, because some fathers do not take much time to teach these children things like that in these days.
DUTY TO MOTHERS AND WIVES
Tonight as I look at this great audience of men, more than 5,000, I realize the strength of the holy Priesthood; knowing that we are the representatives of divinity and that the men in this room have the power that comes from God to represent Him upon the earth. I know that, and at the same time I realize that there is a force in the Latter-day Saint homes where our wives and mothers and daughters are, and when it comes to faith in God and prayer it is equal to anything that the men may be able to muster. I fear that sometimes we neglect them. I wonder tonight if the men who are here, who have come to this great conference to worship God, who are here to be instructed under the influence of the spirit of the Lord-have left homes, left households in which there is a family of children besides the wife. I am asking myself the question, "How many of you who are here tonight, before you came here to wait upon the Lord, put your arms around the woman who stood by your side, the mother of your children, and told her that you were grateful that she would keep the home-fires burning when you couldn't be there?" I wonder if we appreciate the daughters of God as He appreciates them. Do we treasure their virtues and their faith and their devotion and their motherhood as our Heavenly Father does?
Recorded in the Book of Mormon is the statement that He took a whole race of men to task because the hearts of their wives were broken by their carelessness, and their children who had grown up in their homes had lost confidence in them. These were the men of the Church that I am talking about, and the Lord reproved them and gave them to understand that unless they repented of their carelessness they need not hope for His blessings. So I want to say to this group of Priesthood tonight, praying is one thing and prayers are important, but living is the thing that will bring us power with our Heavenly Father. Living the gospel of Jesus Christ will give us influence with our fellows among the children of men. Keeping the commandments of God will give us strength and assurance that not anything else can give us.
I am glad that so many of the brethren can come to this conference, and I hope that when we go home from the meetings that are being held here, that each of us returning to the home that is so precious to us, and is all that many of us possess, that we will do so determined that with the help of the Lord we will honor His daughters. We will treasure their love; we will be true to them and help them to do the things that they have to do when fathers and husbands and brothers are away.
I think that tonight there are no people in all the world who have such reason to be grateful as we. Realizing our privileges and opportunities I am thankful for my own experience, raised in a Latter-day Saint home; taught to pray at my mother's knee. My father spent years in the mission field; my mother eleven times offered her life to bring us into the world, and she gave her life day by day to train us that we might be real Latter-day Saints. And that's only one family. I am thinking of all these families that we represent-thinking of your parents and grandparents who came out of the world for the gospel's sake, who were willing to give all that they possessed that you and your children and your children's children might not be betrayed by the cunning craftiness of the adversary, to turn away from righteousness and partake of the things that our Heavenly Father has forbidden us to touch.
COMMENDATION FOR TABERNACLE BROADCAST
These are some of the thoughts that have been going through my mind during this great conference as I sat here upon the stand and listened to the voices of these servants of the Lord who have been commissioned divinely by God to represent Him and who have been teaching us and feeding us the bread of life while we have listened to their words. I am grateful for the great Tabernacle organ and choir that broadcast from this building each Sabbath day. For years they have been delighting the world with hymns of praise that our Heavenly Father has blessed us to enjoy, and along with it have gone sermonettes that have touched many hearts. I have had many people ask who is that man who makes the announcements at the Tabernacle broadcast? And I suppose Brother Evans has received hundreds of letters of commendation for his contribution. What he says is brief, but it is what he thinks the Lord would have His servant speak on His holy day.
RIGHTEOUSNESS GIVES STRENGTH
Now, brethren, we will soon be away from here. You will go to your field of labor and I to mine. We will mingle with the Latter-day Saints and with those who are not members of the Church, and I say to you that, if we would have influence with those that we are going to see when we leave here, we must have the power of God to witness unto them that we are what we pretend to be. Being a member of the Church and holding the Priesthood will not get us anywhere unless we are worthy. The Lord has said that every blessing that we desire is predicated upon obedience to His commandments. We may deceive our neighbors, and we may deceive ourselves with the idea that we are going through all right, but unless we keep the commandments of our Heavenly Father, unless we bear worthily this holy Priesthood that is so precious, we will not find our place in the celestial kingdom-we will not find our association and companionship with the wives and daughters who have not had the Priesthood, but who have measured up and have kept the commandments of God and lived righteous lives.
There are many men in this Church who have no male representatives. Our beloved president who sits here tonight has no sons, but God has blessed him with wonderful wives and daughters, and they have honored him and have held up his hands and supported him and sustained him. Other men on this stand have been blessed with large families who have joy in doing the things that the Lord wishes them to do and bring honor and credit to the Church with which they are identified. They are your brothers and sisters and mine. How grateful we ought to be that our lot has been cast under such favorable conditions. It doesn't make any difference how strong our armies, if we are outnumbered by those who do not believe in God. It doesn't make any difference how powerful the engines of destruction we prepare, they might be destroyed by that which may be brought against us by the enemy, but if we have the confidence of our Heavenly Father, if we have His love, if we are worthy of His blessings, all the armies of the world cannot destroy us, cannot break down our faith, and cannot overcome the Church that is named for the Son of God.
Read in the nineteenth chapter of II Kings how Sennacherib the Assyrian king sought to overthrow Jerusalem. Hezekiah, the king who represented Israel pleaded with the Lord for deliverance while Sennacherib mocked him, saying, "Don't think that your prayers to your God can help you. Every place that I have been and taken already, they have been praying. You are helpless," and the next morning a large part of the Assyrian army was found dead upon the ground, and Jerusalem had been preserved by the Lord. He is our strength, brethren, your Father and mine, the Father of all; if we will only be worthy He will preserve us as He did Helaman's sons, and as He preserved Daniel from the lions, and the three Hebrew children from the fiery furnace, and six hundred thousand of the descendants of Abraham when he brought them out from Egypt under the leadership of Moses and drowned Pharaoh's army in the Red Sea. He is the God of this universe. He is the Father of us all. He is all-powerful and He promises us protection if we will live worthy of it. Let me read you a paragraph of the very first section of the D&C; wherein He says:
For I am no respecter of persons, and will that all men shall know that the day speedily cometh; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand, when peace shall be taken from the earth, and the devil shall have power over his own dominion.
What a pitiable thing it would be if that ended there, for we can see the power of the adversary in the world and the destruction that is being wrought by those who are his emissaries; but, continuing, the Lord says:
And also the Lord shall have power over his saints, and shall reign in their midst, and shall come down in judgment upon... the world.
What a promise, but it is all conditioned upon our righteousness, not on anything else, not upon our wealth nor our strength in numbers, not upon our isolation from the world, but upon our righteousness.
A TESTIMONY OF GOD'S BLESSINGS
In conclusion, I want to bear my testimony to you, my brethren. First I thank the hundreds of you who have made it possible for me to carry on as I have, while standing at the side of my associates in the leadership of the Church to encourage our people and their neighbors to keep the commandments of God, and tonight, when I think of the condition of the world and realize that the only place where there is any semblance of peace is the land that we live in, and with the promise of God that He will be with not the members of the Church, I don't interpret it that way; not the men who hold the Priesthood necessarily, I don't interpret it that way-He will be with His Saints who are worthy to be called Saints, and His power and protection will be over them until their life's labors are completed. I know that God lives. I know that Jesus is the Christ. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of the living God as I know that I live. I know that the Priesthood that is held by you brethren is divine; that you are representatives of Deity and that if your lives conform to the desires of our Heavenly Father concerning His Priesthood, all power in heaven and earth cannot prevent you from gaining the blessings that God has said He would bestow upon those who keep His commandments. Let us love one another. Things have been said here about kindness during this conference. If there ever was a time when we needed to be kind, it is now. If there ever was a time when we needed to be patient, it is now, and if we would keep one of the commandments of God that He said was second to the greatest, we will love our neighbors as ourselves. When we do that, they will not be made sorrowful because of any conduct of ours. I am thankful to you for your companionship. I thank my brethren of the General Authorities of the Church, with whom I am so closely associated, for their kindness to me. I thank our beloved President, who, in his advancing years, continues to encourage us to be faithful and bear witness of his knowledge that God lives, that Jesus is our Savior and Joseph Smith was a prophet raised up by the Lord. You have heard these testimonies many times and the testimonies of others who are here. You have heard the testimonies of those that have already gone to their reward. These are true my brethren. These testimonies are not idly spoken or carelessly given. They are the truth.
Knowing that in the not-far-distant future the man who is talking to you now will have to stand before God and answer for the deeds done in the body; Alma 5:15) and the words spoken here, knowing that, and realizing the seriousness of misinterpreting or misrepresentation, with joy and gladness and with love I bear you my testimony, that the Gospel as taught by the Latter-day Saints is the power of God unto salvation. This is my witness and I bear it in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
President J. Reuben Clark, Jr.
J. Reuben Clark, Jr., Conference Report, April 1943, pp. 94-100
My brethren: I believe perhaps I have never had a more trying time than that which confronts me now. We have been hearing about the war, its purposes, and our part therein. I have the misfortune of remembering a little history; the most of my mature life has been spent dealing with the relationships of nations. I wish the picture were as clear and certain to me as it has been drawn, either as to its issues or its outcome.
I am not going to preach a sermon tonight, brethren. There are some things that I thought it might be well to run over with you. They deal largely with our temporal affairs, though not wholly so. I come to you in deep humility. I do not think I ever felt weaker.
HELPS FOR MEN IN THE SERVICE
We have over on State Street, as all you presidents of stakes and you bishops know, a missionary home, or a home for the L.D.S. service men. We have housed therein a committee which is trying to act as a liaison group between the soldiers and you brethren. I want to speak briefly about the work of that committee and ask your further help.
Before doing that, I should like to get a few facts. Will all those who saw service in the uniform of their country during World War No. I stand on their feet.
Thank you, brethren. If I might say so, I also was then in the service.
I would like all those who have sons now in the army to stand on their feet. Please remain standing. I should like to add to that number all those who have grandsons in the service, and add to that all those who have sons or grandsons who are subject to be called into service. Will you all stand, please.
Thank you, brethren.
President Grant has now in the service, or due for induction into the service, including his grandsons-in-law, eighteen men.
This war business is going to be felt very keenly by us.
Away back in October we sent out word to the presidents of stakes telling them that we were going to print some literature to be distributed to the boys. We have had printed the Book of Mormon, this is one of them, which they can carry here in their breast pockets. We have also had printed a little book we call Principles of the Gospel, that is founded on the Compendium. It will not be quite so large as this Book of Mormon. We have printed enough so that they can be distributed to every one of our boys who is in the service.
We asked each of you presidents of stakes to send in the names and addresses of the men in the service from your stakes, securing the same from the parents, through the bishops. That was in October. Ten stakes have not even acknowledged the receipt of the instructions. We have no word from them. All told, 239 wards and 42 branches have made no return whatever. The returns that have been made have been, frequently, so imperfectly made out that it is almost impossible to work out just what the names are, but more particularly just what the addresses are. Now, we are going to send to you brethren, you presidents of stakes, as many copies of this Book of Mormon and of the Principles of the Gospel as you have indicated you have boys in the service from your stakes.
We are going to ask you to see that they are mailed out to those boys to those addresses. We shall probably send along a form and ask you to write out a new statement regarding the boys, showing their addresses, their names, and so on. It is very difficult for those who are compiling these names to be sure that you have correctly stated the facts about them; the difference between "sen," and "son," is not always observed, and other like inaccuracies are there.
Now we have also prepared a directory, giving the locations of all of our chapels and churches throughout the United States, in England, and in Australia. We would like you presidents of stakes to call at the L.D.S. Home for Service Men, 41 North State Street, just above Eagle Gate, before you go home, and get enough copies of those directories so that you can give one to each of your boys in the service, and we ask you to distribute them through the bishops, so that the bishops can give one to each parent who has a son in the service.
When you send us these names, we send them out to the mission fields, and out in the mission fields where the camps are located, the mission presidents have districted the areas, to aid them in getting in touch with your boys. The directory will help the boys to get in touch with their Church.
Brethren, I do not believe it is necessary, after what has been said tonight, to urge upon you the importance of sending us these names, to urge upon you the importance of seeing that every boy-your boy and everybody's else-has a copy of these books. They will need will need all they can get from these books, to help them live righteously.
We have all sorts of letters from the boys in the fields telling us of the work which they are doing. We have asked them to organize themselves into Mutual Improvement groups, and carry on their religious activities. We have had two or three letters from a boy in North Africa -that is all we know about him as to his location-but he tells us that they hold sacrament meetings, administer the sacrament, that they preach, that they try to sustain one another, build up the faith the one of the other.
Now, brethren, please pay attention to this. Get your directories before you go home. We will send you copies of the books with instructions. Then will you please send back to us the new lists corrected, so that we can forward them to the missions.
Send out your books to your boys; give them all the help that you can, and that act plus your letters and your prayers, will be about all you can do.
TITHING
Now I want to thank the brethren of the Church, for their response in the matter of tithing. Brother Grant thanked you in his opening message. I would like to tell you two or three facts about tithing. One is that 95 percent of all the tithepayers in the Church pay less than $200 per person, which is 67 percent of the total tithing. Thus the tithing is paid by the moderately circumstanced and poor of the Church. And while unnecessary, I can add to the assurance given you by President Grant, that he regards these funds as trust funds of the highest character, that he is authorizing their expenditure for nothing but Church purposes, and while at the moment we seem to have plenty of money, we are trying to guard it as carefully as we know how, because it is expected that the time will come when we shall have use for it, if it shall then be worth anything.
Brother Marion G. Romney read to us yesterday from some of the early instructions sent out by the First Presidency covering the question of so-called pensions, doles, or gratuities. you remember on one occasion the Savior talked about the duty running between parents and children, and based it upon that statement in the Decalogue, "Honor thy father and thy mother". It would be a grievous thing, brethren, if any of you, or if any of us, were to cast off our parents on the State.
The Church is prepared, with your help and assistance, to take care of those who need such assistance, and if any of the Saints have cast their parents off, see if you can not get them to take them back and administer to their wants themselves, and if they need help in this, let them go to the bishop and get it in the right way.
Think of it, brethren, casting off the mother that bore and nursed you, the father that begot you, letting the State care for them-and there are such cases.
If we shall hold ourselves together, if we shall work shoulder to shoulder, if we shall rise to the dignity of our Priesthood, and assume the obligations which God has given to us, we will care for our own; and we can do it. Do not be lulled to sleep by any such false religious, or governmental, or social slogan as that the State owes to every man a subsistence. "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread".
WELFARE FUNDAMENTALS
Now about the Welfare. We have always regarded the Welfare as being set up for the needy; and when we have spoken of the needy we have thought of those who did not have enough to eat or to wear; but there is a new group of needy coming now-those who will need help to carry on their work-whether they be farmers or merchants, or industrialists. In the good old days when I was a boy we used to change work. You men out in the country know all about that, and those who are as gray as I am have been through it.
Brethren, the man who has a crop that needs harvesting is just as much in need as anyone else. See to it that your Priesthood quorums are so organized that that need may be cared for, and do not push off this work upon the Chamber of Commerce. It is your responsibility.
For several years we have been talking about Welfare gardens. Remember, we began that some time ago, long before Victory gardens were thought of, and we urged you that if you could not get a garden spot for yourself, that you get together in groups, that you raise what you needed, and having raised it, that you then "process" it, as it is now called. Now, with all the earnestness that I possess, I urge this course upon you again. I do not know how serious this food shortage is, but I do know this: We cannot feed the world, feed ourselves, fight the world, and furnish arms and ammunition for the world, and still live. I know what the situation is around here, because I am in a position where I have to know.
I want to say something more: Up to this time your home-processed foods have not been touched. You have not had to count them. Of course in principle it is a little difficult to see the difference, on the one hand, between the man who, foreseeing and trying to forestall a future shortage, went out into the market a year or two or three years ago and bought and stored foodstuffs, and, on the other hand, the man who for the same purposes went out and raised his food and then did his own processing. If they can ration what is yours that you bought, by the same token they can ration what is yours that you raise. Now, you might have that in mind, too. Your own processed foods will probably be the last thing that will be touched, but you had better have it in mind that it may be rationed if not actually taken.
However, I can see no other wise course but to raise all that you can. Waste nothing. Try to help others who cannot raise their own. Process enough to keep your family, and then if you have to surrender it, you have done your part, and the judgment and responsibility for the result will rest upon somebody else.
I would like to say something about another point. Ever since the Welfare Plan began, we have been urged to try to do a great number of things. Times such as these make men prolific in theories; they are filled with wild ideas. One of the most difficult things that we have had to do is to stick to our knitting, to see that we did not get off into lines of activity which we could not successfully carry on, because the Church-do not forget this, brethren-the Church must not fail!
Some of the brethren are anxious to begin cooperatives. We are quite willing that they shall go forward in any plan of that kind that they themselves determine, but we ask you to remember that it takes a merchant to run a cooperative; just anybody cannot do it. It involves great and difficult problems in credit-credit to friends and credit to neighbors, who may be good or bad risks. But go ahead with your cooperatives if you wish, if you feel you are set up for it. But please remember cooperatives are not part of the Welfare Plan. That plan has to do with the caring for the wants of those who are in need and distress, not in saving money or making money for groups.
I would like you to give most careful consideration to these things which I have named. There are one or two other points that I want to mention.
SOCIAL PROBLEMS
From the foundation of this Church, almost, we have regarded marriage as one of the holiest relationships into which we enter, marriage for time and eternity, a home here and a home hereafter. Now, you can only be married that way in the temple, and only those who are worthy members of the Church may go into the temple. No one else enters there. The rite is performed for no one else but worthy members.
Long experience has shown that marriages between our young people and young people not members of the Church do not, as a rule, work out happily. In the great bulk of cases, the opposite is the result. These mixed marriages cannot be performed in the temple.
Furthermore, we stand for a single standard of chastity for boys and the girls. We look upon unchastity as a sin next to murder.
For these reasons we have from the very beginning discouraged indiscriminate social minglings between our young people and young people who, as we have coined the phrase, "are not of us."
We are now called to sacrifice our sons. I did not ask you to rise, but I am sure there are many men here who have lost sons. I lost a son-in-law, as dear to me as my own son. Almost the first explosion at Pearl Harbor took him. But the point I wish to make is that because we have to sacrifice our sons is no reason why we should sacrifice our daughters.
Every consideration of faith, principles of right living, Church doctrine, and Church standards, require that we should guard, as we would guard our lives, the chastity of our girls. There are all kinds of influences at work to break down these standards. I was told the other day that we have a new phrase, that young girls who smoke and drink and may be doing other things, talk about "new Mormons" as distinguished from the "old Mormons." I wish to say to them that those who abandon the standards and principles of the Church are not Mormons at all.
But we must all be "old Mormons." We are all a little bit too sensitive to the praise of others. We are too eager that people shall say sweet things about us. We must go forward, whether people praise us or censure us. We must guard the chastity of our girls no matter what anyone says about it.
TO THE YOUNG WOMEN OF THE CHURCH
I want to say something to the young girls of the Church, and as it is a difficult subject, I have written down what I wish to say.
Your brothers, your sweethearts, your young husbands are in the armed service of their country. They went away with pledges of devotion and loyalty to you, pledges that they would keep themselves sexually clean. You are hoping, praying, and expecting that they will keep their pledges to the letter. You made counter pledges orally or in your hearts. You expect them to keep their pledges: they expect you to keep yours. Either violating the pledge, has no right to expect its observance by the other.
Furthermore, you young women and girls, whose loved ones are in the service, expect them to keep themselves pure in mind and heart as well as in body. You expect them to remember that the Lord said: "Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart"; and that in our day He has added: "If any shall commit adultery in their hearts, they shall not have the Spirit, but shall deny the faith and shall fear". That they may be free from this sin of the heart, you expect them to keep wholly clear from social associations with bad companions, men or women. You expect them to forego those light or frivolous amusements or recreations that might lead to this sin,-you expect this notwithstanding they are subject over repeated periods of time to the hazard of immediate death itself, periods which give rise to the imperative need for intervals of relaxation and diversion so that reason may retain her throne and insanity be kept off.
All this you expect of them.
May they not rightfully expect as much of you? May they not justly expect that you too will remain free from bodily sin not only, but from this sin of the heart as well? May they not expect that if they who are subject to the horrors and misery of war, subject to the stress and strain of mortal combat, often hand to hand, that if they, to remain pure and clean, shall stay in camp away from the social diversions that bring temptation, that then you who are living in the peace and quiet and security of home and parents and friends will give up the frivolities of social relaxation in order that you may surely keep yourselves clean and pure for them? Surely your sacrifice is as the molehill against theirs as the mountain. Putting it at the lowest price, just good sportsmanship would require this much of you. Memory of the plighted faith would demand it.
I urge you young women and girls to remember that in the schedule of crimes, unchastity comes next to murder. Do not subject yourselves to its penalty. The Lord has said: "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God".
THE GREAT PARADOX
What a tragic spectacle man is showing to his God today. We have rightly boasted for nearly a hundred years that in this, the Last Dispensation of the Fulness of Times, the Lord was pouring out His inspiration and His blessings upon all the world, unlocking to His children secrets that never were dreamed of by the ancients, giving them powers and dominions over the forces of nature, bringing under subjection almost the universe. Look at what the last century has given us in art, literature, science, discoveries, for our blessing and advancement. God gave all this to us to bless us. And then consider that now, in this terrible hour, every device, every invention, every discovery God gave us to bless us is being used to destroy one another in one of the most barbarous wars of all time. God will not hold guiltless those responsible for this holocaust.
God give us strength and power to resist evil. You brethren here, the governing authority of the Church, have almost infinite power in your hands, if you will but reach out and magnify your calling and live righteously. The brethren today have time and again told you of your responsibilities. Personally I always think of the responsibility I have; it helps to keep me at least reasonably humble. But think also of the power that you have, the power to bless, the power to heal, the power to do all the things that the Lord wants done. The Lord will hold us responsible for the exercise of that power. May He help you, I repeat, to magnify your calling. May you be able to bring to the people in the times that are to come, comfort, and consolation. May He help you to build up their faith, increase their testimonies, develop their knowledge, so that you may really honor His Priesthood, exercising the full functions thereof.
May God bless us always, I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Albert E. Bowen
Albert E. Bowen, Conference Report, April 1943, pp. 110-115
Recently I picked up a national magazine in which a contributor, after noting the muddled state of thought about the needs of the near future of the world, asserts:
Our need, of course, if we are to have peace after the war, is a passion for humanity and for the interests of humanity as predominant over all lesser interests whatsoever.
Very naturally he proceeds from that premise to this conclusion:
RELIGION A POTENT FACTOR IN WORLD PEACE
It should be obvious, after what we saw in the last war and what we are already seeing in this war, that peace can never come out of war itself. If it comes at all, it must be in spite of the war and not because of it, and from a source altogether remote from its influence. I find no such source except in religion itself. For religion has this passion of which I speak.
That statement might not be so arresting if it stood alone. But it does not. It is merely typical of assertions coming to be of almost daily occurrence. Scarcely do we pick up a reputable magazine nowadays that we do not find in it somewhere declaration of the view that in the precepts of religion are to be found the principles and in religion itself is to be found the spirit upon the adoption and practice and influence of which alone the hope of the world for peace and order must depend.
This poses for religion a tremendous task and the question at once arises how this task is to be accomplished. It means that somehow religion must come to have a dominating influence in shaping the policies and practices of governments, for, of course, it is the civil governments which control in the waging of war and the fashioning of peace. How is religion to get in?
There is another manifest implication in the premise, namely, that religion has not been performing its rightful office, or the conditions which call for its intervention would not obtain. Does it have the power to do what is suggested and, if so, why has that power not been exercised?
I shall have in mind the Christian religion as I proceed to consider these questions.
In the first place, if religion is to be a potent factor in shaping the conditions of peace, it must have a medium through which it expresses itself-a mechanism of implementation. Of itself it is a spiritual ideal. But as a passive ideal, religion is of little value. It must carry its message; it must get itself accepted, for it comes to fruition only as its precepts come to dominate the lives and actions of men individually and in their collective relationships. To be effective it must incorporate itself into an organized body. That body is the Church. That is the medium through which religion has implemented itself in any civilization. And may I add in passing that so far as I know, no civilization has ever developed that did not rear itself upon the religion of the people.
If then, the influence of religion is, as postulated, the only source of hope for a world of peace, and if religion is made effective through the organized body called the Church, then it would seem that there is indicated for the Church a place of transcendent importance in the shaping Of the future of the nations. This would seem to demonstrate the folly of saying that the Church has no concern with the civil institutions of the day. If it is not concerned with them, then it cannot carry into them the influence which it is its business to foster. Furthermore, the Church lives and operates within the domain of civil governments and to a degree trader their control. Its members are so controlled. People and institutions, too, are always influenced and modified and note or less molded by the thought and feeling which dominate the society in which they live, particularly the prescriptions of governments. We are caught up and held in the web of their practices and habits. With such powerful agencies in the shaping of our lives and affecting its own destiny, the Church must be concerned. I am not unmindful of the fact that many people profess the conviction that no Church is necessary; that religion is a thing of the spirit affecting the inner life of the individual; and that it has nothing to do with the affairs of the political society commonly spoken of as the state.
DEMOCRACY A THING OF THE SPIRIT
That objection is not so formidable as it sounds. So is democracy a thing of the spirit. It does not consist in frameworks such as constitutions and presidents and legislatures and statutes and judicial bodies and enforcement officers. You may have all these completely democratic in form and not have a democracy at all. But no one would argue from this that you could have a living democracy without them, The essence of democracy-its spirit-is by itself an intangible ideal, inert and unfruitful, even though it burn in the hearts of individual men. Put that flaming spirit, that throbbing, pulsating ideal into a mechanical organization comprising a constitution which defines the limitations on the powers of government; write into it a bill of rights which protects the individual against invasion of his guaranteed privileges by governmental authority; let it provide for the making of laws to which all agree to render obedience; give it an executive authority to carry those laws into effect; set up a tribunal to interpret the laws and resolve disputes between man and man and between citizen and government, and it will carry a nation triumphant from a narrow fringe on the seashore across six thousand miles of continent, plant towns and cities by the way, set up in them local governments by consent, establish schools, rear industries, subdue the earth and give to one hundred million people more of creature comfort, more of individual self-respect, more of the recognition of human dignity, more independence of action and consequent self-reliance, more liberty of thought and freedom of action than were ever before known to any people during the period of recorded history.
As the political framework is to the spirit which is democracy, so the Church is to religion.
So much for the means by which religion is to get itself into governments. Please notice that I have not said, nor do I believe, that the Church should try to manage the government.
POWER OF CHURCH WIELDED IN WORLD HISTORY
I am now prepared, purely for convenience, to use the word church interchangeably with the term religion as I proceed to ask: Does religion have in it the power to do what it is suggested that it alone must do?
The best answer I know to that question is that in times past it has already done it. Given the same conditions there is no reason to assume that it cannot do it again. It must, of course, be at once admitted that the Church, as the agency through which religion makes itself effective. is greatly weakened for its task by lack of unity within itself.
Jesus, the fountain source of the religion of which we speak, selected some disciples and taught them His message. Then He told them to go out and spread it everywhere. Shortly after He left them, on one day, through the zeal and fervor of their conviction, they added to their body by baptism three thousand souls. Ignoring the commands of the chief rulers, they continued their teaching, filling Jerusalem, so it was charged, with their doctrine. To all interdictions Peter answered, "We ought to obey God rather than men".
In defiance of the proscriptions of the emperors, the Church projected itself into the very heart of the empire, and by the third century had raised itself from a position of despised ignominy to the position where its worship had been accepted by the majority of the people of the empire, and it had won for its members religious toleration, the right to hold public office, and for itself the restoration of its previously confiscated property. It was ever in the forefront of the struggle against tyranny and oppression. Through the long black night of the Dark Ages, the Christian Church kept the flickering torch lighted and fought the long, hard battle for the rights of man. The Christian religion, embodied in a physical organization, led certain dissenters to Holland; it took them across the Atlantic and gave strong leadership in fashioning the institutions that here grew up. What we have lately heard so much talked of as the American system could not possibly have been conceived in materialism. It was the solution of the problem of the age and was born of the travail of the spirit fostered and kept animate by the Christian Church.
CAUSES FOR WANING OF RELIGIOUS INFLUENCE
We are now prepared to ask why the Church has lost its former position of influence and leadership. It would require a volume to answer that question. I have neither the time nor the sweep of learning needed for the task. I can venture only a conclusion which, to my comfort, I find to be fortified by the opinions of others, more capable than I, who have given consideration to the subject. The limits of time compel me to an over-simplification.
The conclusion is that the teachers of religion, the Church itself, have weakened in their own conviction of the ultimate truth of the doctrines their creeds professed. Being without conviction, they have not taught with the voice of authority, and their following has floundered in uncertainty. The causes are many and complex, among them, no doubt, being the profound changes that have resulted from the extending of the frontiers of learning and consequent changes in habits of living and measures of value. In external settings there has probably been a greater transformation in one generation than in a thousand or two years preceding. It was brought about largely by the tremendous strides in the physical sciences giving man such undreamed-of mastery over nature. It paved the way for the glamorous industrial age, the age of invention and mechanization and production, which has literally revolutionized the conditions of physical existence. Tools and gadgets and mechanisms assumed a dominant place in the life of the nation, and we came to regard them as of first consequence to our welfare. We came to be so obsessed with the importance of material acquisitions that our vision of spiritual values was almost completely obscured. Man himself become inflated out of all proportion in his assumptions of self-sufficiency. He looked at the work of his own hands, and he called it good. He believed that he held the key to the mastery of the world, and that by his own power he could create a state of being according to his own heart's desire. Bigger and better and greater and more were the goals of his ambition. Through the discoveries of science and its methods of investigation, many ancient notions were found to be untenable; old errors were revealed, theories exploded; and it was believed that anything which laid claim to intellectual respectability must be able to meet the test of the scientific method. Science and industry deal with objects and materials. Their fruits are materialistic, and the idealistic, intangible things of the spirit fell to low esteem. Religious teachers forgetting the teaching of the Master that life is "... more than meat, and the body than raiment"; forgetting that their mission was to discern and preserve spiritual values; tried to accommodate their teachings to the mood of the time and to give them validity by submitting them not only to the scientific test, but, more basely, to the test of the habits and practices and likes of their adherents. They developed or tried to develop what might be called a theology of the flesh instead of the spirit. Thus science and the practice of the market place prescribed the conditions of religious teachings and the teachers themselves instead of being inspired interpreters of spiritual values became the mere echoes of the men of science and of their industrial contemporaries. As an editorial writer has phrased it:
The Christian leadership has passed from the hands of the Church to the hands of the active and practical laity-the statesmen and educators, the columnists and pundits, the scientists and great men of action. And this is only another way of saying that there is no true Christian leadership at all.
And as a parting warning he declares:
So far as the record goes, the American people would do as well by their souls to follow the advice of the industrial leaders as to follow the advice of the spiritual leaders.
Thus the flock is leading the Shepherd. * * * So long as the Church pretends, or assumes to preach absolute values, but actually preaches relative and secondary values, it will merely hasten the process of disintegration. We are asked to turn to the Church for our enlightenment, but when we do so we find that the voice of the Church is not inspired. The voice of the Church today, we find, is the echo of our own voices. And the result of this experience is disillusionment... This is a profound and absolute spiritual disillusionment, arising from the fact that when we consult the Church we hear only what we ourselves have said. The effect of this experience upon the present generation has been profound. It is the effect of a vicious spiral, like that the economists talk about that leads into depressions. But in this spiral there is at stake, not merely prosperity but civilization.
There is only one way out of the spiral. The way out is the sound of a voice, not our voice, but a voice coming from something not ourselves, in the existence of which we cannot disbelieve. It is the earthly task of the pastors to hear his voice, to cause us to hear it, and to tell us what it says. If they cannot hear it, or if they fail to tell us, we as laymen, are utterly lost. Without it we are no more capable of saving the world than we were capable of creating it in the first place.
This is a scorching indictment. But the words are not mine. They are the words of one profoundly moved by the confusion and bewilderment of the times, and crying aloud for help, one who recognizes that the Church must not follow and relay what others say, be they high or low. but must lead by declaring the voice of God. I have not used these words for the purpose of bringing under rebuke any church or any teacher of religion. Neither has anything that I have said been with that intent. It will be clear to you that I have used the term Church in its all-inclusive sense and not in reference to any particular church. Nor has my purpose been to raise any quarrel with or to depreciate the value of the glorious discoveries of science, or the industrial benefits that have been born of them.
Indeed science itself has become rather humble, if it has not always been so. Its great exponents seem rather generally to recognize, as Mr. Longmuir's recent broadcast to the American Academy for the Advancement of Science shows, that in the field of human behavior, which is, after all, the chief factor in government, science has very narrow limitations. For guidance in that we must look elsewhere.
I do not say that the Church could have prevented the wave of self-sufficiency and arrogant pride and gross materialism that has swept over the land. I think that probably arose from forces beyond its control. But the mistake of the church lay in its abandonment of its own convictions and its docile acquiescence in the flouting of spiritual realities and in its failure to hold fast to its faith in the reality of a living God, the well-spring of all religion, and without whom there can be no religion.
We have tried getting along without God and religion, and we see where it has brought us to. We have tried following more or less blindly the scholars, the writers, the men of affairs, and the political leaders, and we view with consternation the sorry plight to which they have brought us. The universal cry for spiritual regeneration gives the Church another chance to save the world and humanity, and offers a basis for hope.
TRUE FAITH THE WAY OF PEACE
The early Church made its phenomenal advancement and attained its great influence because those who bore its message believed devoutly in it. My purpose in speaking of these matters is to urge upon you who are gathered here-the members of our own faith-the leaders in your respective stations, to teach without wavering implicit faith in the living God who shapes the course and destinies of nations and who has revealed and does reveal the way of life which alone can lead to peace on earth and good will among men. There will be no enduring peace unless and until men accept the way of the Lawgiver of the universe. It is for us to try by every power of persuasion we possess to get men and nations to adopt that way and to stand resolutely against every influence and power which tends to lead away from it. I yield to no man in love of country and devotion to it. I have spent much of my life studying its history and its institutions. And I say that the demands of patriotism never require us to endorse what is not morally right.
It is for us not to be deceived by slogans and smart sayings but to put the teachings of the Savior of the world above all other teachings and make them the standard by which we measure all acts and plans for action, that His righteousness might be made fruitful in the earth.
May God grant us the power and the wisdom to do it, I pray, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Elder Joseph L. Wirthlin
Joseph L. Wirthlin, Conference Report, April 1943, pp. 116-124
The weak things of the world shall come forth and break down the mighty and strong ones.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHURCH
One hundred and thirteen years ago on this day, April 6, Joseph Smith, a young man twenty-five years of age, met five other young men in the humble home of Peter Whitmer in Fayette, New York, and according to divine instruction organized the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Its membership now numbers 917,715.
It has missions, stakes, wards, and branches in practically every city of any size or consequence in the world. It has developed from a local organization to one of international proportions. Its missionaries have carried glad tidings of great joy to the races of men for over a century. Its officers arid teachers number a quarter of a million, serving willingly, without thought of, or desire for, compensation. A great missionary. system has been developed which affords the opportunity of missionary service to some two thousand two hundred young men and women each year. A religious educational project has been set in motion which involves one university, three colleges, thirteen institutes, and one hundred and eight seminaries, manned by three hundred sixty full-time teachers, and provides religious education for thirty-five thousand young men and women. Seven temples are now in use for the performing of ordinances for the dead and the living, and an eighth is soon to be dedicated and opened. A Welfare plan has been worked out designed to assist those in distress, anticipating, however, that those receiving assistance shall contribute of their energy and time on a production project. This program has in operation agricultural, manufacturing, and processing projects, to provide food, fuel, clothing, and shelter. A wheat storage program is sponsored by the General Authorities and the Relief Society of the Church wherein three elevators are now used to store approximately four hundred thousand bushels of wheat against a day of need. Hospitals, a boys' home, in addition to a great religious, cultural, and recreational program sponsored by the auxiliary organizations of the Church are all developments that have taken place in the last one hundred thirteen years. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is an organization that is not in financial bondage to any man or set of creditors.
THE APPEARANCE OF HEAVENLY BEINGS TO JOSEPH SMITH
Joseph Smith declared to the world that the Father and the Son appeared to him in answer to the prayerful inquiry, which of all these religious organizations was the one designated as the Church of Jesus Christ. He was forbidden to join any of them and three years later a divine personage calling himself Moroni appeared to him, telling Joseph that the Lord had assigned to him a great and marvelous work and that his name would be had for good and evil among the nations. A record of the ancient inhabitants who formerly lived upon the American continent, inscribed on plates of gold, was entrusted to Joseph Smith for translation and publication to the world, for within its covers the Gospel of Jesus Christ in its pure and complete form would be found.
John the Baptist, the forerunner of the Christ nineteen centuries ago, again appeared, bestowing upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery the Priesthood of Aaron, which gave to these men the authority to preach the gospel of repentance and to administer the ordinances of baptism by immersion for the remittance of sins. Peter, James, and John appeared later to Joseph, conferring upon him the Melchizedek Priesthood or the Priesthood after the order of the Son of God, authorizing the conferring of spiritual blessings and privileges upon the faithful. Other divine personages appeared, those who had lived in former dispensations. Moses returned, bestowing the keys of the gathering of Israel upon Joseph; Elias gave him the dispensation of the gospel of Abraham; Elijah the prophet appeared, bestowing upon Joseph the authority to inaugurate the work for the dead. Joseph Smith received direct revelations from on high, instructing and directing him in the restoration of the Gospel in its fulness and in organizing the Church exactly as it existed in the days of the apostles, with Jesus Christ as the chief cornerstone, with apostles, prophets, evangelists, high priests, seventies, elders, bishops, priests, teachers, and deacons. All of these offices in the Priesthood of God existed according to Biblical authorities in the days of the apostles and were restored through Joseph Smith which effected a complete restitution of the Church organization, which is recognized by the world's foremost authorities on organization as being the most perfect of its kind on earth today.
Who was Joseph Smith? Whence came this man? He was the son of a farmer, born in the backwoods of Vermont, with no opportunities for scholastic attainments or personal development from an academic viewpoint, persecuted and prosecuted by foes and even by officials of the law who should have protected him. He lacked the riches of the world, without friends or prestige of those in high places. Will his declarations and claims stand the X-ray of a minute analysis? This analysis can be made from four viewpoints: first, comparison of Joseph Smith's claims and achievements with other great religious leaders; second, the fulfilment of prophecy and revelation; third, the authenticity of the Book of Mormon; and fourth, his leaving all of his works, the Book of Mormon, D&C;, Pearl of Great Price, revised Bible, for future critical study, and in this he stands alone.
MARTIN LUTHER'S CONTRIBUTION TO THE WORLD
First permit me to compare him with Martin Luther, a great, courageous and sincere man who was born under very humble circumstances-the son of a miner-one of the stepping stones to the restoration of the Gospel. His father and mother were devout and religious people. Martin Luther's mental ability won for him recognition of an individual wealthy enough to finance his scholastic training. He soon received the degree of Master. Influential church authorities became interested in him and the office of priest was bestowed upon him. He held the chair of philosophy in the University of Wittenberg. Later he received the degree of Doctor of Theology. Shortly thereafter he became involved in a bitter controversy with the authorities of the church over the proposed sale of indulgences and courageously affixed his ninety-five theses on the door of the Cathedral known as Schloss Kirche. He was excommunicated, his life was endangered, but there came to his rescue German princes and noblemen. Hence during a period of forced exile, he translated the Bible into the German language, declaring the Scriptures should be free and open to all men. He demanded general reformations of the dominant church, stating, "I am deeply interested in so purifying every church that all men may worship God as they see fit. As to organizing a new church, I have neither the dersire nor the authority to do so" But nevertheless there came into being a church bearing his name and in whose declarations of faith are found many of the doctrines of the church he bitterly opposed. His greatest contribution to his people and to the world was the doctrine of religious freedom and the translation of the Scriptures into the tongue of his people. It is interesting to observe that although he read, studied, and translated the Bible word by word from cover to cover, he failed to see, understand, or advocate the Gospel of Jesus Christ as it is therein recorded. In the process of his translations I have often wondered what his reaction was concerning such Scripture as the following: Malachi, Chapter 4, verses 5 and 6:
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
LIGHT UPON THE SCRIPTURES GIVEN THROUGH JOSEPH SMITH
Joseph Smith, unlearned of men, chosen by God, had the interpretation, for Elijah appeared to him and gave him the keys that had turned the heart of the children to their fathers, inaugurating the Gospel of salvation for the dead.
I wonder what the thoughts of Martin Luther were as he paused over the statement Of Ezekiel, Chapter 37, verses, 16 and 17:
Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions: And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.
And again the meek of the earth received the interpretation of this Scripture when Moroni appeared to the boy Joseph Smith and four years later entrusted to his care a record inscribed upon the plates of gold, giving the record of Joseph and Ephraim and all the house of Israel, combining the stick of Judah, or the Bible, and the stick of Joseph, or the Book of Mormon, as one witness for the Lord and His Son Jesus Christ.
I wonder what the emotions of Martin Luther were as he read that scripture of Amos which indicated that a great apostasy was to take place as predicted in the book of Amos, Chapter 8, verse 11:
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.
And again there is a prediction in the first chapter of Paul's epistle to the Galatians, verse 6:
I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel.
The answer was given to the fourteen-year-old boy in the woods of western New York when the Lord declared, "They draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof".
Martin Luther no doubt carefully perused the scriptures which had to do with the restitution of all things as recorded in chapter 3, verses 19 to 21, of the book of Acts:
Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things. which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.
In Revelation, chapter 14, verse 6, we read:
And I saw another angel fly in the midst or heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.
And again the humble prophet of the Lord received the actual interpretation in the reality of the visits of Moroni and other divine personages whereby the everlasting Gospel was restored for the benefit of all nations, kindreds, tongues and peoples.
Martin Luther declared, "As to organizing a new church, I have neither the desire nor the authority to do so." Joseph Smith had no personal desire, but under mandate of God proceeded to organize the Church of Christ. Martin Luther recognized the fact that he did not possess the authority to do so. Through the restoration of the Priesthood, Joseph Smith had the authority from on high to again inaugurate among the children of men the plan of salvation as given to the world by the Savior, and again to authorize men to act as His servants to bestow upon the Lord's children all of the blessings involved in the ordinances of the Gospel plan as was done in former dispensations. Luther's translation of the Bible sustains wholly the doctrines and ordinances of the Gospel as restored to the earth by the Lord through Joseph Smith.
THE TEST OF PROPHECY
The second viewpoint is the test of prophecy and revelation. Time but permits pointing out to you a few of the many prophecies made by the Prophet Joseph. I draw your attention to section 87 of the D&C;, verses 2 and 3, a revelation given to the Prophet December 25, 1832, wherein the Lord revealed to His servant:
The time will come that war will be poured out upon all nations, beginning at this place. For behold, the Southern States shall be divided against the Northern States, and the Southern States will call on other nations, even the nation of Great Britain, as it is called, and they shall also call upon other nations, in order to defend themselves against other nations; and then war shall be poured out upon all nations.
Is it not singular that this man, with few opportunities in life from a scholastic and statesman's point of view, would declare twelve years before his death that such an event would take place, which event actually occurred twenty-nine years after the prophecy was given to the world, when the Confederacy fired upon Fort Sumter and Great Britain became involved? Thus prophecy was fulfilled, which statement is borne out by the facts of history. There is only one answer to the question, whence came this advance information to Joseph Smith? It came to him from the Lord, as a revelation.
Section 97, verses 22 and 23, affords provocative thinking:
For behold, and lo, vengeance cometh speedily upon the ungodly as the whirlwind; and who shall escape it? The Lord's scourge shall pass over by night and by day, and the report thereof shall vex all people; yea, it shall not be stayed until the Lord come.
The question arises, what is meant by the Lord's scourge, a "scourge to pass over by night and by day, and the report thereof shall vex all people"? As we observe the events that are occurring in the greatest war of all time, the scourge spoken of by the Lord might well be squadrons of flying fortresses raining death and destruction upon people, cities, armies, battleship fleets, the merchant marine-by day and by night. Think, if you will, of London, Coventry, Rotterdam, Stalingrad, and now Berlin. Surely the inhabitants of warring nations are sorely vexed by the passing of this scourge over them by day and by night. Again I submit the question, from whence did Joseph Smith receive the information that such an event would take place? There is but one answer-his own-a revelation from the Lord.
Consider section 61, verses 14, 15 and 16:
Behold, I, the Lord, in the beginning blessed the waters; but in the last days, by the mouth of my servant John, I cursed the waters. Wherefore, the days will come that no flesh shall be safe upon the waters. And it shall be said in days to come that none is able to go up to the land of Zion upon the waters, but he that is upright in heart.
An examination of daily events upon the oceans of the earth might well indicate that the days are here when no flesh shall be safe upon the waters. Hundreds of thousands of tons of shipping have been sent to the bottom of the sea, involving the loss of thousands of lives. Again the question comes to our minds, how was it possible for Joseph Smith in 1831 to forecast a situation in the future wherein the waters would be unsafe for man? His answer is the only one-revelation from God, given to His servant.
Joseph Smith was among the first American religionists to declare the Constitution of the United States came into being because God suffered its establishment. Read the words of the Lord to the Prophet Joseph found in section 101, verse 77:
According to the laws and constitution of the people, which I have suffered to be established, and should be maintained for the rights and protection of all flesh, according to just and holy principles.
May I be permitted to digress long enough to say that any member of this Church or any citizen of this great republic that advocates the idea that the Constitution of the United States should be relegated to the past is on dangerous ground, for such a proposition destroys one of the fundamentals upon which true religion and democratic government are founded, namely the principle of free agency. Free agency, so far as the Church of Jesus Christ is concerned, is the foundation upon which the whole Gospel plan was formulated in the pre-existent world.
The Word of Wisdom also stands as an example of prophecy and revelation, God's law of health, sustained by modern-day science, which in the days of the Prophet had done but little work from a scientific point of view as to what was good and not good for man physically.
From the point of view of prophecy, compare Joseph Smith's declarations with the statement of Mosiah found in chapter 8, verses 17 and 18:
But a seer can know of things which are past, and also things which are to come, and by them shall all things be revealed, or, rather, shall secret things be made manifest, and hidden things shall come to light, and things which are not known shall be made known by them, and also things shall be made known by them which otherwise could not be known. Thus God has provided a means that man, through faith, might work mighty miracles; therefore he becometh a great benefit to his fellow beings.
A PROPHET'S RIGHT TO SPEAK FOR THE LORD
Have men ever stopped to consider that of all the great ecclesiastics since the days of Christ and His apostles, there has been but one who used the term, "Thus saith the Lord"? Joseph Smith, speaking directly for the Lord, was the first one who had this right. He spoke for the Lord as did Moses, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel.
Third, the authenticity of the Book of Mormon should be given consideration. Historians, men of science, and doctors of religion over a period of one hundred thirteen years have made a most critical analysis of the Book of Mormon, failing to find inconsistencies or contradictions in the doctrines of Jesus Christ, in history or geography. In fact, research work in Central and South America accumulated since the martyrdom of the Prophet sustains the Book of Mormon as to its origin. More than that, men can know for themselves through study and humble supplication before the Lord, that the Book of Mormon is indeed of the Lord. Moroni, the last writer in the Book of Mormon, leaves with the reader this promise:
And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
THE WORKS OF JOSEPH SMITH OF ENDURING QUALITY
The fourth viewpoint-as someone has declared-Joseph Smith left all his works, the Book of Mormon, D&C;, Pearl of Great Price, revised Bible, for future critical study. He stands alone in this. Joseph Smith, unlearned in the ways of men, neither disillusioned nor spoiled by the theories or science of men, was selected and foreordained before the creation of the world to bring forth the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ for the second time, hence his works will stand forever and ever. This is the only answer to Joseph Smith and his work. Possessed neither of friends nor wealth, without the protection of kings and noblemen, with no opportunities of worldly training, yet regarding him and others one noted American, Fred W. Shibley, declared, "What the country and the world needs today is a resurgence of the philosophy taught by Confucius, Jesus, and Joseph Smith. Otherwise we will have an appalling period of human decadence." Josiah Quincy declared, "It is by no means improbable that some future textbook for the use of generations yet unborn will contain a question like this: 'What historical American of the 19th century has exerted the most powerful influence upon the destinies of his countrymen?' and the answer may be Joseph Smith, the Mormon prophet."
It is intensely interesting that Fred Shibley and Josiah Quincy, men not of Joseph Smith's faith, would classify him with the greatest of teachers, Jesus Christ and Confucius, and give him a place among the world's and America's greatest. As Moroni declared to Joseph Smith, his name would be had for good and evil among the nations. Today it is had for more good than evil.
A few years ago I stood in old Carthage Jail, and walking up the stairs to the room occupied by Joseph and his friends and standing there in meditation, the thought came to me, suppose Joseph, in the last moments of anguish, facing certain death, had confronted the blood-thirsty Carthage Grays with this statement: "I am an imposter. I did not see the Father and the Son. The Book of Mormon is of my own creation." The Carthage Grays would have responded with one voice, "Joseph, return to Nauvoo. We promise to permit you to live in peace."
AUTHORITY RESTS WITH SUCCESSORS TO JOSEPH SMITH
Joseph Smith could not make any such statement for, said he, "I saw the Father and the Son, and I knew that God knew it, and I could not deny it, neither dared I do it; at least I knew that by so doing I would offend God and come under condemnation", and rather than deny his testimony to the world, he sealed it with his blood, which is in accordance with the Scripture found in Hebrews, chapter 9, verse 16, "For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator".
With the death of Joseph Smith, what happened to the mantle of authority and the keys that he held? They were in the possession of the Council of the Twelve, as the revelation of the Lord to the Prophet indicates, the Twelve are equal in authority to the First Presidency. The Council of the Twelve, through revelation and inspiration selected Brigham Young. From the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph until the present day, all of his successors have been so selected and today the same mantle of authority rests upon the shoulders of President Heber J. Grant and the same keys are vested in him for the furtherance of the work of the Lord until the second coming of the Redeemer.
THE TRUE EXPLANATION
There is but one answer to Joseph Smith, and the answer is found in his story, his life, and his achievements. It is also found in the lives of those who have accepted the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and have been blessed with a testimony of its divine origin. Joseph Smith should not be a man of mystery to the world, but a true servant of God, for as the Savior declared, "... By their fruits ye shall know them".
I am grateful for the witness with which the Lord has blessed me, convincing me beyond all doubt that Joseph Smith was an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, a prophet, seer, and revelator, and through him God's greatest gift to man has been made available to all who accept His teachings. This gift is known as the gift of salvation, and there is no greater gift.
Joseph Smith, a humble, unknown farm boy, as Peter was the lowly fisherman-and yet in the hands of God he became the mightiest and the greatest in this, the dispensation of the fulness of times, for he definitely reaffirmed the actual existence of the Father and His beloved Son Jesus Christ. Yes, "the weak things of the world shall come forth and break down the mighty and strong ones". May our obedience to and compliance with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ as restored through His instrument, Joseph Smith, increase our testimonies of Joseph Smith's divine calling, I humbly ask, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Harold B. Lee
Harold B. Lee, Conference Report, April 1943, pp. 124-130
"I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year, 'Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown,' and he replied, 'Go out into the darkness, and put your hand in the hand of God. That shall be to you better than a light, and safer than the known way.'"
COMMENTS ON WORDS OF KING OF ENGLAND
Those words were quoted by the King of England in an Empire Broadcast shortly after Great Britain entered the present world conflict. I presume the thought that he intended to convey to his subjects was that they should humble themselves and in supplication and in faith approach their Heavenly Father for divine guidance and His protection. And it was well that they be so counseled, for our Heavenly Father is concerned about all His children and desires that they "... believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him".
THE VOICE OF THE SHEPHERD
To the Latter-day Saints in this troublous day, when the perils of the earth are round about us, it is well that we take stock as to how we may approach Him and what may be our blessings. The Savior Himself spoke of the Comforter, which He said would guide into all truth, would bring all things to our remembrance, would show us things to come, and would teach us all things whatsoever the Lord our God had commanded. But there was another thing that has been spoken of by the scriptures, another guiding light that I should like to call to the attention of the Latter-day Saints at this time. The Savior enunciated this principle in the beautiful parable in which He spoke of Himself as the shepherd, the sheepfold as His kingdom, and the sheep as His people. These were His words:
... and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and he leadeth them out.
And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
The Apostle Paul said:
There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world,...
Therefore if I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be unto him that speaketh a barbarian, and he that speaketh shall be a barbarian unto me.
So we may in this day distinguish among the babble of voices that are to be heard on every side, the voice of the true shepherd, that we be not found to be barbarians in the day of our need for direction and guidance. The Apostle Peter declared that way when he said:
PROPHECY CONTINUES IN PRESENT GENERATION
We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
This thought agrees in substance with that declared by the Prophet Amos, when he said:
Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.
Those secrets have been revealed in this day, when in our generation the Lord to the Prophet Joseph Smith said:
Wherefore, I the Lord, knowing the calamity which should come upon the inhabitants of the earth, called upon my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., and spake unto him from heaven, and gave him commandments.
Just as the Prophet Joseph was called, so have been called Brigham Young, and every one who has presided in the Presidency of this Church, down to President Grant, President Clark, and President McKay, who today occupy the high place as the mouthpieces of God in directing this people.
We as a people seem to be willing to accept many of the ancient prophecies as having been literally fulfilled but when we see prophecies fulfilled in our own day we are prone to question and to express some doubts. As the Master said, "... A prophet is not without honor, but in his own country" and he might have added, "Save in his own time."
NEED FOR CHURCH WELFARE PLAN
I should like to bring to you some observations for just a few moments. Today I am in a reflective mood because we at this conference are celebrating the seventh anniversary of the inauguration of what has been styled the Church Welfare program. Coming on a train from the east last fall, I read from an editorial in the Chicago Tribune wherein editors were commenting upon an article that had been written by a prominent educator in the School Review, a publication of the Department of Education of the University of Chicago. This educator's statement in that Review was a very doleful picture of what was to happen to us after the present World War had finished. He spoke of the loss of world markets, the difficulties in finding adjustments for the millions who had been thrown out into war industries, and for the returning millions of our boys from the armed services. He spoke of the desperation, the frustration, and the futility of many of those thus found in the toils of that readjustment period. And then he said, "The only vocational group which will not immediately suffer are the farmers; they can raise what they need." Then he suggested that we need prepare for what was in store by teaching farming as a compulsory subject, to get hold of a piece of land, that those provided with farming skill should be able thereby to keep the "wolf" from the door. And so he goes on.
That set me thinking, because the voice of the Lord was declared back in 1894, in October of that year, by that man whom we sustained then as the prophet, seer, and revelator unto this Church. He said:
So far as temporal matters are concerned we must go to work to provide for ourselves. The day will come, as we have all been told, that we shall see the necessity of making our own shoes and our own clothing, and providing our own foodstuffs, and uniting together to carry out the purposes of the Lord. We will be preserved in the mountains of Israel in the days of God's judgments. I therefore say unto you, my brethren and sisters, prepare for that which is to come.
The voice of the Lord was again heard in 1936, when again we were told by our leaders that there should be a production of all the things needed by those who would otherwise be unable to provide for themselves. For seven years the Church has been schooled in the methods of production and distribution. Storehouses have been established-eighty-six of them today-grain elevators have been erected and yet in the face of all that anxious, feverish activity that has been directed by the Presidency of this Church, there have been contrary voices, there have been contrary philosophies of spending ourselves into prosperity; we have had a subversive economic program; we have had subsidies and controls of every kind that seemed to work at cross purposes with that which the prophets of the Lord were guiding us to do.
The spirit of all this Welfare activity throughout the Church and the meaning of all this preparation seemed to have found expression in a dedicatory prayer offered by one of the Presidency of the Church in August of 1940 when the elevator down on Welfare Square was dedicated. Here was a statement from that beautiful and inspired dedicatory prayer:
May this be an edifice of service, a contribution of love, and as such we dedicate it to thee and ask thy blessings to attend all who may have contributed to its erection, and all who may contribute to the keeping of these bins filled with the wheat which is considered necessary to be preserved preparatory for the judgments that await the nations of the earth.
THE SAINTS INSTRUCTED TO PRODUCE AND STORE
Then came 1937. The voice of the Lord again spoke through His mouthpiece from this place to Israel. Individuals were told to go beyond Welfare production, putting storage in their own places sufficient for a needed supply. Oh, there were some who sat back in that day, just like the scorners who sat in the house of Lehi's dreams, and pointed fingers of scorn at the Latter-day Saints who heeded that call, and came to a point after the declaration of war when all such were dubbed as hoarders, and were accused of being unpatriotic to the great urge that was being made of this great American nation. But shortly after that finger of scorn was pointed and those epithets were thus hurled, we had a letter from a state consumer officer in connection with the O.P.A. office who asked the Church to stimulate its membership to produce and to store, to do the very thing that for five and six years the Church had actually been doing under the direction and by the counsel of the leadership of this Church.
Again there came counsel in 1942, a change was made.
We renew our counsel, said the leaders of the Church, and repeat our instructions: Let every Latter-day Saint that has land, produce some valuable essential foodstuff thereon and then preserve it; or if he cannot produce an essential foodstuff, let him produce some other kind and exchange it for an essential foodstuff; let them who have no land of their own, and who have knowledge of farming and gardening, try to rent some, either by themselves or with others, and produce foodstuff thereon, and preserve it. Let those who have land produce enough extra to help their less fortunate brethren.
It was as though they knew fully a year before the present rationing program was inaugurated that there had to be a change from the previous activity if we would be sustained in this time. Let me ask you leaders who are here today: In 1937 did you store in your own basements and in your own private storehouses and granaries sufficient for a year's supply? You city dwellers, did you in 1942 heed what was said from this stand? Did you go out and procure that land a year ago in preparation for that which came last fall in the way of a rationing program? If you didn't, you find yourselves now rather anxious about the present situation, because land this year is much more difficult and much more costly to obtain.
I remember something else that was said. It was declared also from this pulpit that the interpretation of the vision of Pharaoh by the boy Joseph when he saw the seven lean and the seven fat kine-or the reverse, the seven fat and the seven lean kine -coming up out of the water, was not without parallel in our own day. Of this parallel our leaders reminded us in these words: "We have had seven fat years,". "We are warned that scanty days lie ahead." As I have thought of that statement of the brethren, I have wondered if we may see a shadow also in the fact that the eleven brothers who were unguided by the spirit of the Lord were forced to come to the one provident brother who listened to the word of God. I wonder if we are likewise to see that parallel in Israel today.
WISDOM SHOWN IN INSTRUCTIONS AS TO TRAVEL
Yes, there were some other things. May I just speak of one more? On January 17, 1942, a letter was sent out to all the Church urging and instructing that they discontinue stake meetings; to restrict the travel by stake board members, to cut down on other activities where otherwise they would not be able to conserve. And when you remember that all this happened from eight months to nearly a year before the tire and gas rationing took place, you may well understand if you will only take thought that here again was the voice of the Lord to this people, trying to prepare them for the conservation program that within a year was forced upon them. No one at that time could surely foresee that the countries that had been producing certain essential commodities were to be overrun and we thereby be forced into a shortage.
CALLING OUT OF MISSIONARIES
Yes, you remember when the missionaries were taken out of Europe a few years ago, there were many who sat in the scorners' seats who said: "Why, that is silly. During the last World War we did not have all the missionaries taken out." But those who thus spoke forgot that Brigham Young had voiced the word of the Lord some years ago when he said:
Do you think there is calamity abroad now among the people? All we have yet heard, and all we have experienced is scarcely a preface to the sermon that is going to be preached.
Now, mark you this:
When the testimony of the Elders ceases to be given and the Lord says to them, "Come home; I will now preach my own sermons to the nations of the earth." All you now know can scarcely be called a preface to the sermon that will be preached with fire and sword, tempests, earthquake, hail, rain, thunders and lightnings, and fearful destruction.
And it is a matter of record that hardly had the last missionary been called home until all hell seemed to break loose in Europe, in veritable fulfillment of the prophecy that had been given. When likewise the missionaries were called from the island missions of the sea, we heard the same clamor, criticizing these brethren because they were doing things that seemed to some members of the Church to be not necessary, and yet we see the great wisdom displayed in what already has been done.
LESSON FROM LIFE OF MOSES
I think we could learn a lesson from the story that we read in the book of Exodus, in the life of Moses the prophet. You will recall that Amalek had come upon Israel, and Joshua was commanded by Moses to go out with his army. He said to Joshua, "I will stand upon the mount with the rod of the Lord in my hand, and you go fight the battles of Israel." And as long as he stood with his hands upraised Israel prevailed against the enemy, but his hands became heavy and he could not hold them up, and when he would drop his hands, the enemy prevailed over Israel. And so they sat him upon a rock upon the Mount, and Aaron and Hur stood holding his hands upraised, that Israel would prevail in that terrible day.
That also is not without its shadow today and its lesson to Israel. Here sits today on this stand the man as President of this Church who holds in his hand the rod of the Lord; he is sitting upon the mount, and as long as his hands are upheld by obedience to his direction and his counsel, Israel will prevail against her enemies. But whenever we come to a time when we allow his hands to fall, and we as the Priesthood of the living God fail to uphold his hands, just in that day we may expect our enemies to come upon us and to destroy us.
SECURITY IN FOLLOWING ADVICE OF LEADERS
I was down in Kelsey, Texas, last November, and I heard a group of anxious people asking, "Is now the day for us to come up to Zion, where we can come to the mountain of the Lord, where we can be protected from our enemies?" I pondered that question, I prayed about it. What should we say to those people who were in their anxiety? I have studied it a bit, I have learned something of what the Spirit has taught, and I know now that the place of safety in this world is not in any given place; it doesn't make so much difference where we live; but the all-important thing is how we live, and I have found that security can come to Israel only when they keep the commandments, when they live so that they can enjoy the companionship, the direction, the comfort, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit of the Lord, when they are willing to listen to these men whom God has set here to preside as His mouthpieces, and when we obey the counsels of the Church.
When a decision has been reached by the presiding councils of the Church and a majority in these councils has decided on a certain policy, and then there comes a minority voice contrary to that majority decision one may know with a surety that that minority voice is not speaking the will of the Lord. I tremble when I think of the truth of that statement. I am greatly concerned when I now sit in one of the presiding councils of the Church, and remember that in days gone by there have been those who have fallen by the way because they went out in contradiction of the majority decision of that body. And so that places before you a safe guide. Should there be those, even though in high places, who may come among you not speaking the policy of the Church as declared by these men whom we sustain as the prophets of the living God, the Church may know that those who thus speak are not speaking the mind of the Lord and the voice of the Lord and the power of God unto salvation.
God help us to follow the light. May we be guided unerringly through this day of grave uncertainty, that we may be kept upon Zion's hill and be not strangers and barbarians to the work of the Lord, but may be ones to listen to him who is our shepherd, whose voice we know, I humbly pray, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, April 1943, pp. 130-131
Brethren: The 113th Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is now drawing to a close.
TEACHINGS OF THE CONFERENCE
In this Conference you men who hold responsible positions as Stake, Ward, and Quorum officers have represented the entire membership of the Church. During these six sessions the General Authorities of the Church have set forth impressively and dearly the paramount need that the Gospel of Jesus Christ permeate the hearts of men, and that the Spirit thereof direct the nations of the world. The standards and ideals of the Church have been set forth most sincerely and impressively. Earnest appeals have been made to all members, and particularly to the young men and women, that they subscribe their lives in conformity with the standards and ideals of righteousness. Impressively the Authorities have urged you men to be real guides, leaders and exemplars to the membership of the Church and to all men.
Now in conclusion, brethren, I repeat the words of the Lord to the Priesthood of His Church: "Wherefore now let every man learn his duty, and to act in the office in which he is appointed in all diligence. He that is slothful and will not learn his duty shall not be worthy to stand, and he that shows himself not approved, shall not be counted worthy to stand".
BLESSINGS INVOKED
God bless you, brethren. God bless the membership of the Church throughout the world. May His peace be with our brethren and sisters over in the war-torn countries; be with them in the islands of the sea, and our brethren who are there presiding, that the Spirit of the Almighty might be with them under all conditions to comfort them and guide them.
God bless our boys who are at the front, fighting for freedom, offering their lives that this world may again have peace. May the Lord's comforting influence be with the parents whose boys have already made the supreme sacrifice. May these parents and loved ones know that no bomb can end the life of one who thus offers himself; it may silence his heart beats, but he lives because man is immortal. May our soldier boys so live that no matter what comes to them, they may have in their hearts the eternal truth that "he that liveth and believeth in Christ shall never die".
SYLVESTER Q. CANNON ABSENT BECAUSE OF ILLNESS
You have noticed that one of the Twelve has been absent from this Conference. Elder Sylvester Q. Cannon has, on account of illness, been unable to meet with us. We pray that the comforting influence of the Holy Spirit will be with him, with Sister Cannon, and with other loved ones who are now administering to Elder Cannon's needs.
God help us all so to live that we may be truly worthy of the trust that God has placed in us, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President J. Reuben Clark, Jr.
J. Reuben Clark, Jr., Conference Report, October 1943, pp. 10-14
My Brethren: With you my heart has rejoiced at the love and the blessings which have just come to us from our respected, honored, loved, and revered president, Heber J. Grant. May the Lord vouchsafe to him for many years to come those blessings of life, strength, vigor of mind and body which he shall require to perform the duties and obligations that rest upon him.
We thought that perhaps at the beginning of the conference before we return to the more highly spiritual levels to which President Grant has raised us, that it might be well for me to make a few observations regarding the temporal affairs of the Church-what one might call its semi-business affairs.
CHURCH FINANCES
I should like in the first place to say that we of the General Authorities return unto the Saints our deepest gratitude for their faithfulness in the payment of tithes. The largest tithing in the history of the Church up to that time came in 1941. In 1942 our tithes increased over fifty percent over 1941. Thus far in 1943 our tithes have increased over 1942 by more than fifty percent.
The Lord has blessed the people in their crops, and he is continuing to bless them. While I do not personally advocate the payment of tithes on the theory that if you pay your tithes the Lord will give you more money, I do earnestly urge upon you the payment of tithes, and a full tithing, because thereby you will have greater joy than through any other temporal activity in which you may engage.
We thought perhaps you would like to know something about the way in which the tithing is spent.
You will recall that the history of the Church, as far as its financial operations are concerned, may be roughly divided into four periods: That which antedated the great revelation given February 9, 1831; that which went on from then until June of 1834; that which went forward from June, 1834, until July 8, 1838, and then from July 8, 1838, until the present time.
The first period down to February 9, 1831, was not marked by any systematic plan of Church financing. The Church was young and few in numbers, but certain great principles were established at that time regarding the expenditure of the funds, all of them looking to the care of the poor and the building of the Church.
THE UNITED ORDER
On February 9, 1831, at Kirtland, the Prophet received the first great revelation on the United Order. We find other revelations bearing upon that subject, the more important concerning it are sections 42, 51, 56, 70, 72, 78, 82, 85, 90, 101, and 105. The United Order has not been generally understood, and I think that I may repeat here again what I said on another occasion: that the United Order was not a communal system. It was an individualistic system. Every man was to own his own property. He was required, however, to give the surplus thereof for the benefit of the poor and for the building up of the Church. The United Order and communism are not synonymous. Communism is Satan's counterfeit for the United Order. There is no mistake about this and those who go about telling us otherwise either do not know or have failed to understand or are wilfully misrepresenting.
The Lord tried us for three years to see if we could not set up the United Order; we could not. So then at Fishing River on June 22, 1834, following the dissolution of Zion's Camp, the Lord told us that we should give up the United Order and that he would not reestablish it until Zion was redeemed, and that time has not yet come.
Between that time, June 22, 1934, and July 8, 1838, we again had no regular financial system.
On July 8, 1838, the Prophet prayed: "Oh Lord! show unto thy servant how much thou requirest of the properties of thy people for a tithing." In response to that prayer the Lord gave the revelations now incorporated in the D&C; as sections 119 and 120. In the revelation printed as section 120, the Lord said:
Verily, thus saith the Lord, the time is now come, that it shall be disposed of by a council, composed of the First Presidency of My Church and the bishop and his council, and by my high council; and by mine own voice unto them, saith the Lord. Even so. Amen.
TITHING ADMINISTRATION
Accordingly the tithing is now administered in the following way: Under the direction of the First Presidency a budget is drawn up, as nearly as may be at the first of the year, which includes all of the proposed expenditures of the tithing. This budget is the result of the careful consideration of the departments which are responsible for the expenditure of the funds.
This budget is then taken before the Council on the Expenditure of the Tithing, composed, as the revelation provides, of the First Presidency, the Council of the Twelve, and the Presiding Bishopric. This council considers and discusses the budget so submitted, approving or disapproving, as the case may be, individual items, but finally passing the budget.
The approved budget as it comes from that meeting is then turned over for its expenditures to a Committee on Expenditures, composed of the First Presidency, three members of the Council of the Twelve, representing that council, and the Presiding Bishopric. This committee then passes upon and authorizes the expenditures of the tithing. So that there is a complete check upon all of the tithing which is paid into the Church. None of it is expended except upon the approval and authorization of this committee.
WELFARE PROGRAM
I would like to say a little something now about the Welfare program. The first move made by the First Presidency in the Welfare program was made in August of 1933, a little over ten years ago, when the First Presidency asked you presidents of stakes and bishops to make a survey. This you did and your reports came in to the First Presidency. Because of its great importance the matter was then taken under advisement and consideration for three years. Then in 1936, the plan was put into operation.
At the time it was put into operation, we called attention to the fact that while its immediate purpose was the caring for the poor, and only temporarily caring for them so far as the individuals were concerned, yet that back of and behind that service there were other considerations, among them being that we should rehabilitate temporally and spiritually those who received the assistance. It was also determined that the principle of help Should be the actual need of the individual or family; there was not to be a fixed, uniform amount for each person. Also, in so far as it was practicable, everyone should work for what he received, if he were well.
That program has gone forward in a very remarkable way, and literally thousands have been helped and many families have been so rehabilitated.
But there was another element involved in it, and that was based upon the Savior's principle announced in the Sermon on the Mount, "It is more blessed to give than to receive". And the history of the Welfare movement shows that there has come into the Church an ever-increasing spirituality because of the giving which has been incident to the carrying on of the Welfare work. That giving has been not alone a giving of money or provisions or clothing or fuel, but a giving of manual labor, and of all the contributions the latter has perhaps brought the most of a feeling of common brotherhood as men of all training and occupation have worked side by side in a Welfare garden or other project.
Our achievements for this year in the Welfare program and in the activities connected therewith, have been greatly beyond our dreams.
We have now under cultivation in the Church in connection with Welfare projects some 14,578 acres of land. I think all of this is farmed by voluntary, gratuitous labor.
We have established in connection with the Welfare work 90 bishop's storehouses.
We have set up 65 canneries.
There are in the Church, under the Welfare program, 598 livestock projects, and there are under the direction of the quorums 157 such projects. We have established many manufacturing and processing plants, of which Priesthood quorums have established 30 and other establishments 294.
We do not know just how many families have been rehabilitated in the sense that they have been established in business of some sort of farming, but it runs not far short of 1200.
SUPPLEMENTARY CANNING
This year, as you know, we have provided that the canneries should be used by ward groups who might wish to put up fruit. This was done in accordance with the expressed approval of the proper governmental agencies. The figures of what we have done this year through the Welfare plan, through the group canning activities, and through the home processing of fruits and vegetables, are, I think, remarkable.
In group canning we shall have put up during this season 1,253,000 cans. In Welfare canning we shall have put up 849,000 cans, the two together making 2,102,000 cans.
But that is only the beginning. As careful an estimate as we can make indicates that in the wards and stakes, not including the missions, the Church families have put up and have stored in their cellars 42,625,000 cans, or a grand total for the wards and stakes and the Welfare of 44,727,000 cans. We believe that if we included the canning done by Church families in the missions, the total number of cans of fruits and vegetables which we shall have in these three ways brought into storage for the next year, will approximate, if not exceed, 50,000,000 cans. This represents over 1,000,000,000 points.
For this tremendous achievement, the greatest that has come from a unified Church effort in a generation, the most credit and gratitude is due to the sisters of the Church who have done all the home canning as well as the bulk of the canning for the Welfare program and the ward groups. We ask these sisters to receive the heartfelt thanks and congratulations of the whole body of the Church.
Thus we have shown something of what we can do if we set our minds thereto. Furthermore, it should be understood that the home canning has processed much, if not in greatest part, the products of home and group gardens, and of fruits that would otherwise have been wasted. The public supplies of green vegetables and fruits have not been seriously drawn upon.
In the use of all this material we should remember that it should be used carefully and without waste. Furthermore, in so far as we may be permitted so to do under governmental regulations, we should be prepared to remember during the coming winter our neighbors who may be in need.
I am sure we have now demonstrated in this Welfare program, and in the more or less ancillary home canning, in what has heretofore been more or less on an experiment, what we can do, we of the Church, if we set our minds and our hearts on carrying out the admonition of our prophet in becoming self-sustaining.
SPIRITUAL DIVIDENDS
This group canning has brought to us this blessing which far outweighs any other that is incident thereto. From all over the Church we hear that it has brought into the wards, where it has been carried on, a feeling of unity, a feeling of brotherhood, or respect for our brothers and our sisters-a desire and willingness to help one another, that we have rarely, if ever, equaled in the history of the Church before.
You will remember that the Lord told his disciples, on the evening of the Passover and thereafter, in His great prayer, that they must be one, and that He expected His people to be one. They must be unified. In our day He has said: "Except ye are one ye are not mine". Therefore, this spirit of unity which this work has brought to us has carried us far along the road which the Lord laid down for us to follow.
It is my prayer that the Lord will bless us, that He will help us still further to unify our efforts-help us to live in peace and quiet and contentment as among ourselves. May He give us the power that we may go with Him, as He said we might, and abide with the Father and Him, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus, Amen.
Elder Spencer W. Kimball
Spencer W. Kimball, Conference Report, October 1943, pp. 15-19
My beloved brethren, this is the great day of my life. I have seen hands raised many times in my life, but never have they meant quite so much as they meant today when you raised your hands to sustain and support me.
EXPERIENCES RELATING TO CALL AS AN APOSTLE
I feel extremely humble in this calling that has come to me. Many people have asked me if I was surprised when it came. That, of course, is a very weak word for this experience. I was completely bewildered and shocked. I did have a premonition that this call was coming, but very brief, however. On the eighth of July, when President Clark called me I was electrified with a strong presentiment that something of this kind was going to happen. As I came home at noon, my boy was answering the telephone and he said, "Daddy, Salt Lake City is calling."
I had had many calls from Salt Lake City. They hadn't ever worried me like this one. I knew that I had no unfinished business in Salt Lake City, and the thought came over me quickly, "You're going to be called to an important position." Then I hurriedly swept it from my mind, because it seemed so unworthy and so presumptuous, and I had convinced myself that such a thing was impossible by the time that I heard President Clark's voice a thousand miles away saying: "Spencer, this is Brother Clark speaking. The brethren have just called you to fill one of the vacancies in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles."
Like a bolt of lightning it came. I did a great deal of thinking in the brief moments that I was on the wire. There were quite a number of things said about disposing of my business, moving to headquarters, and other things to be expected of me. I couldn't repeat them all, my mind seemed to be traveling many paths all at once-I was dazed, almost numb with the shock; a picture of my life spread out before me. It seemed that I could see all of the people before me whom I had injured, or who had fancied that I had injured them, or to whom I had given offense, and all the small petty things of my life. I sensed immediately my inability and limitations and I cried back, "Not me, Brother Clark! You can't mean that!" I was virtually speechless. My heart pounded fiercely.
I recall two or three years ago, when Brother Lee was giving his maiden address as an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ from this stand, he told us of his experience through the night after he had been notified of his call. I think I now know something about the experience he had. I have been going through it for twelve weeks. I believe the brethren were very kind to me in announcing my appointment when they did so that I might make the necessary adjustments in my business affairs, but perhaps they were more inspired to give me the time that I needed of a long period of purification, for in those long days and weeks I did a great deal of thinking and praying, and fasting and praying. There were conflicting thoughts that surged through my mind-seeming voices saying:
"You can't do the work. You are not worthy. You have not the ability"-and always finally came the triumphant thought: "You must do the work assigned-you must make yourself able, worthy and qualified." And the battle raged on.
I remember reading that Jacob wrestled all night, "until the breaking of the day," for a blessing; and I want to tell you that for eighty-five nights I have gone through that experience, wrestling for a blessing. Eighty-five times, the breaking of the day has found me on my knees praying to the Lord to help me and strengthen me and make me equal to this great responsibility that has come to me. I have not sought positions nor have I been ambitious. Promotions have continued to come faster than I felt I was prepared for them.
BLESSINGS RECEIVED FROM OBEYING A FORMER CALL
I remember when I was called to be a counselor in the stake presidency. I was in my twenties. President Grant came down to help to bury my father, who was the former stake president, and reorganize the stake. I was the stake clerk. I recall that some of my relatives came to President Grant, unknown to me, after I had been chosen, and said, "President Grant, it's a mistake to call a young man like that to a position of responsibility and make an old man of him and tie him down." Finally, after some discussion, President Grant said very calmly, but firmly, "Well, Spencer has been called to this work, and he can do as he pleases about it," and, of course, when the call came, I accepted it gladly, and I have received great blessings therefrom.
A few days ago one of my well-to-do clients came to me and said, "Spencer, you're going away from us?"
"Yes," I said.
"Well, this is going to ruin you financially," he continued. "You are just getting started well; your business is prospering. You are making a lot of money now and the future looks bright yet. I don't know how you can do this. You don't have to accept the call, do you?"
And I said, "Brother, we do not have to accept any call, but if you understand the Mormon way of life, those of us who have been reared in the Church and understand the discipline of the Church, we just always do accept such calls." And I further said to him: "Do you remember what Luke said, '... for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth', and all the bonds, lands, houses, and livestock are just things that mean so little in a person's abundant life."
PREDICTIONS MADE IN PATRIARCHAL BLESSINGS
It is strange how many things can go through one's mind in such a very short period when he is under strain and stress. I have heard of how people, when they were drowning, could see everything that had ever happened to them-especially the errors of their lives-and I have gone through that experience many times during these eighty-five endless days of emotional stress. Each dawn I seemed to expect this-which seemed such an impossible dream-to dissipate into vague nothingness, as my other dreams have, but reassurance came that it was real.
There are a few things that came to my attention recently which strengthen me and in which you might be interested-particularly with reference to two patriarchal blessings and one prediction or prophecy made by my father. This was made known to me only a week ago. In preface to the first of his statements I will read a line or two from his patriarchal blessing given to him by Patriarch John Smith back in 1898. He said to my father: "Andrew Kimball,... thou shalt have the spirit of discernment to foretell future events and thy name shall be handed down with thy posterity in honorable remembrance from generation to generation." And then Brother Hatch, another patriarch said:"... for thou art a prophet and came upon earth in this dispensation to be a great leader."
A FATHER'S PROPHECY
Just the other day one of my brethren came into the office to talk to me intimately and confidently. After closing the door, he said, "Spencer, your father was a prophet. He made a prediction that has literally come to pass, and I want to tell you about it." He continued, "Your father talked with me at the corral, one evening. I had brought a load of pumpkins for his pigs. You were just a little boy and you were sitting there, milking the cows, and singing to them as you milked. Your father turned to me and said, 'Brother, that boy, Spencer, is an exceptional boy. He always tries to mind me, whatever I ask him to do. I have dedicated him to be one of the mouthpieces of the Lord-the Lord willing. You will see him some day as a great leader. I have dedicated him to the service of God, and he will become a mighty man in the Church.'"
I say this, not in the sense of boasting, but in humility and appreciation. It came to me as a great surprise when first I heard of it the other day. I knew my father was prophetic, and some day I hope to be able to tell you some of his many prophecies which have been literally fulfilled.
PROMISE MADE TO MOTHER
And then when I was clearing out the files, getting ready to move up to Salt Lake, I came across my mother's patriarchal blessing, given to her by Brother James M. Works when she was a young woman of twenty-four years. She had only one child-and when you remember that this one child passed away and none of her other ten children were born at this time, this prophecy will seem all the more remarkable to you. The patriarch said, among other things, "Sister Olive Woolley,... thou shall be numbered among the mothers in Israel and shall raise up a numerous posterity to the joy of thy husband. They shall grow up to become mighty men and women in the Church and Kingdom of God. Thy sons shall be stars of the first magnitude in thy crown and shall be healthy, strong, and vigorous in helping to direct the purposes of God in this last dispensation."
I have read this many times in my life, but I had never noticed before: "Thy sons shall be stars of the first magnitude." And again, it humbles me exceedingly. I feel that the Lord in calling me to this work has fulfilled the promise of His servant.
COMFORT FOUND IN SCRIPTURES
In these long weeks since July eighth, I can tell you that I have been overwhelmed and have felt that I was unable to carry on this great work; that I was unworthy; that I was incapable because of my weaknesses and my limitations. I have felt many times that I was up against a blank wall. And in that interim I have been out in the desert and in high mountains alone, apart, and have poured out my soul to God. I have taken courage from one or two scriptures which constantly came to my mind and of which people continued to remind me. One was from Paul and as I felt so foolish, small, and weak, I remembered that he said: "Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise: and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;... that no flesh should glory in his presence".
When my feeling of incompetence wholly overwhelmed me, I remembered the words of Nephi when he said: "... I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them". I want to tell you that I lean heavily on these promises, that the Lord will strengthen and give me growth and fit and qualify me for this great work. I have seen the Lord qualify men. In my Church experience I have helped to make many bishops. I have seen them grow and prosper and become great and mighty men in the Church; men who were weak and men who were foolish, and they became strong and confounded the wise, and so I rely upon that promise of the Lord that he will strengthen and empower me that I may be able to do this work to which I have been called.
As I read the scriptures about the Apostles of old, I found them starting out in their ministry with much less strength and they increased in might and power. I found Paul saying toward the end of his career: "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation". And though Peter had had many experiences with perhaps some doubts, and misgivings, and he had not always shown the strength of his later years, but after the resurrection of Christ, when asked by Him who He was, Peter, testified, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God".
APPRECIATION EXPRESSED
I appreciate deeply the unparalleled honor that has come to me. I shall do my utmost to show my appreciation to my Lord and my brethren by being a faithful servant. I am grateful for the opportunity of working with these honored and great men of the Authorities toward whom I have always had almost a worshipful devotion. I glory in the opportunity to serve the people of this Church, to share their disappointments and sorrows, and their joys and achievements.
I know that this is the Church and Kingdom of God. It has been a part of me. Whenever it has prospered I have gloried in it. When it was criticized, it has hurt me, for it seemed a part of my very being. Every fiber in my body bears witness that this is the Gospel of Jesus Christ in its fulness. I testify to you that this is the work of God, that Jesus is the Christ, our Redeemer, our Master, our Lord, and I bear testimony to you in all sincerity and in deepest humility, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Richard R. Lyman
Richard R. Lyman, Conference Report, October 1943, pp. 22-26
The last message of Jesus the Son of God before His ascension into heaven was, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature". Carrying out this great and important injunction proclaimed by Him who is the Prince of Peace, the King of kings and Lord of lords is the prime business of this, His Church, the Church of Jesus Christ.
And while, because the whole world is at war, we cannot at present continue to carry our gospel message abroad, I am glad to report that the work at home in our stake missions is going forward with ever increasing efficiency and success.
These missions, now a little more than six years old, were in good operating condition before our foreign missions had to be closed. This work is done under the direction of the First Council of the Seventy in accordance with the instructions of that modern revelation which says:
The Seventy are to act in the name of the Lord, under the direction of the Twelve... in building up the church and regulating all the affairs of the same.
TWO TASKS
Two tasks have been assigned to our stake missionaries: To bring into activity those Church members who are inactive, and to carry the gospel message to those who are not members of the Church. You Church officials will be glad to know that this stake missionary system, in these six years, has brought more than twenty-four thousand inactive Church members into Church activity. This means an average of four thousand per year, more than three hundred per month, or ten persons per day. And in addition it has brought into the Church by conversion and baptism more than thirteen thousand, an average of more than two thousand per year or nearly two hundred per month.
And these happy results have not been accomplished without genuine missionary effort. About eight thousand missionaries have held more than fifty thousand cottage meetings, they have distributed thirty-nine thousand volumes of the standard works of the Church, and they have spent one and one-half million hours in this unselfish missionary labor. Thus you see our neighbors in the stakes and wards of the Church are opening their doors and their hearts to hear the gospel message we have to present.
TO MAKE FRIENDS
Our aim is to make friends. Our missionaries are told that whenever they make an enemy they have made a mistake. Ours is a gospel of gentleness and love and peace. These workers are instructed not to argue, but with a humble and prayerful heart to discuss, with those only who are interested, the fundamentals of righteous living. By their efforts to teach others, these faithful workers strengthen and fortify themselves in their own high ideals and standards. The constant and earnest teaching of Christian virtues impresses upon them the importance and the value of living in conformity with the ideals and standards of the Church. The high degree of spirituality enjoyed in real missionary work brings into the hearts of the missionaries a reassuring knowledge, testimony, and certainty concerning the restored gospel message which only the light and inspiration of heaven can bestow.
Our missionaries are humble men and women. Except in rare instances they are not trained theological scholars. Their conduct, their ideals, and their standards of living may in many instances be as effective as factors of conversion as are the words which they speak.
MUST ENDURE FOREVER
The simple, straightforward manner in which they live, teach and preach, you must admit, is the method of Christ Himself. And the gospel we teach today is also the same gospel that Christ Himself taught. The message has not changed. Being the truth, it cannot change; it will, it must, endure forever.
However great the joy and the satisfaction which come into the souls of those who are converted, and into the souls of those who are brought into Church activity, these are not greater than is the joy that fills the hearts of the missionaries themselves, for, as the good book, the Bible, says, they have burning within themselves that "peace of God which passeth all understanding".
The aim of the missionaries is to teach their neighbors the great plan of salvation and the restored gospel, the sacredness of human personality, and the brotherhood of man.
APPEAL TO OFFICIALS
I appeal to you stake presidents and bishops and to your counselors also to select as stake missionaries men and women who have strong personalities, pleasant persistence, a thorough knowledge of the gospel, and the fire of a testimony burning in their souls. And I appeal to you not to take these strong characters out of the Seventies quorums or out of your stake missionary force without giving most careful consideration to the effect such changes will have on this the most important activity of the Church.
Two examples will illustrate what I mean by selecting as missionaries those who are able, who are filled with faith, and who are intensely devoted to the work.
A GREAT MISSIONARY
An extremely active and greatly loved patriarch told me that when as a young man he thought his time was too valuable and himself too busy to go into the mission field, at a time in his life when he did not have enough of the unselfish gospel spirit to make the necessary contribution of his time and his money in order to carry the gospel message to others, there came into his life a great missionary.
While thus living a more or less selfish life, he said he was sitting on the porch of his mother's home in southern Utah when out of the dusk and the dust of those early pioneer days came a team and one-seated buggy and stopped in front of that home. Out of the buggy stepped a member of the Council of the Twelve. After instructing the driver to find feed for the horses and to be back at five a. m. to continue the journey, this member of the Council of the Twelve took a seat on that porch by the side of the young man and began to name reason after reason why this able young fellow should make the necessary sacrifices in time and in money in order to make it possible for him to go into the mission field. Reason after reason was given, appeal after appeal was made to the young man as the hours of the night sped on. Ten o'clock came and eleven, and the determined preacher of the gospel continued his labor. One o'clock came and two and three, and four, and finally five, and this mighty converter of men, without having removed his hat or his shoes, told the young man good-bye, walked out to his buggy, and drove away. The persistence, the faith, the testimony, and the pleading of this great missionary, in whose soul was a throbbing testimony of the divinity of the message he was presenting, and the "good-bye and God bless you" that accompanied his final handshake started the young man to thinking so seriously that soon the real gospel spirit entered into his heart and soul, and he went into the mission field.
A MOST VALUABLE EXPERIENCE
That missionary work, done in the days of his youth, said this gray-haired patriarch, was the greatest and most marvelous and valuable experience that ever came into his life. This patriarch, whose labors on earth were completed some years ago, has left a large family of devoted unselfish workers for righteousness, all of whom might have been indifferent and selfish but for the efforts, continuing all night long, of this intensely interested missionary. The fine and faithful family of this deceased patriarch is a rich reward for the sacrifice he made in time and money to preach the gospel, and to do his utmost to live in accordance with its high ideals.
POVERTY AND CRIME
The other case: In a stake conference recently I quoted the words of the late President Charles W. Eliot of Harvard University to the effect that alcohol is the chief cause of poverty, the crime, and the misery of mankind. And at the close of the conference in which I had appealed to the people to come forward and render missionary service, especially to help those who unfortunately have the liquor habit, a man came forward and enthusiastically extended his hand exclaiming: "Give me the name of a man who has the liquor habit!" This good brother then explained that the gospel had come into his life only a few years before when he himself was a helpless drunkard. It was the gospel of the Master, he said, which so transformed him that he succeeded in overcoming the drinking habit. And with an outburst of enthusiasm he said, "Give me the name of a man who drinks. I'll meet him in the morning before he begins his day's work. I'll go to him at noon and with him I'll eat my lunch. And when his day's work is done, I'll take him by the hand, I'll lead him by the liquor store, and I will take him to his own home a sober man. Gladly will I do this," said he, "with the hope that I can be helpful in teaching the gospel to him, which gospel will enable him to overcome this habit. I stand ready to do my utmost to help to bring into his life the same joy that giving up the liquor habit has brought into mine."
THE GREATEST MESSAGE
You who are here assembled, officers of the Church of Jesus Christ, know that nothing the Church has to do can transcend in importance the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Its great message is to be carried to all of the people of the world; it is to be preached to the rich as well as the poor, to the educated as well as to those who have had little opportunity to go to school, to all mankind everywhere in preparation for the coming again of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; and this great work can be accomplished successfully only by a generation of unusual men and unusual women. I appeal to you, therefore, to call into this stake missionary service those who are best qualified to present the joyful message, those who can work effectively, those who are themselves genuinely converted and who have burning in their souls an unceasing testimony of this great work.
YOU ARE CALLED
And as a servant of the Lord, one whose duty it is to assist in this great major work, this mighty missionary undertaking, I say to you in the language of the revelation that came to us through the Prophet Joseph Smith, "You are called to cry repentance unto this people," and do not forget that "if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me," says Jesus, the Son of God, "how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of My Father! And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!".
For these many reasons I appeal to you officials of the Church, therefore, to do your utmost to get into the stake missionary service and to retain in this missionary service those who are the most able and who are the most genuinely converted, that the preaching of the gospel of charity, of love, of forgiveness, of peace, and of the brotherhood of man may go forward effectively. May you and may we all aim to do this. I pray humbly in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, October 1943, pp. 28-33
And they shall also teach their children to pray, and to walk uprightly before the Lord.
This command leaves no question as to the responsibility of parents to teach their children-a responsibility too frequently shifted to the shoulders of the Church, public schools, and officers of the law.
FOUR ESSENTIAL BULWARKS
In the present worldwide struggle to defeat cruel, ambitious war lords in Europe and in the Far East there are four essential bulwarks, viz.:
1. The Battle Front where men in uniform are facing the enemy in death-dealing conflict.
2. The Essential Industries Front where men and women are furnishing tanks, airplanes, bombs, bullets, and all necessary war equipment and weapons for their sons, brothers, and sweethearts fighting on land, on sea, and in the air.
3. The Agricultural Front upon the success of which depends not only the morale, but the very life of our armed forces, and the subsistence of millions of non-combatants.
4. The Home Front-stabilizing force of the world in war and peace.
THE BATTLE FRONT
This morning, as during several months past, the battle fronts seem to be progressing favorably for the Allies. Many lives are being sacrificed it is true. The very flower of young manhood is being crushed under the wheels of the juggernaut of war, but there is now no alternative but to push relentlessly forward until the murderous dictators are apprehended, and their ruthless power and subversive doctrines forever overcome.
WAR INDUSTRIES
The stupendous accomplishments of the United States industries in the short space of two years in building ships and airplanes, manufacturing munitions, and in shipping supplies to allied countries, are little short of miraculous-a record unparalleled in the history of the world!
AGRICULTURISTS
Farmers, horticulturists, and dairymen are putting forth herculean efforts to hold their line. However, man-power has been so depleted on this front that farmers by the thousands have had to work twelve, fifteen, and even eighteen hours a day to mature and garner the much-needed crops. They have been greatly handicapped, too, by depreciating and non-replaceable machinery. Reinforcements should be sent to this production line. Young men of draft age now in uniform and who know something about farming should be assigned to raise more food. Increased acreage, more products, and better distribution are crying needs of the hour. Yet notwithstanding handicaps, the United States farmer and stockmen are carrying ably and heroically their responsibility in this great struggle.
THE FAMILY
Not so confidently nor so praiseworthily can we speak of the fourth essential bulwark. The Home Front seems to be cracking! It is of this I am going to speak this morning.
Out of the homes of America go the future citizens of the republic. Upon properly ordered households and the uplifting moral atmosphere of home life depends more than upon any other phase of the social life the happiness of the human family. Home, not the state, is the natural protector of childhood. Parents more than teachers, more than officers of the law, are the molders of children's moral natures.
One of the foreboding indications of the weakening of the Home Line is the waning influence of parenthood as shown in the increasing delinquency among the young. Too many parents seem to be neglecting to teach their children "to walk uprightly before the Lord." A few weeks ago Inspector Rolf T. Harbo of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, told national officers, chairmen, and state presidents of the National Congress of Parents and Teachers that "Delinquency among girls under 21 has risen 64% in the first half of 1943"; and "this increase comes on top of an increase of 95% for the year 1942, and in contrast to a general decrease in juvenile delinquency for boys under 21. They blame the rise of youthful crimes on the breakdown of family ties, the irregular working hours of adults because of the war, with the resultant lack of supervision, the gangs of juveniles formed for unwholesome acts, and a general laxity on the part of adults."
In Utah, as well as throughout the United States, delinquency, particularly among young girls, is increasing. The report of the juvenile court of this city for 1942 shows an increase of 38.5% over 1941. Among young girls sex offenses total up 53.5% in 1942 over 1941, up 95% over last year, and up 200% since Pearl Harbor. Fifty-two percent of the delinquents are from broken homes!
For much of this delinquency, we must hold parents responsible. True, the wisest parents sometimes lose control of one or more of their children. Secret indulgences in sinful practices, false teachings, and ideals inculcated by pseudo-philosophers, sometimes counteract wholesome home influences. Even the Lord Himself had one-third of His family on one occasion reject the divine Plan of Salvation. But after recognizing all this, the fact remains that "Homes are the nursery of all domestic virtues, and without a becoming home the exercise of those virtues is impossible."
McCulloch in Home, the Savior of Civilization, says:
During the first twelve years of a child's life he is in school 3,240 hours; in Church and Sunday School 416 hours; in the home, not counting 12 hours for sleep daily, 52,560 hours. In other words, the child, during the first twelve years of his life, spends sixteen times as many waking hours in the home as in school, and puts one hundred twenty-six times as many hours in the home as in the Church.
Since it is during those early years in one's life that character is largely made, it is not difficult to see the relative value of the educative process in school, Church, and home. If the child's home life is neglected or impoverished during this period, it is absolutely impossible for the school or Church, or any other institution to compensate for this fatal loss....
Of all the factors that enter into the environment of the child, or of anyone else for that matter, the home is by far the most powerful, so much so that one may say that home either makes or mars character. The child from the day of his birth, for at least twelve years, is so dominated by the influences of home, whether good or evil, that he is absolutely helpless to resist them. What a heart-moving responsibility, then, rests upon parents to see to it that the home influences are all that they should be.
How apt, then, the divine admonition, "And they shall teach their children to pray, and to walk uprightly before the Lord".
RESTRICTED FAMILIES
Another and very ominous indication of the cracking up of American homes is the decreasing birth rate. In the Reader's Digest for October there is an article which states that "in the United States at large 42% of the married women have no children whatever or only one child."
That in the United States at large "approximately only one-third of the married women have a sufficient number of children to keep the population of the country even at a stationary level."
That in the United States at large "the urban birth rate has fallen so shockingly low that all American cities of one hundred thousand and over would, in three generations, or one hundred years, fall to one-third their present size if left without accessions to their populations outside."
That in the United States at large "the professional classes in American cities are reproducing themselves only sixty percent."
That "in many local areas conditions are even far worse. Note, for instance, the city of Chicago. More than half its families have no children whatever-to be exact 534,125 out of its 842,578 families are without a single child of their own. And there are many American cities that have even a worse birth rate than Chicago....
"The one large group of people that remains least affected by the scourge of artificial birth control is our rural population. Were it not for them America would already be headed down the speedy slopes of decline."
Seeking the pleasures of conjugality without a willingness to assume the responsibilities of rearing a family is one of the onslaughts that now batter at the structure of the American home. Intelligence and mutual consideration should be ever-present factors in determining the coming of children to the household. When the husband and wife are healthy, and free from inherited weaknesses and diseases that might be transmitted with injury to their offspring, the use of contraceptives is to be condemned. Prime Minister Winston Churchill, March 21, 1942, said in a broadcast to the world:
One of the most somber anxieties which beset those who look ahead is a dwindling birthrate in thirty years. Unless present trends alter, a smaller working and fighting population will have to support and protect nearly as many old people. In fifty years the position will be still worse. If this country is to keep its high place in the leadership of the world and to survive as a great power that can hold its own against external pressure, our people must be encouraged by every means to have larger families.
Former president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, said:
The severest of all condemnations should be that visited upon wilful sterility. The first essential in any civilization is that the man and woman should be the father and mother of healthy children so that the race will increase and not decrease.
The Census Bureau on January 31, 1941, declared:
If the present birth and death rates continue, the non-white population of this country will, in the long run, increase at the rate of about seven percent per generation, while the white population will decrease at the rate of about five percent per generation.
The principal reason for marriage is to rear a family. Failure to do so is one of the conditions that cause love to wilt and eventually to die.
DIVORCE INCREASE
Another indication of the weakening of the Home Front is the increasing rate of divorce. At the beginning of this century there were in the United States 75 divorces per 100,000 population; 41 years later there were 200 per 100,000 population. Today here in the United States there is one divorce out of every 6.37 marriages. Out of every one hundred couples married in this country, twenty are wrecked on the shoals of divorce. It is reported that in about half of these, children are affected by the decree.
It is pleasing, brethren, to note, that the divorce rate in the Church including civil and temple marriages is only one-half that generally throughout the United States. The temple marriages fall way below that.
Except in cases of infidelity or other extreme conditions, the Church frowns upon divorce, and authorities look with apprehension upon the increasing number of divorces among members of the Church.
A man who has entered into a sacred covenant in the House of the Lord to remain true to the marriage vow is a traitor to that covenant if he separates himself from his wife and family just because he has permitted himself to become infatuated with a pretty face and comely form of some young girl who flattered him with a smile. Even though a loose interpretation of the law of the land would grant such a man a bill of divorcement, I think he is unworthy of a recommend to consummate his second marriage in the temple. A separation because of infidelity is another matter.
When we refer to the breaking of the marriage tie, we touch upon one of the saddest experiences of life. For a couple who have basked in the sunshine of each other's love to stand by daily and see the clouds of misunderstanding and discord obscure the lovelight of their lives is tragedy indeed. In the darkness that follows, the love sparkle in each other's eyes is obscured. To restore it, fruitless attempts are made to say the right word, and to do the right thing; but the word and act are misinterpreted, and angry retort reopens the wound, and hearts once united, as two dewdrops that slip into one, become torn wider and wider asunder. When this heartbreaking state is reached, a separation is sought. But divorce is not the proper solution, especially if there are children concerned. Far better to follow the wise admonition of William George Jordan:
Life is too short and love too great to sacrifice one hour through pettiness. What matters it whose the fault or whose the forgiveness? It is a very poor brand of personal dignity that dares to throw its desecrating shadow between them and the joy of reconciliation and new bonds of love.
When the realization of the waning of love comes, the two should seek to forget for a moment the differences, the saddening changes, the cemetery of dead memories and buried emotions, and try to get back somehow to some common ground of unity and understanding. They should seek to gather together the trifles of sacred things not yet lost. In the thought of these there may be a vitalizing flame of old love flashing out from the dull gray of the ashes that will burn away the dross of discord and misunderstanding.
Love is the most valuable cargo on the ship of life. It is the greatest thing in this world, and the only thing that will make the next worthy of the living. The ebb-tide of love is the saddest thing in a true individual life. It is a life's folly to let love die if aught we can do will keep it real and living.
WHAT SHOULD BE DONE TO STABILIZE HOME LIFE
1. Instruct the youth of both sexes that the foundation of a happy home is laid during pre-marital days. Keep the spring of life pure by conforming their youthful lives to the single standard of morality. When that is done, the bride comes to the man she loves a stainless, priceless jewel. He in turn receives her not as a cheat, but as a man who can meet his bride on the high plane of moral integrity.
I know there are people in the world, some perhaps who are listening to what I am saying, who consider such an ideal old-fashioned, behind the times! They dub those who entertain such ideas as "reactionaries," "stand-patters," and "anti-progressives," etc. Well, all I can say is that nature herself is "old-fashioned," as old as love itself; for since history began man has wanted the woman he loved to be his and his alone. But aside from this, the couple who come to each other in the eyes of the Creator, as true lovers should, have no hidden secrets to break forth at a future time to cause embarrassment and perhaps to destroy the temple of love that has been in process of building for years.
2. Teach the young people that marriage is not merely a man-made institution, but that it is ordained of God, and is a sacred ceremony, and should receive their gravest consideration before they enter upon a contract that involves either happiness or misery for the rest of their lives. Marriage is not something which should be entered into lightly, terminated at pleasure, or ended at the first little difficulty that might arise. The least young people can do is to approach it with honest intentions of building a home that will contribute to the bulwark of a noble society.
3. The ceremony should be consummated not in secret but in the presence of friends and loved ones. Let the marriage be solemnized as far as possible at the place of residence, which will minimize the evils of runaway marriages. For members of the Church, the temple should be the chosen place in which this sacred obligation is assumed. For the future of Latter-day Saint homes, young men and young women should so live that they will be worthy to consummate their union for time and all eternity in the House of the Lord. Regarding this any intelligent person who believes in the persistence of personality after death, in the immortality of the soul, will recognize at once that love, the divinest attribute of the soul, will also persist. Death cannot dissolve the union founded by love when that union is sealed by the power of the holy Priesthood. Couples having sealed upon them the blessings of the new and everlasting covenant may continue in joy and exaltation throughout the eternities to come.
Under the present stress and commotion of social and political groups today, because of the exigencies and horrors of war, the Home Front may seem to be somewhat unstable, but the divine institution of marriage must and shall be saved.
CONCLUSION
Would you have a strong and virile nation?-then keep your homes pure. Would you reduce delinquency and crime?-lessen the number of broken homes. It is time that civilized peoples realize that the home largely determines whether children shall be of high or low character. Home-building, therefore, should be the paramount purpose of parents, and of the nation.
One of our boys in Australia who was in those terrible battles in North Africa writes of his feelings upon returning home as follows:
It was the most joyful experience I can ever recall. Hours before we sighted the Australian coast, the ship's decks were crowded by returning soldiers looking for that first glimpse. I shall never forget that great thrill which came over us all when dimly through the distance we first saw land and home. Gosh! how we did roar and cheer! There were about 22,000 troops in the convoy and you could hear the cheering coming across the distance which separated our ships. My!-after three and one-half years of roaming about the battlefields, living like nothing on earth, it was really good to be home again! As we neared land I couldn't help getting a lump in my throat. I think almost every hard-bitten soldier felt the same as I did, especially as we realized that we were the lucky ones to return. There were many of our fine boys who stayed behind forever!
There are a million men and more on the battle fronts offering their lives in defense of the ideals of liberty vouchsafed by the constitution of the United States. They are praying and fighting for the preservation and permanency of the homes they left behind.
It is the duty of everyone to strive to make it possible that no soldier now dreaming of a happy homecoming may return only to find a broken home or its ideals shattered by the sinful indulgences of a member of the family.
One of the highest ideals of life is to keep secure and free from sorrow the homes of the Church and of the nation.
Elder Oscar A. Kirkham
Oscar A. Kirkham, Conference Report, October 1943, pp. 34-35
With the inspiration of the past and of the present and facing the greatest opportunity for missionary work in the history of the Church, it becomes our duty to think seriously, make definite preparations, and be ready to accept and enjoy the call of tomorrow which will soon come to many to take the revealed word of the Lord to a weary and sorrowing world where men's very souls are being tried.
METHODS OF EARLY MISSIONARIES OF THE CHURCH
Our early missionaries thrill us with their stories of faith, courage, sacrifice, and devotion.
It has been revealing to me to know that the gospel word and the story of the Prophet Joseph Smith has been told by our missionaries in Iceland, Finland, India, Malta, West Indies, China, Siam, Russia, and in many of the far-away islands of the seas as well as in the well-known countries of the world.
Here are words from a few of the old diaries of the missionaries of yesterday:
I quote, "The law of God to us was to go without purse or scrip. We put some Books of Mormon and some clothing into our valises, strapped these on our backs, and started on foot, relying on the Lord for preservation and blessing."
"Our way," said another, "was miraculously opened, that we might have means to pursue our voyage."
And another: "In the name of Jesus Christ we went forth healing the sick, restoring the lame, and opening the eyes of the blind. The honest in heart flocked by hundreds to the standard we reared."
"We were hailed with songs and shouting and other tokens of joy." "After a long and hard voyage," said another, "the first thing we did was to ascend a mountain and offer prayers of thankfulness and ask for guidance in our work."
"I resolved," said one brother, "to start on my mission to England, which seemed a painful duty for me to perform-to have my family go into the wilderness westward, and I turn and go the other way. Later, however, in England, I learned they were one hundred and twenty miles out of Nauvoo, all well and rejoicing in the gospel."
"And then," said one, "the cholera had broken out on the boat. Henry went on the upper deck, called upon the Lord in the name of Jesus Christ and in the power of the Priesthood rebuked the destroyer. The one person that had the disease died, but no other people on the boat were afflicted."
These and many like stories which you might tell give us the inspiration of the missionaries of yesterday.
COMMENT OF A MILITARY LEADER
Today their grandsons and great-grandsons in foxholes, on battlefields, in hospitals, and in army camps and on the seas are bringing to their companions and friends the same story of comfort and inspiration.
"Give me the soldier," said one of our military leaders, "who has faith in God. He has no fear. Once he knows the cause is just, then all hell can't stop him.... What we need here," said he, "is more Mormon missionaries and better mechanics."
But tomorrow when this terrible conflict is over, then we shall have our greatest challenge. For our Lord has said, "Blessed are the peace makers, for they shall be called the children of God." And the only peace that shall endure will be that built in the hearts of men.
FAITH IN GOD BRINGS PEACE
In the Gospel of St. John, 14th chapter, verse 27, we find this promise: "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid".
To have faith in God and a testimony of the divine mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith-these great truths hold the secret of abiding peace.
How humble, prayerful, and thoughtful we should be as we face this great task, this opportunity to do so much good.
One has said:
Lord, make me a channel of thy peace That where there is wrong I may bring the spirit of forgiveness, That where there is doubt I may bring faith, That where there is sadness I may bring joy, For it is by giving that one receives; It is by self-forgetting that one finds.
FUTURE MISSIONARY WORK
Begin now for your mission tomorrow. The Lord is blessing many of you with greatly increased incomes. Set aside a definite amount for missionary service, and then if you are worthy and the call comes, you will be ready to enjoy the greatest experience of your life-an ambassador of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Let us he humble, and prayerful, and study the word of the Lord. Tomorrow will soon be here.
May the Lord add his blessings I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Elder Richard L. Evans
Richard L. Evans, Conference Report, October 1943, pp. 35-39
I made a call at President McKay's office yesterday morning to assure him that I would be grateful if he would consider the broadcast tomorrow morning as my share of the time of this conference, but President McKay, as you know, is a man of firm resolution, and so here I am this morning.
ADVICE REGARDING GOING TO LAW
I have appreciated very greatly this morning, President McKay's remarks concerning the home front. That which I have in mind concerns the home front also, very closely. I have had in my files of broadcast prospect material for the past two years or more, a text from First Corinthians out of which I have been trying to evolve a broadcast comment. Part of it was presented last Sunday, and part of it hasn't evolved as yet. The text is from Paul:
I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren?
But brother goeth to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers.
Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded?
Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren.
This seemed to tie in with another statement which, among others, was more recently invited to my attention by Dr. G. Homer Durham from the utterances of President John Taylor:
If people could live without going to law, society would be greatly benefitted, and individual pockets suffer less.
That comes from the Nauvoo Neighbor, July 2, 1845. Somehow or other the two seem to tie in together with another statement from Corinthians:
In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren.
And another one from Proverbs:
Debate thy cause with thy neighbor himself; and discover not a secret to another.
INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO SETTLE DIFFICULTIES
These are all by way of preface, brethren, to a plea that if we have differences that we settle them among ourselves through the various agencies and organizations and procedures which the Lord has given us. I quote again from John Taylor:
Then the teachers, who are helps to the priests, whose duty it is to go among the people and talk to them on their duties-not like so many parrots, but full of the spirit of God-and where there may be difficulties to settle, and it is not within the power of the teachers to satisfactorily adjust them, report them to the bishop, who sits as a common judge in Israel and to adjudicate all such matters. If thy brother offend thee, go and say to him, "Brother, you have done so and so, and if he will not listen to you nor ask forgiveness for the offense he has given you, take another man with you-one whom you think has influence with him, and one whom you think he will listen to-and let him talk. And if the offending person will not listen to him, report him, to be dealt with according to the order of the Church. And if he continues obdurate and stubborn, then he does not belong to us. Let us always feel like operating together for the good of each other and for the kingdom we are identified with.
If men have differences, they should try to settle them amicably among themselves. But if they cannot do this, let them take the first steps as directed in the Church covenants; let them come together as brethren having a claim upon the Spirit and power of God which would attend them if they lived their religion, and then, provided the priests and teachers did their duty and were filled with wisdom and the spirit of their office and calling, so ninety-nine cases out of every hundred might be satisfactorily settled without either troubling the bishop's court or the high council.
The organization of the Church is after the plan that exists in heaven and according to the principles that God has revealed in the interest of His Church upon the earth and for the advancement and rolling forth of His kingdom. We start in with the teacher and with the priest, whose duty it is to know the position of all the members in their several districts. If they do their duty they will know really and truly the position of all those who come under their charge. Their duty is very simple. What is it? They are to see that there is no hard feeling existing in the breasts of the Saints one towards another; that there are no dishonest or fraudulent acts, no lasciviousness or corruption, no lying, false accusations, profanity, or drunkenness; and that the people call upon God in prayer in their various households father and mother and children, and that all perform their various duties and do right....
And while God has organized His Church upon the earth after the plan that exists in the heavens, it is for the various officers in the Church to fulfill the duties devolving upon them, acting in all kindness, long-suffering, and mercy before the Lord, yet with justice and judgment that the law of God may be honored, that the principles of righteousness may be exalted, that the workers of iniquity may be ashamed, that the meek may increase their joy in the Lord, and the poor among men may rejoice in the Holy One of Israel; that righteousness and truth may prevail among the people of God; and we may act not in name only, but in reality as the Saints of God without rebuke in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation.
If I violate any law of the Church, bring me up for it. If anyone else does, bring him up for it. But don't go sneaking around backbiting and misrepresenting. Let us act as men, at least, if we won't be Saints. But we should be true to our calling and profession and honor our God.
The further a difficulty spreads, brethren, the more bitterly entrenched does it become, and the greater is the cost in time and in money and in feelings-sometimes even in the disaffection of our families, which is an experience that has been repeated altogether too many times. In the words of Paul-in the words of John Taylor-settle your difficulties among yourselves, if you have them. Don't worry about the lawyers. They have plenty to do without becoming embroiled in differences among brethren, and the court dockets are crowded. Settle your differences among yourselves. I hope we haven't any Zeezroms in the Church, of whose kind it was said:
... because they received their wages according to their employ, therefore, they did stir up the people... that they might have more employ, that they might get money according to the suits which were brought before them.
If we have any such I hope they are not making a living at their profession.
INCIDENTS REGARDING PRESIDENT JOHN TAYLOR
Speaking of John Taylor, I would like to digress a moment to give you one or two other statements of his, one particularly to show the uses to which he put humor.
A smart young man had just returned from college, and at the table he wished to show his parents what extraordinary advancement he had made. "Why, father," says he, "You can hardly conceive of the advance I have made."
"Well, my son," says the father, "I am sure I am glad to hear you say so, and I trust you will make a great man."
There happened to be two ducks on the table for dinner, and this young man proposed to give his father a specimen of his smartness.
"Now," he says, "You see there are only two ducks, don't you?" "Yes." answered the father.
"Well, I can prove to you that there are three ducks."
"Can you," says the father, "that's quite extraordinary, really. How can you do it?"
"Well," says the son, "I will show you. That's one?" "Yes." "That's two?" "Yes."
"Well, two and one make three, don't they?"
"Quite so," says the father. "It is very extraordinary, and to show you how much I appreciate it, I will eat one of these ducks, and your mother will eat the other, and we will leave the third for you."
And then, says John Taylor, speaking out of the nineteenth century:
Some of our "financiers" have made this kind of discovery, but when it comes to the practical thing, they, like the boy, have got to fall back on father's duck or mother's duck!.
"Do I talk plainly?" says John Taylor. "God expects me to talk plainly. I have not come here to daub you with untempered mortar, but I tell you the truth."
I have spent many hours the last year and a half with the lofty thought and strong language of John Taylor. I am sure that you are going to enjoy studying him in the priesthood quorums of this Church in the year to come.
In conclusion a thought of great comfort from the same source: There may be circumstances arise in this world to prevent for a season the order of God, to change the designs of the Most High, apparently, for the time being. Yet they will ultimately roll back into their proper place justice will have its place and so will mercy, and every man and woman will yet stand in their true position before God.
PRESIDENT GRANT'S LENGTHENED SERVICE
We have had great leaders, brethren. We have the President of the Church with us today. I was reminded last night that he has served longer among the General Authorities than any other man who has served since the restoration. On the sixteenth of October of this year, as I recall, President Grant will have served as one of the General Authorities for sixty-one years. The longest term of service prior to this, I believe, was that of Wilford Woodruff, fifty-nine years. From Joseph Smith to Heber J. Grant, such wisdom and counsel as has been read here, and as is found in each of the utterances of these brethren, are a safe guide to the current conduct of our lives.
May God be with President Grant, and help us to appreciate the privilege of a living leadership with divine authority and inspiration to direct us through all the difficulties of our day, and help us to be wise enough to live in accordance with those counsels, I ask in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Marion G. Romney
Marion G. Romney, Conference Report, October 1943, pp. 39-42
Brethren, I have been greatly impressed with a passage of very modern scripture. You will find it on page thirty of the Message of the First Presidency, delivered in this tabernacle on October 3, 1942. It follows a survey of Satan's present efforts to destroy the people of the earth, and reads:
STRENGTH IN UNITY
In the midst of this welter of lying and deception, of woe and misery, of death and destruction, of violent disorder and threatening chaos, the only saving forces on earth are the eternal principles of the everlasting Gospel of Christ and the rights and powers of the Priesthood of Almighty God. We of this Church stand as the sole possessors of these mighty forces which we have for our own blessing, salvation, and exaltation, not only, but also we hold them in trust for all mankind.
It seems to me that standing thus as God's representatives in the earth, charged with the responsibility of carrying the banner of righteousness in the mighty conflict now raging between truth and error, we are under great responsibility to be one, for we fight against tremendous odds, and we need all the strength we can get.
United we are strong. We have great strength as a unit. The programs we have undertaken as a Church have been accomplished magnificently.
EVIDENCES OF UNITED EFFORT
I call to mind the building of the Nauvoo Temple. The Saints were poor. The securing of the money for the purchase of the materials they used required sacrifices beyond any that we have been asked to make in recent times. They knew that as soon as the building was completed and they had received their endowments therein, they would have to abandon it. Still they held to their purpose, though they had to complete the construction with a sword in one hand and a trowel in the other. That building is gone, but the monument erected in the hearts of the builders shall live forever as a testimony to their faith and unity.
The missionary work of the Church is another example of what can be done when the people are united. It is one of the marvels of the age to all who are acquainted with it. Today, one foreign mission is being manned by a single small stake.
The erection of the grain elevator on Welfare Square in this city is a further evidence of what can be done with united effort. When the erection of that structure was in contemplation, it was stated by one of the consulting engineers that the building could not be erected without a skilled crew, and that it would take such a crew between fourteen and fifteen days to pour the cement for the bins. The cement was poured in eight and one-half days, almost wholly by an unskilled force of volunteer Welfare workers.
The production of the annual Church Welfare budget is another demonstration of what this Church can do.
It is my conviction that since we are engaged in the Lord's work, we can accomplish everything He wants us to do if we will but be united.
Can we not be so in all things? The answer is obvious and certain. We can, but there is only one way, and that is for each one of us to find out what the Lord wants done, and then for all of us to proceed together with energy to do it.
Unity never comes while each man charts his own course and walks in his own way. The Lord made this very clear in the first section of the D&C;, when He marked such a practice as one of the reasons for the calamities which he saw coming upon the inhabitants of the earth. He said:
And the anger of the Lord is kindled, and his sword is bathed in heaven, and it shall fall upon the inhabitants of the earth.
And the arm of the Lord shall be revealed; and the day cometh that they who will not hear the voice of the Lord, neither the voice of his servants, neither give heed to the words of the prophets and apostles, shall be cut off from among the people;
For they have strayed from mine ordinances, and have broken mine everlasting covenant;
They seek not the Lord to establish his righteousness, but every man walketh in his own way, and after the image of his own God, whose image is in the likeness of the world, and whose substance is that of an idol, which waxeth old and shall perish in Babylon, even Babylon the great, which shall fall.
This message was intended for all the world, as the Lord says, and now for nearly one hundred and twelve years the Lord's servants have been carrying it to the world, explaining that the cause of all this strife, trouble, and wickedness is that men rely upon the counsel of their fellow men and trust in the arm of flesh and walk in their own ways after the image of their own gods, rather than seek the true and living God to establish His righteousness.
I repeat that the only path to unity is to find out the will of the Lord, and then follow it. The way to find it out is, first, to be humble. We must not be hard of heart. We must assume our proper relationship to our Father in heaven, recognizing that in His infinite wisdom He knows what ought to be done. Therefore, we should be willing to subject our personal opinions and actions to His will.
UNDERSTANDING OF THE GOSPEL COMES THROUGH STUDY AND PRAYER
In this attitude, we should learn what His will is by a study of His word, as given in the standard works of the Church and through the living prophets. This study must be made in faith, and prayerfully. We should ask the Lord to help us comprehend the Prophet's words and understand their application to us.
As an illustration of this approach, I call your attention to some Book of Mormon history. You will recall that Father Lehi had a dream, in which he saw the tree of life, the fountain of water, the iron rod, and the large and spacious building, and that when he told his sons about it, they did not understand its meaning. Nephi had such a desire to know what it meant, and such faith that the Lord could make it known unto him, that he was caught away into a high mountain and given its interpretation. When he returned to the tent of his father, he found his brothers disputing as to the meaning of the words of their father, and they were hard to understand in the wisdom of men, for Nephi says that his father spoke "many great things unto them which were hard to be understood, save a man should inquire of the Lord". His brothers, being hard in their hearts, had not inquired of the Lord, saying that the Lord "maketh no such things known unto us". Then Nephi said:
... How is it that ye do not keep the commandments of the Lord? How is it that ye will perish, because of the hardness of your hearts?
Do ye not remember the things which the Lord hath said? If ye will not harden your hearts, and ask me in faith, believing that ye shall receive, with diligence in keeping my commandments, surely these things shall be made known unto you.
INDEPENDENCE THE AIM OF THE WELFARE PLAN
One of the activities of the Church which is being given great emphasis at this time is the Welfare work. If I understand the counsel of the brethren correctly in connection with this program, we must become a self-sustaining, independent people. This means that the Church members, individually and as a body, must become independent of direct public relief of all kinds.
We have done a magnificent work in our production program and in many other Welfare activities. What we need to do now is to become united as one man in our determination to accomplish this great objective of independence. This we can do by understanding and following the advice of the brethren and the instructions issued from the headquarters of the Church.
It seems to me that there is no greater threat today against our fundamental institutions than that of losing our independence. It is a sad fact that in Utah in 1942, when industrial payrolls were up 270% over 1936, the public welfare expenditures were up 282% over 1936. It is possible, in the Church Welfare way, to free every member of the Church of Christ from the necessity of accepting direct relief from any public agency and to make all, except the permanently disabled, self-sustaining.
I accept this Church as the way of life, not only in the interpretation of theology, but in the social and economic phases of our lives, and I expect that through this Welfare program the Church shall point the way to the solution of economic problems, so that in the future a falling world can point to it as a light on the hill which has solved its economic problems in the midst of chaos.
God help us to become united in our understanding and in our efforts to accomplish this great objective, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder George Albert Smith
George Albert Smith, Conference Report, October 1943, pp. 42-47
I trust that I may be favored of the Lord in what I shall say, to the end that you may be edified and that the time that I occupy may be profitably spent. It is a remarkable experience to stand here and face an army of men, and realize that each of these men possesses divine authority. No other place in the world, no other group in the world, holds the authority of the holy Priesthood as you do.
CAUSES OF PRESENT CONDITION OF THE WORLD
It is oftentimes a source of exceeding distress to me to know that our brothers and our sisters are in the world, many of them, seeking to destroy those who are opposing them on the field of battle. It seems that at different periods of the world's history, those who have been faithful in keeping the commandments of God have been compelled to defend the ideals that they have received from our Heavenly Father. Today those who have gone out from among us are not only representatives of the government of the United States but they go out also believing that it is their religious duty to defend the liberties of the nation that our Heavenly Father established for us to enjoy.
It does seem strange that after hundreds of years of access to the holy scriptures comparatively few people are familiar with the fact that what is occurring now is in fulfillment of predictions of men who, like you, have held the Priesthood. The philosophies of men vary and change. The truths of God are fundamental and never change. Today this world is facing destruction because after not only hundreds of years but thousands of years the sons and daughters of the living God have failed to conform their lives to His kind advice.
One of the prophets told us that the Lord God would do nothing but He would reveal His secrets to His servants the prophets. In other words, the world would not be taken by surprise if they paid attention to the leadership that the Lord provided. So we look down over the vista of time, to the days of Noah when the Lord warned the people of what would occur, and they apparently paid no attention, for out of the seeming multitudes that dwelt upon the earth, only eight souls were saved from destruction, yet all had been told how they might be preserved.
WARNINGS OF ANCIENT PROPHETS
The Lord warned Tyre and Nineveh and Jerusalem and Babylon, and other cities, that unless they repented and turned to him they would be destroyed, and of those cities, Nineveh was the only one that turned immediately to the Lord when the Prophet Jonah warned them of impending danger. The king and people clothed in sackcloth and sat in ashes without delay, and the Lord permitted the destruction that was promised to pass by.
The Lord told Abraham that his seed should go into a strange land, that after four hundred years they would return with great possessions. He did not tell him how it was going to be brought about. He did not tell him that Joseph, one of his descendants, should be sold into slavery in Egypt and because he kept the commandments of God should have communication with the heavens and preserve the great nation where he was living at the time. Abraham was not told that. He was not told that the great Pharaoh would recognize a humble Hebrew who was taken out of prison to interpret his dream. Abraham was not told that the family of Joseph would be brought to Egypt in order to be preserved, that they should become a mighty multitude, and after a period of time, four hundred years, six hundred thousand people, approximately, came out of Egypt and wended their way through the wilderness into the Promised Land. It was not a matter of guessing. It was a matter of knowledge on the part of God and He gave the information to Abraham.
Think how anxious the Lord was to save the cities of the plains, Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham pleaded repeatedly with the Lord, asking that they be spared for the sake of the righteous. He kept reducing the number until he came down from fifty to ten righteous people. The Lord said that if in these cities ten righteous could be found, the cities would be saved. But not ten righteous persons could be found and the cities were destroyed, as they had been warned by a servant of the Lord that they would be because of wickedness.
It was a strange thing that in the days of Isaiah the Lord revealed to him that the greatest of all the nations in the earth should be humbled, and He gave the name of the man, Cyrus, whom the Lord referred to as His anointed, and told Isaiah that Cyrus would overthrow Babylon and rebuild Jerusalem. The prophet had said that Jerusalem would be in bondage seventy years. It was just seventy years when Cyrus gathered together and took back to Jerusalem the Jews who had been taken captive to Babylon. Cyrus took artisans and skilled men and the vessels that had been stolen from the temple by those who had lived in Babylon and went back to rebuild Jerusalem.
It was not very long after that until the Jews who would not repent were punished because they would not listen to the Lord. And then again, after the coming of our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, they would not receive His Gospel and they would not repent. This time Jerusalem was not only overthrown but was destroyed and her temple was razed until not one stone was left upon another.
All these things were revealed to the prophets of God. And so we might go on now speaking of Babylon, and how the Lord told of the establishment of the various kingdoms that should succeed, by giving the king, Nebuchadnezzar, a dream, and then by using Daniel, who was there as a captive to interpret the dream of the king. The prediction had been made that certain things would occur, and one kingdom should follow after another, and it was so fulfilled. It took hundreds of years to fulfil the prediction. One of the remarkable parts of the interpretation was that in the days of the kingdoms that should grow out of the Roman Empire, the God of heaven should set up a kingdom. A little stone was to be cut out of the mountain without hands, and the God of heaven would set up a kingdom.
Daniel was a prophet of God, and he was a prophet because he kept the commandments of God. I would like you brethren who are here today to take this message with you. Daniel observed the teachings of God with his companions, with reference to the kind of food and drink they should have, and refused to accept the food that was served upon the king's table. He kept the Word of Wisdom, and the result was that he, with his three associates, who also kept the Word of Wisdom, of all those that were captives, received the inspiration of the Almighty and their own lives were not only preserved, but they were also permitted to tell what should occur.
THE PROMISES OF THE LORD FULFILLED
Now, in the days of the kings that grew out of the Roman Empire, the kingdoms were partly strong and partly broken, and the God of Heaven did set up a kingdom, for in the year 1830 he established His Church here upon the earth. That did not come by accident-it did not come by surprise. It had all been predicted-all these things that are that are contained in the Old and New Testaments, and many others that I am not trying to mention. I am trying to call your attention to the fact that when the Lord speaks, what He promises has always been fulfilled.
Well, now, has He promised us anything today? Read your scriptures. Not only the Old and New Testaments, but turn to your Book of Mormon. See how the Lord has fulfilled His promises-how the Nephites, because they refused to accept the teachings of God-refused to sustain those who presided over them by authority-were wiped from the face of the earth. That was not done without a warning; they knew it would come, and they were told, across the mighty ocean, of the coming of the Savior, what would occur when He came, and what would happen when He was crucified. The Lord kept these things in the minds of His people who were prophets and who paid attention. All over this land there was destruction because the people were not righteous.
You may follow the record, and you will discover that such things have never happened to a people who were keeping the commandments of God. The destruction has come to those who were failing to pay attention to what the Lord desired. This nation was raised up in order that men might worship God according to the dictates of their conscience -this nation of which we are a part. God raised up the very men who prepared the Constitution to declare to us our privileges and our liberties. It was not an accident. Those things were recorded beforehand. In the Book of Mormon He announced the coming of Columbus, and of the Pilgrim fathers, from the old world, those who came here to worship God.
PREDICTIONS OF A MODERN PROPHET
All these things had been made known beforehand, and then, in the case of the Latter-day Saints, when they were in distress in Nauvoo and were being harassed by their enemies, the Prophet of God told them that they would be driven from their homes and that they would come to the tops of the Rocky Mountains where they would become a mighty people. What did they know about the Rocky Mountains? What was there in the Rocky Mountains that they should come to? Not anything but what God had prepared. That prophecy was fulfilled, and you are my witnesses that it was fulfilled in that the Latter-day Saints today are a mighty people in the midst of these great mountain valleys.
Another prediction of our times that was fulfilled, was when the Lord revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith that there would be a civil war in this country and told him exactly where it would begin, at the rebellion of South Carolina. How did the Prophet Joseph know, nearly thirty years before it occurred, that it would start in South Carolina? He knew because the Lord knew and told him so. So from the beginning, through Noah, and all down through the line of prophets the power to communicate with the heavens has been with those whom God has raised up and prepared. The people have been taught, and they have been warned, and most of them have been recreant to the warning, the result being that great destruction has come upon the children of men.
Now, in our day we are warned, in a revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith, that unless we are more righteous than those who are receiving destruction at the present time in many parts of the world, we, too, must lose our birthright and our opportunity and be destroyed here in the flesh. We will not be justified by saying we are living as well as other people. That is not sufficient, my brethren. We have a special destiny if we live for it. That destiny is to live here upon this earth when it becomes the Celestial Kingdom, where God our Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ will be our King and our Lawgiver. We know these things, and the world does not know them. So it is not sufficient that we are doing as well as most of the people in the nation. Unless we are keeping the commandments of God and living worthy of the blessings of our Heavenly Father, we will not receive those blessings.
SALVATION THROUGH KEEPING THE COMMANDMENTS
Now that is not said with any feeling of unkindness and harshness. From the depths of my soul I wish that we ourselves could see our own danger. There are many people among us who are pleasing to our Heavenly Father because they are keeping the commandments of God. There are many people who are not members of the Church who are seeking to keep the commandments of God as they understand them. All these will receive blessings in proportion to their faithfulness. But in preparation for the Celestial Kingdom, to obtain an inheritance here when this shall be that kingdom, the Lord Himself has given the rules and regulations. Yet, I fear there are some among us who are so thoughtless as to have the idea that they will decide for themselves, contrary to the Lord's advice, what they will do and yet expect to receive an inheritance in the Celestial Kingdom, but they are doomed to disappointment. The Master said:
Not everyone 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.
Why are we prevented at the present time from doing as we have done for years, to bring all our people who can come to the tabernacle? Because the people of the world have transgressed the laws of God; because the people of our nation have disappointed the Lord and have refused His blessings, so many of them.
Then, right here among us, in our own homes, in the organized stakes of Zion, there are those who have had the hands of the servants of God laid upon their heads and been confirmed members of the Church, and many of them have received divine authority, and today what would they do if the Savior were to come? What would we do? Are we prepared for the coming of our Lord? I hope we are preparing, because we need to be prepared.
And so today, as one of the humblest among you, I feel with all my heart to invoke upon you the blessing of our Heavenly Father. You who are leaders in the organized wards and stakes of Zion, and some in the mission fields, I pray that you may have the wisdom to see the truth and to understand it and to live as the Lord intends that we should live. I say to you, destruction is not far away and only on the condition that we will observe the laws of God and keep His commandments have we the promise that He will preserve us. It is in our power to repent as it was in the power of the people of the city of Nineveh. When they were about to be destroyed. they repented and were preserved. Unless the people of this land that we live in, repent of their infidelity and wickedness and turn to the Lord, his judgments will overtake them. I do not say that with harshness or unkindness, but because the Lord Himself has said it, and it is your duty and mine to let our light so shine that all these people that we can contact will know and understand that God lives and that this is His footstool, and our title to an inheritance here shall only be obtained by honoring Him and observing His laws, and keeping His commandments. All these things are made plain to Latter-day Saints. It is our duty to divide the information with others of our Father's children.
ADVICE OF PRESIDENT GRANT UNHEEDED
We are fortunate today to have the servant of the Lord who presides over the Church, the mouthpiece of the Lord to us, sitting in our midst. There are thousands of people who would walk any distance they were able, in order that they might see the face and touch the hand of the Prophet of the Lord, and yet there are many of our own people who disregard his council. From this very stand he pleaded with us not to repeal the Eighteenth Amendment to the constitution of the United States. He didn't speak as Heber J. Grant, the man. He spoke as the President of the Church and the representative of our Heavenly Father. And yet in a state where we could have retained what we had, there were enough Latter-day Saints, so-called, who paid no attention to what the Lord wanted, ignored what He had said through his prophet, and what is the result? Such delinquency as we have never known is in our own community today, and the sons and daughters and grandchildren, and in many cases the fathers and mothers, who defied the advice of our Heavenly Father and said "We will do as we please," are paying the penalty and will continue to do so until they turn away from their foolishness and desire with all their hearts to do what our Heavenly Father desires us to do.
Now, I hope that I am not saying things in a way that might make you feel that I am angry with anybody. I have no such feelings. My heart is warm and tender toward the sons and daughters of God; I am grateful to have such companions as I have in this Church and some wonderful friends outside of it and women with whom we are seeking to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
TESTIMONY AND ADVICE
Today I stand here as one of the humblest among you, grateful for the blessings that have been bestowed upon me, thankful for the knowledge that this is God's work, and in conclusion I would like to bear my testimony that I know, as I know that I live, that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is at the helm. This is the true Church and it bears the name of His Beloved Son who named it. His servants have the power, and they have bestowed upon you, my brethren, a portion of divine authority with the belief that you will qualify, with the hope that you will measure up, and when I say "you" I mean all of us. Are we going to disappoint our Heavenly Father? Are we going to let our own homes go to pieces and our families forsake the truth while we trifle with our opportunity? Are we going to live like the world, because it is popular? Or are we going to do as the people of Nineveh did from the foolishness of man to the wisdom of God and prepare ourselves for eternal life in the Celestial Kingdom? That is what He offers us. That is what each of us may enjoy if we will, and I bear you witness that this is true and pray that our Heavenly Father will help us to cleave to the truth that insures exaltation and eternal happiness, in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Elder George F. Richards
George F. Richards, Conference Report, October 1943, pp. 50-53
Dear brethren: For some time I have anticipated this experience and with a great deal of anxiety. I have seen in my mind a large congregation of intelligent leading men of the Church, men holding the Priesthood and important offices in the Church, whom I would be expected to lead in intelligent and profitable thought in matters pertaining to our eternal welfare. In thinking what I might say that would be appropriate I have thought that, as this is a General Conference of the Priesthood of the Church, I might speak on the importance of the Priesthood in the great scheme of man's salvation with the hope that it might lead to greater faithfulness in magnifying the Priesthood.
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE PRIESTHOOD IN THE CHURCH
Priesthood is power and authority of God delegated to man to speak and act for Him in the work of salvation. We are all candidates for the blessing of eternal life and exaltation and have been from the beginning, and in the end I am sure we will be satisfied with nothing less than a fulness of glory, but these blessings cannot come to us without the exercise of Priesthood. It matters not how much faith we may have, how sincere our repentance, we can enter the Kingdom only by baptism and confirmation, and these ordinances have to be administered by the Priesthood. This really places the Priesthood on a par in importance with our membership in the Church. We might ask, do we fully appreciate our membership in the Church, and do we fully appreciate the Priesthood? There are other ordinances of supreme importance that we must receive if we would obtain eternal life and exaltation, for example the endowments as ministered in the house of the Lord. In these endowments we are informed that they are to prepare us to enter the Celestial Kingdom. There we receive knowledge and information which with faithfulness on our part are intended to admit us into the kingdom, knowledge that is received from no other source and without which we may never enter the Celestial Kingdom. Those ordinances are administered in the power and authority of the holy Priesthood. Do we see the importance of the Priesthood which we have received?
There are other blessings-the new and everlasting covenant of marriage, administered by the authority of the holy Priesthood entitling faithful men and women to receive that covenant, if they are true and faithful, to some of the highest and most glorious blessings that our Father has for His faithful children. A man may not attain to the goal of his existence, eternal life and exaltation, without himself bearing the Melchizedek Priesthood. He may not receive the endowments until he has first received the Priesthood. Nor can he have a wife sealed to him for time and eternity without his first having received the Priesthood. These facts make the Priesthood of equal importance with all these other ordinances of the Gospel and with salvation itself.
OBLIGATION RESTING UPON THE PRIESTHOOD
Every man that has received the Melchizedek Priesthood has received the oath and covenant of the Priesthood which the Lord has revealed and which is recorded in the eighty-fourth section of the Doctrine and Covenants by which he covenants with the Lord that He will magnify that Priesthood. You and I, all of us, have received that oath and covenant, and the Lord on His part covenants to give to us all that He hath.
If by bearing this Priesthood and magnifying it before the Lord, we may have all that our Father possesses, eternal life and exaltation in the Celestial Kingdom, what more can He offer as inducement and reward for magnifying the Priesthood?
Brethren, these important offices which we hold that grow out of the Priesthood, afford us an opportunity to magnify the Priesthood. I may say that when we magnify these offices, we magnify the Priesthood, and if we fail to magnify these offices we have accepted, we fail to magnify the Priesthood.
OPPORTUNITIES NEGLECTED
There are in the Church today, according to statistics, something like thirty-five thousand men over twenty-one years of age who hold some office in the Aaronic Priesthood who have never received the Melchizedek Priesthood. Some of these men may have become disgruntled over some little thing that might be overcome if we would take up a labor with them, inquire into their feelings, manifest a little love toward them and an interest in their eternal welfare.
Some seem never to have appreciated the Gospel which they have received. They have gone as far as they care to go, apparently, lying down on the job. This we do know, that these men never having received the Melchizedek Priesthood, have not received their endowments. They have not been married according to the new and everlasting covenant. They are living with their wives and rearing their children outside of that covenant, having married their wives for the duration of their mortal lives. Such men are in danger of losing their wives, their children, and their salvation. The Prophet Joseph Smith has left of record this statement that when God offers a man knowledge, or a blessing, and he rejects it, that man is damned. We have here shown that the Priesthood is a blessing of the highest type and degree, and the Lord offers it unto the men of his Church if they will qualify, through faithfulness, to receive it. Our boys are taken when twelve years of age and are given an office in the Aaronic Priesthood and ordained deacons that they might assist the Church, that they might learn to appreciate and magnify the Priesthood, that they might prove themselves worthy of advancement, and at the age of fifteen, if they have been worthy, they are entitled to a further ordination in that Priesthood to that of a teacher, and after two years of experience as a teacher, at seventeen they are entitled to receive the ordination of a priest. And then, at nineteen years, if the boy has proved himself all along the line to be true and faithful, he is entitled to the ordination of an elder in the Melchizedek Priesthood. Here lies a great responsibility, one of many resting upon the bishopric of this Church, to see that that boy be not neglected and allowed to go on to be more than twenty-one years of age without his having the privilege of receiving the Melchizedek Priesthood and its attendant blessings.
COVENANTS ENTERED INTO ARE SACRED
There is another class of people in this Church. We have no statistics, so far as I know, to determine how many, but I am sure a great many who have gone a little farther than these adult members of the Aaronic Priesthood in that they have received the Melchizedek Priesthood. They have been privileged to go to the temple and get their endowments and have a wife sealed to them and then they have neglected all their religious duties and responsibilities, disregarded their vows and covenants that they have entered into in a most sacred way and in sacred places, and seem to have no interest in their religion. The wives of these men, notwithstanding they have been sealed to their husbands for time and eternity, do not always remain with them through time and eternity. Sometimes divorcements follow because a man has not kept his covenants, is not living his religion which, to his wife, is the dearest thing in the world, and complications arise, and she secures a divorce. Another good man comes along later and courts her, wants her for eternity as well as for time. She, knowing that he is a worthy man, wants him for eternity also, and she applies to the President of the Church for a cancellation of the sealing to her husband that she may be sealed to this man, and that is often given. I suppose that the President of the Church has the evidence in each case that justifies rendering a decision in favor of the woman. If the children are old enough to decide for themselves and they elect to be sealed to their mother and their stepfather, it is permitted and the dead man loses his wife, and his children. And where there is no divorcement in a case of this kind, if the man is altogether unworthy of the woman, and of the Priesthood and blessings that have been sealed upon him, and he should die, that woman may get a cancellation of the sealing and be sealed to another man. Now, there are some of these adult members of the Aaronic Priesthood, and some of these who have received the Priesthood endowments and sealings and have been unworthy. Now this, by way of warning to these people. I do not wish to censure. That is not my prerogative, but to indicate the way of life and salvation and what the remedy is for these men, whether they have received the Priesthood and temple blessings or not, to live happily in their homes and make their wives and families happy, and live their religion, and then if a man has had a wife sealed to him and dies under those conditions the President of the Church is under obligation to protect his rights in the matter.
SEEKING AFTER THE NEGLIGENT
Now brethren of the Priesthood, do we seek work that may be done? Do we really love these, our brethren, who are among the unfortunate as members of this Church, so as to go out after them in love, in humility, kindness, pleading, helping them to see the better way of life? Elder Lyman, in his talk here yesterday made very impressive the work that is being done in the stakes of Zion by the stake missionary work. He reported thousands of men who had been inactive who had been brought into activity. May the good work go on as well as the conversions being made of good men and women who have not been members of the Church because they have not been taught and invited to become such.
The ward teaching work is another means by which these men might be reached, and toward those who have received the Priesthood, the quorum of the Priesthood to which they belong, and the presidencies thereof have a great responsibility. With all these agencies and the individual effort which the Lord requires of us, every man to his neighbor, he that is warned to warn his neighbor, is it possible that we cannot bring these members of the Church into activity that the Lord may have their help? He needs it. The conversions made here in the stakes of Zion in recent years are greater in number than have been made in the mission fields in the same period of time. They are here to be converted. Would that all these inactive members were brought into activity. Something for us to do, brethren of the Priesthood. May the Lord help us to do it well and faithfully, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder John H. Taylor
John H. Taylor, Conference Report, October 1943, pp. 53-55
I trust, my brethren that the Lord will bless me so that I may contribute at least a bit to the thoughtfulness of this conference.
THE HERITAGE LEFT BY THE PIONEERS
The other day a man came into the office, we began to talk about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and our families. This man's grandfather and his parents were among the early pioneers of the Church. They had made every necessary sacrifice in order to come to this country in the early pioneer days. In talking with the man I found that he hadn't been doing the things that ought to be done. He had not been quite faithful to the principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, nor had he lived up to the privileges that were his as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ.
After talking with him, this thought came to me: These pioneers of ours, our fathers and mothers and grandparents, have been gathered from all the nations of the earth. It was not such an easy thing to leave the advantages of their homes and their country. They had made considerable sacrifice in order to come. Many of them had abandoned good positions and wealth, and all that they owned, in order that they might come to the valleys of the mountains to worship the Lord. They were honest people. They had the characteristic of playing fair with all men. They taught that it was necessary to be good citizens and to keep the laws of our government which would enable them to live more righteously and help them to enjoy freedom in this great land of ours. They had an abiding sense of modesty and decency, and protected themselves and their own and everyone else, that out of life might come the finest things possible. They were willing, when arriving here, to be sent out in the various places to build up other sections. They were obedient not only to the laws of their land but obedient to the laws of their Church. They had the loyalty that made them steadfast to the prophets, seers, and revelators, and the men who presided over them. In every way, they seemed to be willing to do the things that ought to be done. I am quite sure that they had faults, but they were few compared to their many splendid qualities.
Their love of the Gospel, their desire to be obedient, their desire to go to Church, their desire to honor the Priesthood which had been given to them has been handed down to us as a heritage. The pioneers measure their success in life by their ability to give to their children a heritage that eventually, if cherished, would lead them back into the presence of God, the Eternal Father.
I wondered as I talked to the man and after he left me, just what we as Latter-day Saints are doing with our precious heritage, a heritage paid for with so much toil, service, faithfulness, and in many instances sacrifice of life that those who followed after might live just a bit finer and better.
OBLIGATION OF PRESENT DAY LATTER-DAY SAINTS
I am wondering whether we are feeling that it is quite as necessary to follow the heritage that has to do with the Gospel of Jesus Christ as we do the heritage that has come to us, to succeed in a material way, and to make money. While this ability is a valuable and important one to receive from our parents, it is not worth while if we lose the other heritage of being splendid and decent and kind and honest. There is no higher compliment that we can pay to those who gave us our heritage than in using it in establishing ourselves upon the earth in righteousness and laying up treasures in heaven and thus becoming worthy to be with our parents after we have finished our lives here upon the earth.
We know the story of Jacob and Esau. The birthright didn't seem to be so important to Esau, and so the birthright came to another. Sometimes it seems to me we get the idea that because we have been born in the Church all the blessings that God can give to us, such as good health and good brains and many other fine things naturally belong to us. But these gifts are valuable and helpful only as we make use of them. It seems to me, brethren, that as fathers we are responsible for laying such a splendid foundation and getting into the hearts of our children in such a way that after we pass on, they will consider the Gospel of Jesus Christ the finest heritage that we could have left them to enable them to be helpful as they labor here on the earth and to keep them safe until they find their way back into the presence of God, their Eternal Father.
As we live our lives, I hope and pray that all of us will not be satisfied to be merely born in the Church. There is no royal road to learning, neither is there a royal road into the presence of God, the Eternal Father. Whether they be our children or somebody else's children, gaining salvation and attaining God's kingdom is totally dependent on the type of life each one lives as he spends his time here upon the earth.
May we not lose our parents because of our unfaithfulness. May the Lord be good enough to us that we shall not lose our children because of our lack of teaching or training or love or sympathy or tolerance; but may they remember us because of our good works, and the principles of righteousness which we have placed in their hearts, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. Amen.
Elder Charles A. Callis
Charles A. Callis, Conference Report, October 1943, pp. 55-57
God of our fathers, known of old- Lord of our far-flung battle line, Beneath whose awful hand we hold Dominion over palm and pine- Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet, Lest we forget! Lest we forget!
PATRIOTISM COMMENDED
With you I am very much gratified that Utah went over the top in the bond sale, and that the nation over-subscribed the government loan. This shows that patriotism is not dead and that the love of pleasure does not predominate the spirit of sacrifice. Every American should do all he can to frustrate the wicked ambition of those who would rather rule in hell than serve in heaven. Brethren, we must not boast: we are not yet out of the woods. Our hope is in Jehovah, the Lord of Heaven and earth. He will not fail us. With God we can do everything that is right; for if he be with us who can be against us?.
A LESSON FROM THE BEES
Now, may I turn your attention for a moment to some other matters.
In the morning paper, a day or two ago, Mr. Belliston, the head of the honey industry of this state, requested the people to sow clover in the barrow pits, and on the sides of the road, that the honeybees might be provided with the proper food and consequently make better honey. This is excellent advice.
I was in Miami years ago. The president of the branch had several beehives. I said, "Brother Newbeck, have you a lot of honey now?" He said, "Yes." "Is it good honey? "No," he said, "it is not." "Why? "Look over yonder," he said. And I beheld a bottling plant; there were scores of boxes covered with syrup. The bees had become lazy. Instead of flying out into the fields and extracting the nectar from the flowers, they lighted upon these boxes and fed upon this syrup; consequently the honey wasn't much good.
I am wondering if we are sowing clover. Are we providing the proper food for our children? I do not mean physical food. We are a well-fed nation; but we are not grateful enough to the Almighty. In the careful rearing of children we are building a mighty republic.
HOLDING COTTAGE MEETINGS SUGGESTED
Alexander Cairns said that there was such a thing as "wasting our sorrows." We have been deprived of some Church privileges, we think, because of this war. It seems that there are wards in Zion where Sunday evening meetings are dispensed with because of the inconveniences caused by shortage of gas, etc.
In each of such wards the bishop could have at least twenty or twenty-five cottage meetings on Sabbath evenings. This would provide for young and old rich spiritual food. In attending such meetings they would not be in places to feed on stuff that does not form character nor develop the qualities of true manhood and womanhood, If we would hold these cottage meetings and praise the Lord in worship and in song, behold there would be manifested in the lives of the young people increased Church activity and more spirituality.
The Sunday School is the most powerful-is the greatest spiritual auxiliary organization in the Church. Fathers and mothers would do well to go with their children to Sunday School. There, in that divinely founded institution, the children are given proper spiritual food to develop a nobility of character, manhood, and womanhood which will endure forever.
Sometimes we think that in counseling our boys and girls, it is like pouring water on a duck's back.
ALMA'S CONVERSION
We read in the Book of Mormon the story of Alma. He and the sons of Mosiah were going around trying to destroy the Church. An angel stopped them by the way. For three days and three nights Alma suffered the pain of a damned soul. He was racked with the pains of hell. While he was praying, while he was in this distress, this agony, for he seemed to have touched the bottom of hell, he remembered the words of his father, the father who prophesied that Jesus Christ would come into the world and redeem mankind. And as Alma thought of this holy being he pleaded with Jesus, and prayed to Him. Then his pain, his torment, his guilty conscience subsided, and into his life there came an exquisite feeling of peace and love and joy.
HOME INFLUENCE POTENT
In the home a father's voice and counsel, the mother's law will be more effective than if they were given outside the home. I plead for a greater parental control, benevolent of course, persuasive, kind, and loving, because, "Come along, come along, is the call that will win." If the homes are provided with this parental control, with good reading matter, with the magazines of the Church placed on the table where the boys and girls can read them, I want to say to you that parents are going to have much more ease of heart, much less concern. I plead with you all to see what food your children are feeding upon. Provide them with that nourishment which will make them faithful members of the Church, good members of society, and great citizens of this glorious republic.
In the mission field young men have come to me and said: "Brother Callis, the words and counsel of my father, which I had forgotten before I came on a mission, have come to me in times of peril and distress, and they have built me up and steadied me and made me a better missionary.
God help us all, my dear brethren, to see that our children are fed the words of God, to go with them to Sunday School, for our faith is refreshed, renewed, stimulated by observing the external ordinances of the Gospel, such as the sacrament and other holy things.
I bear you my testimony, the youth of Zion will respond to example. Bid them go with you, love them, you fathers. Keep close to your boys, be chummy with them, associate with them. Mothers, make your daughters feel that you are their best friend on earth and teach them to come and confide in you.
God help us all to fulfil our righteous obligations and to be worthy earthly parents of that immortal soul which God has trusted to your care and of which you have charge, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Rufus K. Hardy
Rufus K. Hardy, Conference Report, October 1943, pp. 57-60
As always, I stand before this Church in these great gatherings with a sense of adoration, realizing, as I do, through the study of its history from its commencement, God's blessings upon it.
LABOR IN THE CHURCH BRINGS COMPENSATION
I think frequently as I meet with groups of the Priesthood, and particularly today, that this is like unto the great organized corporations, and you the governing body in its Priesthood are the directors thereof.
I reflect upon the temporal remuneration which you receive, and in contrast to this the great results which come from your untiring efforts. I am reminded also of the sacrifice which so many of you have made and are making; you men whom I associate with and know, you who have walked virtually barefooted for the advancement of God's work in your mission fields and yet, out of it all you come home, go into business, and devote thereafter a good portion of your profits and earnings back into this Church, to this great institution which God has established, never again to be taken from the earth. So, I marvel and constantly give praise and homage to each member of the Priesthood of this Church.
I am grateful indeed for the kindness and consideration which you fine presidents of stakes have given to me as I come into your midst.
I am fully aware that we perhaps are the best paid board of directors that God has on earth, and if each one of us were asked, nothing could be given Him which in the slightest degree could compare with the compensation which God has given him for the unselfish labor and interest he has shown in God's great work.
INSTRUCTIONS TO EARLY DAY MISSIONARIES
You know that in the beginning when this Church was young, extremely young, nearly all the membership of it had a great urge to proclaim its message, and a very restless feeling to go out to do something. They could not remain inactive, and, so, they kept the Prophet Joseph Smith very busy answering their questions, particularly the question which arose in the hearts of so many men:
For many times you have desired of me to know that which would be of the most worth unto you.
Behold, blessed are you for this thing, and for speaking my words which I have given you according to my commandments.
And now, behold, I say unto you, that the thing which will be of the most worth unto you will be to declare repentance unto this people, that you may bring souls unto me, that you may rest with them in the kingdom of my Father.
You will find as you read the D&C; say from, I think, the 12th Section on throughout this great volume of scripture that in almost every instance the answer was the same.
Leave thy house and home, except when thou shalt desire to see thy family; And speak freely to all; yea, preach, exhort, declare the truth, even with a loud voice, with a sound of rejoicing.
One after another of the brethren received that answer, and they all went forth to do God's bidding and to receive God's commendation, and from that start, to the present time, the Church has grown through this great and marvelous system of missionary activity unequaled anywhere.
A LABOR TO BE PERFORMED AT HOME
Now, we find in our own midst here at home situations which call for additional help, situations which have been so eloquently and beautifully spoken of today. The touching of the hearts of the young, and turning of the minds of those who are innocent and free into channels which will bring back the results which we here desire in the Church.
You all have had the experience of meeting these situations. It was my experience to contact recently on one of our unfrequented streets a very little child, perhaps three years of age, with streaks down its face where the teardrops had run, who couldn't talk plainly, with another child but a year or two older, left to guard it. I had gone to ask for a certain person. No one was home. The parents were at work and these children left alone. You will understand what I mean when I say that this little one came and hugged me by the knees, and looked at me with the most intelligent and imploring gaze, hungering for parental love and attention. I can't forget, and never shall, but I do remember God's words which I have written here to quote accurately:
But, behold, I say unto you, that little children are redeemed from the foundation of the world through mine Only Begotten;
Wherefore, they cannot sin, for power is not given unto Satan to tempt little children, until they begin to become accountable before me;
For it is given unto them even as I will, according to mine own pleasure, that great things may be required at the hand of their fathers.
I think these things which God requires at our hands can't be fully realized until we have performed our duty and come with clean hands concerning this younger generation which is here among us.
Francis Thompson wrote this about a child:
Know you what it is to be a child? It is to be something very different from the man of today. It is to have a spirit yet streaming from the waters of baptism. It is to believe in love, to believe in loveliness. It is to believe in belief. It is to be so little that the elves can reach and whisper in your ear. It is to turn pumpkins into coaches and mice into horses, lowness into loftiness and nothing into everything, for each child has its fairy godmother.
CHANGING CONDITIONS IN HOME LIFE
Well, in our day, we see many changes. We have relegated to the scrapheap the sayings of yesterday. We make fun of the old horse and buggy days.
We have more or less gone from that most beautiful commodious home with a few acres of choice land around it where we played as boys, where there came joyous gatherings in the evening to that house, and where the hospitality of parents and children made it a blessed joyful place of dwelling and retreat. We live now in apartment houses where five hundred live in the same house, and yet we don't know any of them. God says this:
Every spirit of man was innocent in the beginning; and God having redeemed man from the fall, men became again, in their infant state, innocent before God.
And that wicked one cometh and taketh away light and truth, through disobedience, from the children of men, and because of the tradition of their fathers.
But I have commanded you to bring up your children in light and truth.
And again, inasmuch as parents have children in Zion or in any of her stakes which are organized, that teach them not to understand the doctrine of repentance, faith in Christ the Son of the living God, and of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of the hands, when eight years old, the sin be upon the heads of the parents.
For this shall be a law unto the inhabitants of Zion, or in any of her stakes which are organized.
DUTY OF STAKE MISSIONARIES
I am acquainted with this great body of men who go forth to teach the beautiful Gospel of Jesus Christ-I speak now of our stake missionaries, and I do earnestly plead with them that they will put forth an extra effort, not alone to those who belong to this Church, but to those with whom they constantly come in contact who are not members of the Church; to devote some of their time and attention to the children, those choice diamonds from heaven which God has given us, that they may be taught in the truth, for in this generation of which I speak the coming glory and grandeur of this nation must be through the growth and development of the children, in paths of virtue and righteousness, and that their hearts and energies be centered in "light and truth."
God bless us, I pray, and give us this understanding that the children may be helped by our efforts and I ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.
Elder Thomas E. McKay
Thomas E. McKay, Conference Report, October 1943, pp. 60-64
While at luncheon today with my family, there was a lull in the conversation, and one of my daughters remarked that she hoped daddy would be called upon in this afternoon's session, so he could quit worrying and "join with us in conversation."
APPRECIATION FOR CONFERENCE MEETINGS
I trust, my brethren, that I shall be inspired and guided in what I say this afternoon. It seems to me that at each general or stake conference that I attend I sense more keenly the great responsibility resting upon those who are called upon to speak, and I confess that I do worry, and the habit, I fear, is getting worse instead of better as time goes on.
I appreciate the opportunity, however, of meeting you fine brethren here and especially in your stakes, and am very thankful that we can still meet in this great historic building, even if it is under some restrictions. I hope with you that the time will soon come when these restrictions will be removed, that natural conditions will prevail and we can again have our wives, mothers, and sisters meet with us.
EUROPEAN MISSION CONDITIONS
I am very happy for the privilege of again reporting briefly on conditions existing in the European missions. As far as we can learn, our members are still carrying on in each of the twelve missions that comprise the European group. There are now about thirty-two thousand members. We are still able to correspond with the British, the Palestine-Syrian, the South African, the Swedish, and the Swiss missions. However, our letters to Switzerland are all returned stamped "Service suspended-returned to sender." But we do get mail from Switzerland. We were very happily surprised a few weeks ago to receive several copies of a new book from Basel, Switzerland. Brother Max Zimmer, the acting mission president of the Swiss mission has translated the series of lectures by Elder Joseph Fielding Smith, given about two years ago. These were printed in the Church section of The Deseret News, and Brother Zimmer has translated them into the German language and had them printed.
We still get letters and reports regularly from the French-Swiss district. A very successful district conference was held at la Chaux de Fonds, May 16, where special tribute was paid to Brother Henry Chappuis, president of the Lausanne Branch for many years, who died February 18. He is the father of our Brother Gaston Chappuis, and another son is at present presiding over the Basel Branch in the Swiss Mission; another son is a major in the Swiss army. A fine new hall has been secured for the Geneva Branch.
By way of Switzerland, we also received rather surprising news, that a member of our Paris Branch, a young lady, is singing leading opera roles in France and Switzerland. So they are still carrying on in Paris.
We received, also via Switzerland, the sad news of the recent death of Sister Aurore Horbach, of Liege. All the missionaries who have labored in Liege will remember her and her husband who was president of that branch for years, and also mission translator until the time of his death in 1935. He translated the Articles of Faith into French, and also many of our hymns.
Letters and reports continue to come quite regularly from the Palestine-Syrian and the South African missions. Cumorah's Southern Messenger, the sixteen-page monthly publication of the South African Mission would be a credit to any mission.
Through the assistance of the Red Cross correspondence department we have heard recently from Denmark-Copenhagen. This message came just last week. It was dated June 24th:
Dear President McKay:
We send greetings to you and the Church. We are all well and safe. Write, if possible.
Sincerely,
Orson B. West
A similar message has also been received from the Netherlands Mission. When we left Europe, the headquarters were at The Hague, but this message just received last week comes from Utrecht, and was dated April 12, 1943:
Holland Church all well. Live in beautiful home at Utrecht.
Jacob Schipaanboord
EXCERPTS FROM LETTERS FROM SWEDEN AND DENMARK
Very interesting letters and very complete reports are still received from the Swedish Mission although they are censored by both the English and the Germans; from these letters we hear indirectly from the Norwegian and the Danish missions. The following are excerpts from the last letter dated August 5, 1943:
I hereby forward the statistical and financial reports for the months of June and July. We read with interest about the conferences you have held and happy that they were so blessed in results. I am particularly thankful to our Heavenly Father that we also, in our country, have been able to hold our meetings and conferences. June 23-27 we held our great M.I.A. conference in Goteborg, with participants, both old and young, from many different places in our land, thus further fortifying the singular unity and love existing among the Saints in the mission.
Participants from Finland and Norway in our midsummer conference had been announced, but permission to travel abroad was refused them, which we very much regretted.
This is interesting:
The Danish mission has published a book entitled The Truth About Mormonism, by Reed Smoot, in the reviews of which many newspapers have printed a great deal about the Church, a copy of the picture of the Prophet Joseph Smith in the book having even accompanied some of the write-ups.
It has come to my knowledge that relatives of a former missionary to Denmark, by name of Homer P. Andersen, had received information that in a raid over Germany, Andersen had been forced to make a landing, and was interned. He was well and not suffering for anything. He had asked his relatives in Norway to forward greetings to the parents, which commission I carried out by sending a letter to Hans P. Andersen, 326 West First South Street, Logan, Utah. I hope that that communication has reached them.
I have received deplorable information from Norway that their mission periodical, Lys Over Norge, which under normal conditions was issued semi-monthly and later was retrenched to a monthly issue, has by order of the trade department been discontinued altogether. It is also now clear to me that a great need of provisions exists and that the aged, especially, are hard hit. I have therefore decided to go to Oslo, if permission can be had for traveling abroad, to personally find out what can be done. Presumably the Church here in our country must try to organize some source whereby our members in the Norwegian mission can be assisted. I believe President McKay will agree with me that we must try to do something to help them.
BRITISH ANNUAL DISTRICT CONFERENCES
In the British Mission they have just concluded their annual district conferences, and I quote:
Never have we experienced a greater evidence of unity and faith among our members, and the Spirit of the Lord has been present in rich abundance at every conference. An annual missionwide Priesthood conference has also been held. The sixty brethren present will never forget the three-day conference attended by the marvelous manifestation of the Spirit of the Lord.
MESSAGE FROM BOY OVERSEAS
May I also take this opportunity of reading just two paragraphs from a letter from one of our boys in the service received by his parents. He has been overseas nearly three years, much of the time in countries belonging to the European Mission:
When we joined up I resolved to come back the same way I left. I have been away nearly three years, and I am still going return home the same. I have no difficulty in keeping the Word of Wisdom. I do not swear and have never had any need to do so. I still say my prayers and have had them answered many times. I have been lucky to always have companions and friends who are clean in habits; some smoke but know that it is not good for them and try to quit. You have always taught me at home to have clean habits, read good literature, associate with people who have high standards. You have always shown me the way. My ambition has always been to live so that you would be proud to call me your son, as I have always been proud of you, my parents.
I miss the Church a great deal. The principles taught in the Church have always been a great source of comfort and satisfaction to me. I always know that I have a Higher Aid as long as I live in accordance with His teachings. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true Church. I have always endeavored to show to others by my actions, as well as by my teachings, my sincerity.
That letter, brethren, is typical of thousands of others that are received by parents whose sons are in all parts of the world serving their country, fighting for the perpetuation of "man's free agency"-the same principle for which we fought in our pre-existent state. The leader of that rebellion and his followers were defeated and cast out of heaven and they are here on earth still fighting truth, determined to deprive us of our free agency. We here at home must not let our boys down-forty thousand of them in all parts of the world. Let us wholeheartedly get behind every movement that would hasten the victory in this "war against wickedness."
A PLEA FOR LOVE IN THE HOME
And may I suggest in closing that during these unsettled, uncertain conditions, where all-not only those in uniform, but also those of us at home, are under a strain, that we be more tolerant, show a little more kindness and tenderness, and consideration towards our wives and children, and our neighbors. We are liable if we are not careful in an unguarded moment to say or do things that we otherwise would not do or say. So let us guard our tongues, never say an unkind word to our loved ones in the home. When I speak of unkind words I am reminded of "The Old Settler's Story," written around the theme contained in these words:
Boys flying kites haul in their white winged birds, But you can't do that when you're flying words... Thoughts, unexpressed, may sometimes fall back dead, But God Himself can't kill them when they're said.
So let us never say unkind words. "Kind words are sweet tones of the heart." I love that song very much.
Let us oft speak kind words to each other, At home or where'er we may be, Like the warbling of birds on the heather, The tones will be welcome and free; They'll gladden the heart that's repining, Give courage and hope from above; And where the dark clouds hide the shining Let in the bright sunlight of love.
Oh, the kind words we give Shall in memory live-
And sunshine forever impart; Let us oft speak kind words to each other, Kind words are sweet tones of the heart.
May the Lord help us, brethren, to carry out in our lives the thoughts expressed in those words, and follow the admonition of our Savior to "love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength, and thy neighbor as thyself", I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Bishop LeGrand Richards
LeGrand Richards, Conference Report, October 1943, pp. 69-73
It is a real pleasure to have the privilege of attending this conference. Last night most of you were present at the bishops' meeting in the Assembly Hall, and while we were together two and a half hours, we only covered a very small portion of the program in which you bishops, particularly, are as much interested as are we.
THE AARONIC PRIESTHOOD PROGRAM
I thought tonight I would like to say a few words about the Aaronic Priesthood program of the Church. I am very grateful for my assignment to labor with the young men and for the fine work that is being done by the bishops and their associates in their behalf. I feel we have a program that really is effective.
I have no thought of criticism for the past, but in trying to follow our program of a record of every boy, and a monthly boys' leadership meeting, where the bishopric Sit at the head and with them those who are interested in the care of the Aaronic Priesthood in the wards-the Mutual, and Sunday School officers, who also are charged with the responsibility of working with the same age group-it seems to me that we have been able to keep closer in touch with the boys.
For instance, through this program we found in one ward thirty-three boys between the ages of twelve and twenty-one who held no Priesthood. Another ward had twenty. When the bishop discovered this, he was as much surprised as anyone could be. He had never checked before.
When visiting a stake recently, it was reported to me that a son of one of our recent General Authorities had never been ordained, even to the office of a deacon. When his own son was to be ordained, the bishop asked him if he held such Priesthood that he could officiate, and he had to apologize and tell the bishop that he had never even been ordained a deacon. A time had been set, but for some reason he could not come, and no one followed the matter up to find out why.
Only this week I learned that one of our present General Authorities was not baptized until he was fifteen, because there was no checkup in the ward. We now have a program whereby every boy is being looked after-and we are trying to consider the boys more individually rather than in groups. It is my impression that we will come to a day in the Church when our greatest achievements will be through individual work.
INDIVIDUAL WORK WITH BOYS
In our work this winter with the Aaronic Priesthood, we are studying in the teachers' training course, Dr. Stott's book, How to Win Boys, and the author paraphrases a statement of the Master as he went along the Sea of Galilee and gathered to himself the fishermen, saying, "Come, and I will make you fishers of men"; Dr. Stott says, "Come, and I will make you fishers of boys."
Then he indicates that all over the world there are literally thousands and tens of thousands of boys, waiting to be caught, if we only use the right kind of bait.
In a demonstration of a boys' monthly leadership meeting in a stake recently, one of the brethren in reporting a visit he had made to a home said: "You'll never get John into his Priesthood meeting on Sunday morning so long as there is snow on the mountain so he can go skiing." After the discussion was ended and no solution was offered to get John off the mountain, I said to the bishop, "Bishop, are you going to leave John out on the mountain skiing on Sunday mornings?"
We have a feeling that there should be sufficient genius of leadership in this group with the bishopric at the head assisted by their helpers in the Aaronic Priesthood, the M.I.A., and Sunday School workers, that when they pool their wisdom, certainly they can find the kind of bait that will bring John off the mountain on Sunday morning.
There are some of us, I fear, who have the feeling that there are only a few that will be saved. I am not unmindful of the fact that the Savior said, "Strait is the gate and narrow is the way", but I also remembered that in the 76th section of the D&C;, the Lord indicates that He will save all the works of His hands, except the Sons of Perdition, and I have never been able to feel that the sons of Latter-day Saint fathers and mothers born under the covenant, are likely to be so classified. They are born heirs of all the gifts and blessings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. So, as far as I am concerned, I believe if we will do our duty, with the help of the Almighty, we need not fear that any of our boys will be lost.
Now, when we gather them in, it is very important that we have something for them. They want to be fed, and I think besides teaching them their duties in the Priesthood, one of the greatest things we ought to have in mind is to try to plant in their hearts a testimony of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
A TESTIMONY OF THE GOSPEL OF GREAT WORTH
My experience in the Church has taught me that the most powerful motivating thing I know of in this world is a testimony of the Gospel. Possessing it, men and women will do anything; they will make any sacrifice. When we listened here yesterday to the testimonies of Brother Kimball and Brother Benson, whom we sustained as new members of the Quorum of the Twelve, both indicated that they were making financial sacrifices. I had the privilege of attending Washington Stake conference a week ago last Sunday with President Benson, and he told me of some of the financial offers that had been made to him. I took occasion before the people of the stake to compliment them on the honor that had come to them in the call of their stake president, but I assured them that Brother Benson would make great financial sacrifices, but God granted unto the children of men blessings that were worth far more than money, and reminded them of when Peter and John went to the temple and at the gate thereof found a man who had been a cripple from his youth, and when he asked alms at their hands, Peter said: "Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have, give I thee. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk." And immediately the cripple's feet and ankle bones received strength, and he walked into the temple with Peter and John.
You do not buy gifts like that with money. They are the riches of heaven, that come through faith and a testimony of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Recently I read the new book by Brother Hinckley on the life of President Daniel H. Wells, and I was greatly impressed with the power of his testimony. When he saw the Saints move toward the West, although he was not a member of the Church and at that time possessed much property and a wife who was opposed to the Church, and a son, he had to make a choice to cast his lot with the Saints or remain with his wife and son and his property. He left his property to her, and left her and the boy behind, going on with the Saints; and the Lord multiplied unto him because of his sacrifice, and that because of his testimony of the Gospel.
You and I know, as we have witnessed on every side, particularly in our ministry in this Church, how marvelously people sacrifice, and how willingly they do it when their souls are touched with a testimony of the Gospel.
WILLING SACRIFICES
I think of a little woman in our ward. We as a bishopric approached her and her husband, who was not a member of the Church, and asked them if they were in a position to send their son on a mission. We said, "We don't know whether you have any rich relatives who can help you." We knew they were of meager circumstances. We said, "The boy is worthy to go, and we would be proud to have him represent our ward."
By that time tears were trickling down the little mother's face, and she said, "Bishop, if you will send my boy on a mission, I'll see that he has the money if I have to work every day he is gone to keep him in the mission field."
When living in California, I passed a bakery night after night on my way home from work and saw one of our good sisters in her little bakery uniform clerking while she kept two of her sons in the mission field.
I would like to see this testimony planted in the hearts of our boys and our girls, and I want you to know that I know boys can have a testimony of the Gospel, even in their youth.
THE PROMISE OF SPIRITUAL GIFTS
A statement reached us at the Presiding Bishop's office a few days ago from one of our educators who in teaching a Sunday School class made this statement: "I don't know whether it would be proper for us to teach our young people to read Leaves from My Journal, by Wilford Woodruff, for fear they might expect similar spiritual experiences, and be disappointed."
I wonder if there are really very many Latter-day Saints who would be afraid to promise unto the youth of Zion the spiritual gifts and blessings that God, the Eternal Father Himself, has promised.
We cannot offer our young people the Bible as the word of God, or the standard Church works, and believe only a small portion of that which is written therein.
After the Savior was resurrected, He commissioned His disciples to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature, and then he promised them spiritual gifts and blessings as a result of their faith. I find nowhere in all Holy Writ where the Savior ever rescinded the promises He made unto those who would accept His Gospel.
On the day of Pentecost, the Spirit of God was poured out like cloven tongues of fire, and Peter, representing the apostles, spoke until men were moved upon and smitten in their hearts, and said: "Men and brethren, what shall we do?". And Peter, the mouthpiece of God upon the earth, replied:
Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
I want you to know that as far as I am concerned, that promise has been made good in my life, and I have faith it will be made good in the lives of my children and their children, unto the latest generation, if they have faith in God and are willing to keep His commandments.
Then I remind you that in the last chapter of the Book of Mormon, Moroni writes at some length on this subject. He tells of the marvelous gifts of the Holy Ghost, and says that by the power of the Holy Ghost might we know the truth of the words contained in that book, for "by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things". Then he warns us that we deny not the gifts of God, and enumerates them and then adds that these gifts shall never be taken away as long as the world shall stand, except according to the unbelief of the children of men.
Closing that historic record with that promise, I feel we ought to live to anticipate and expect the gifts of the Spirit of God... I was in this tabernacle when Wilford Woodruff told-and I think it was his last public address-how marvelously the Lord had led and guided and inspired him, and how we would not have Bishop So-and-So, if he had not heeded the promptings of the Spirit of God not to take the company of emigrants on the boat down in New Orleans, how that by the inspiration of the Spirit he arose in the night aria moved his team and wagon just in time to escape the falling oak that had stood there all those years, etc.
That made an impression upon my life. I would like my children impressed with that kind of inspiration, spiritual power, spiritual gifts. Now, as I look back over my life, I want to bear testimony to you, my brethren, here this night, that the Lord has been kind to me, and I have had evidences enough all through my ministry to know that the sweetest thing in this world that I know anything about is the companionship of the Spirit of God, and the gifts and blessings that come by virtue of the same.
A KNOWLEDGE OF GOD COMES THROUGH HIS SPIRIT
It is my testimony that when you read the words of the Master that "this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent", you are not going to know Him just because you read about Him in books; you are going to know Him because you have partaken of His Spirit and of his power, and you have been lifted up until you know there is a power in this world so much greater than yours that it leaves no room for doubt.
We should remember the words of Paul when he said that the things of God are understood by the Spirit of God, and the things of man are understood by the spirit of man, and the natural man understandeth not the things of God, for they are foolishness unto him. We do not want natural men teaching our boys in the Aaronic Priesthood; we want men of God, who have faith in God and faith in His promises, and faith in spiritual gifts and spiritual power.
You brethren do not need to be afraid to promise your children or the youth of Zion that the blessings and gifts of the Holy Ghost will be theirs if they will live for them. You do not have to fulfill these promises. God, the Eternal Father, who made them, will fulfill them. And when they have a testimony and spiritual conviction in their souls, you do not need to worry about your boys or your girls, no matter where they go.
God bless you, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Samuel O. Bennion
Samuel O. Bennion, Conference Report, October 1943, pp. 73-76
I am delighted, my brethren, to be in your midst tonight, and to have attended the Conference today and yesterday. It has been a great pleasure, for many years, to attend these Conferences, and to listen to the instructions of the Lord's servants. In our organizations, both of men and women, I am sure we have leaders who are divinely called, and I have heard their testimonies many times; they have strengthened mine, that this, beyond any question, is the work of the Lord.
ADMINISTRATION AND RESULTANT THOUGHTS
There are a good many things in the plan of salvation that have not yet been made clear, but which some day will be revealed. I had an experience this past summer, of administering to a child six days old, in a hospital. I had never before administered to a child; I have blessed many children, but never had administered to any. This child had to undergo an operation, so the doctor had sent it to the hospital. The mother had asked that I should be called to administer to it.
I could find no one in the hospital at that time to go with me, and so it became necessary to perform the ordinance alone. I saw that little infant lying there, just six days old; it had never taken any food, it could not digest it, and something had to be done. So I administered to the child. And this remarkable thing happened: it was unable to cry, it was so weak, yet it opened its eyes when I administered to it, and looked at me with as much intelligence as any person I have ever seen in my life. Now, this is the truth I desire to point out: I do not know just how the transition is made, but I knew this much as I administered to that child, that six days before it had been a fully grown spiritual man, and that it was fully grown when this earth was made. And I remembered, too, that the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ our Lord, was born as was that child, with a fully matured spiritual body but in the physical form of a babe.
This vital truth is made plain in the incident recorded in Third Nephi. That great prophet was crying unto the Lord for help to control and lead those rebellious people who had turned away from the promises of their fathers. He was wondering when the time of the Messiah's coming should be-that event which Samuel the Lamanite had predicted should take place, and he was crying unto the Lord in mighty faith, when a voice came unto him saying: "Lift up your head and be of good cheer; for behold, the time is at hand, and on this night shall the sign be given, and on the morrow come I into the world".
On the morrow he was born in that stable in Judea, and cradled in a manger, even as I saw this little infant that I administered to lying in the hospital.
CHRIST'S PRE-MORTAL POSITION
This is one of the things we do not fully understand. But the Christ made this world, there is no question about that. It was he who established his Father's work in the days of Adam; who gave the Law unto Moses; who brought the children of men, anciently, to a realization of His divine plan; and it was He who established His people in this land upon which we live, long before He came into the world, in the Meridian of Time.
I do not know how this earth was made, only I know it was not made of nothing; it was made of material substances. In a revelation to Joseph Smith the Prophet, we are given to understand that to those who are faithful at the Lord's coming, He will show how He made the world. That is one of the things that will come to our knowledge if we keep the commandments of God-this and many other great and marvelous truths.
RESPONSIBILITY OF LEADERSHIP
This congregation of men here are representatives of our Eternal Father in the earth. You hold positions of trust, spiritually and financially. You uphold the leadership and are the leadership of the Church. You are the men who establish faith in the hearts of the children of men, and I know that you have a testimony of the gospel. This work is growing and the work of God is being built more firmly than ever before. I do not know just what the end of the present conflict will be, or how far it will reach, but in the end I know that the democracy established in this land will survive, and it will govern and rule, for the Lord established His Church here, nevermore to be thrown down, nevermore to be disorganized, but to be in the earth when He should come in the day of His wrath and in the day of his fulfilment of His promises and His pledges unto the children of men.
He will come to His own; He will come to His people, unto the men who hold His Priesthood, the power to act in His name.
COURAGE OF THE PIONEERS
Now, we are facing problems, I think, that we have never faced before, at least in the history of my time. I have been actively engaged for the past thirty-nine years, and I have never seen conditions that confront us as they do now. When our pioneer fathers came down these canyons in 1847 and later, they came into this barren country, a country most forbidding. It was no wonder that some of the women folk cried, as my grandmother cried when she saw the land that she had to live in after the pilgrimage across the plains. She had left her home in England, where she had enjoyed life; she did not join the Church until she came to this country, but she came with her husband or she would have been left behind. That was the mandate.
She wept when she saw this country, and I want to tell you, my brethren, the men and women who came into this country found it a hard place in which to live. They struggled day and night and all the time, to gather something to eat and clothing to wear. Many of them went hungry. But they weathered the storm of adversity and they established in the valleys of the mountains the greatest commonwealth that can be found in America. They were courageous men and women.
PERILS FACING YOUTH OF THE PRESENT
Now then, the thing that confronts us all is the conditions that exist today. What changes have come! Today our boys and girls can secure employment at salaries they have never before heard of. Many of them, who have been reared in homes where they have been taught to pray, where they have had wise guidance by parents who loved them, and where they listened to them because they had not seen the outside world-these boys and girls, today, many of them, have left their homes and have come to the larger centers by the hundreds, yes, by the thousands. They are getting more money than they had ever dreamed of, and they are spending it. There are hundreds of young people in this country right now, who, because of this increase in wealth, are not able to control themselves, and are drinking and using tobacco and ruining their lives.
To save them is the duty that confronts the Priesthood of this Church at the present time and most seriously, in my opinion. There should be nothing left undone. You have to persuade these boys and girls; you cannot drive them. Dictators try to do that, but those who follow our Lord and Savior's example must lead men and persuade them by kindness and love unfeigned. We must hold our youth-thousands of them born under the eternal covenants of our Eternal Father. They are the ones we must reclaim. We must not allow them, if it is possible, to be led away.
OUR DUTY TO MAKE KNOWN THE TRUTH
This work with our youth is closely allied to our larger obligation-missionary work. There is nothing like it in all the world. As the blood is the life of the flesh, so is missionary work the life of this Church, and if you take it away, there is no Church.
This is the Church and Kingdom of God that was established by the Savior who came to this earth in the Meridian of Time, who performed His mission and died that we might live. It is the work of God; I know that our Eternal Father appeared to Joseph Smith, His son, and said unto him, "Joseph, this is my beloved Son. Hear Him!".
As a result of that visitation came this great organization, the Church, which will go on to perfection until the Christ comes again. There will never be a time when you and I will have so big a part to play as we do today. This is your day, it is my day, it is the time for men to prepare to meet their God, and to establish the principles of eternal truth in the hearts of the children of men.
I pray the Lord to bless you, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Elder Joseph F. Smith
Joseph F. Smith, Conference Report, October 1943, pp. 76-79
In humility and with full appreciation of my immediate responsibility, and with complete awareness of my own weakness, I call upon my Father in Heaven to direct my thinking for a few moments and to grant me profitable utterance.
THE BINDING POWER OF TESTIMONY
In the past thirty-six hours we have had eloquent evidence of the power of Mormonism. As I have sat through these sessions, considering the personnel of the General Authorities, I have been greatly impressed with the wealth of background and secular training that they bring to this work, men who, before their calling, were bankers, business men, farmers, laborers, engineers, chemists, dentists, attorneys-at-law, schoolteachers. All of them with varying secular background, yet all of them unitedly bound together with one thing-a tremendous testimony of the truth of Mormonism! Every one of us was moved with the testimonies of Brother Kimball and Brother Benson yesterday.
I have been impressed with how many times the necessity for loving one another has been mentioned in these sessions.
Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.
And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
DIVINE GUIDANCE NECESSARY IN CIVIL GOVERNMENT
There is a certain disposition among a good many people, and some of our own faith are not entirely free from it, to criticize any pulpit utterance which dwells on major current issues. There are those among us who suspect insidious political intent, if, from the pulpit, even so much as mention of government is made, but religion is of no value Whatsoever if it deals only in platitudinous generalities.
We are the children of God, literally. That being the case, God's word should be uppermost in our minds in trying to bring about worth-while government. Until we as a people in particular, and the sons and daughters of God in general, realize that our civil governments will be failures so long as they are not based upon divine guidance, so long will we continue to have strife, conflict, and bloodshed.
THE KINGDOM OF GOD BASED UPON LOVE
We are facing a time when, unless men repent and accept in very deed the Gospel of Christ, we shall see revolution in our own country. "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.... Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Upon these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets".
Until we can be big enough, individually, to love our neighbors, and together love each other, we shall fail. That has some pretty practical and definite applications. It means, for one thing, that men who call themselves employers and men who call themselves laborers must get together and work together and love one another, literally. So long as we have on the one hand employers who are motivated only by profit, and who, for their profit, are willing to exploit labor at any cost, and so long as on the other side of the fence we have men who call themselves laborers, and who band themselves together, and make unjust demands at any cost, so long as we have groups like these fighting each other, we have no hope for establishing the kingdom of God upon the earth.
Class hatred is growing, even within the confines of our own country. While many were inclined, a while ago, to laugh at the "zoot suit" riots, they were but symptoms of basic social disease. We must learn to love one another. Successful government will be impossible without it.
This body of Priesthood, together with all others holding the Priesthood, has a tremendous responsibility in persuading men to work together. The magnificent material accomplishment of fifty million cans of food, that President Clark has told us about, is of less importance in my estimation than the brotherhood, the increased love for one another, that has resulted from people getting together and working shoulder to shoulder.
PRIESTHOOD GIVEN BECAUSE OF WORTHINESS
Not long ago in one of our council meetings, President Clark called attention to the fact that there had just been called to the office of the Patriarch in a certain stake a man who was a janitor. President Clark pointed out that there was an evidence of the strength of Mormonism-a job that is looked upon by the world as a lowly job, and yet among the Latter-day Saints a man so employed, because of his righteousness and his integrity, could receive the patriarchal Priesthood, and even the men and women who enjoyed the cleanliness of the building which he cared for would go to him in reverence and respect for their patriarchal blessings.
JUST CRITICISM HELPFUL
When we can love one another, we will be well on our way to the solution of our problems. It is well for us not to be led astray by words. Calling a government democratic, does not make it so, any more than calling a man a villain makes him a scoundrel. We need vision. It is so easy to denounce without judgment.
The other day one of our young men, in most vitriolic language, was denouncing the bureaucracy of our present government, and someone asked him, to his great embarrassment, what a bureaucrat was, and he did not have the slightest idea, but in his home he had heard bureaucrats denounced. Now, that sort of uncritical denunciation is foolish.
It behooves us, as men holding the Priesthood, to examine governmental procedures and if those procedures result in the general good, if those procedures are compatible with the Gospel, the Lord's word, it is our business to foster them, and if necessary fight for them, just as it is our business to examine governmental procedures, and where we find them out of harmony with the Lord's word, to fight against them, no matter what high-sounding names those procedures may be given.
Brethren, let us not be discouraged because we are what is called a minority. What is a minority? The Latin has a motto, multum in parvo: "Much in small space." In the field of biochemistry it has been proved that one part of adrenalin-one of the endocrine secretions-in 100,000 parts of water, will cause certain live tissue to react. In statistical terms that one part in 100,000 is a minority.
Jesus of Nazareth, in terms of the census, was a pitiful, almost a ridiculous, minority; but Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, is the greatest power we know, before whom ultimately every knee shall bow. Let us not be discouraged by the specious argument that we are of relatively little moment because we are a minority.
POWER IN THE PRIESTHOOD
We have the Priesthood of Almighty God, and if we are righteous and magnify it, and exercise it, there is no limit to what we can accomplish in the way of good, no matter how great are the mere numbers arrayed against us.
I pray that we may magnify the Priesthood, that we may have vision, that we may not be led astray by mere names, that we shall be able intelligently to examine governmental procedures, and that bringing our judgment to the matter of government, we shall have wisdom and unusual discernment in selecting men for office who will stand for government that is compatible with the gospel.
I have not heard of it, but I hope that in some of our international conferences the men who are our leaders are big enough to get down on their knees and ask for divine guidance. I have not heard that it was done at Casablanca; I have not heard that it was done at Washington; I have not heard that it was done in Quebec. It may have been. I hope it was. But when we can have men who realize that the solution to our problems must be in terms of the word of the Lord, then shall we have just government; then can we fight a just battle.
We can exercise great influence. This little numerical minority must be the leaven which leavens the lump of the world. It is our responsibility. Where much is given, much is expected. God grant that we can live up to our responsibility, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Levi Edgar Young
Levi Edgar Young, Conference Report, October 1943, pp. 79-81
As I have looked over this audience, and all of the congregations that have been present in this great tabernacle the past two days, my feeling has been that some people are not far from the kingdom of God.
GRATITUDE EXPRESSED FOR LOCAL MISSIONARY WORK
We have heard, and heard rightly and beautifully, about the missionary effort that is being put forth to teach the people of the world something new, something deep, something of truth about the kingdom of God, and I want to take this opportunity to thank the presidents of stakes, and all the bishops of wards for their faithful support and help in spirit and in prayer for the work that is being undertaken by all the missionaries of the stakes of Zion. It is a great work in which they are engaged, and they are unafraid. You missionaries who are present at this conference, remember, please, that you are in the service of God; and all the sacred scriptures-the scriptures are great and many-have been have been entrusted to you to study, to think about, and to teach.
A SACRED CALLING
Yesterday we heard beautifully expressed the admonition of Jesus Christ to His disciples to go forth and preach the Gospel unto all people, and that causes us to recall the words of the Lord that have been written by the Prophet Joseph Smith:
And the voice of warning shall be unto all people, by the mouths of My disciples, whom I have chosen in these last days.
You are called to go forth to learn, and to teach, and to bear your testimonies, which are sacred. And when you do bear your testimonies, it is the depths speaking unto the depths of people's souls.
Above the door of the School of Music at Harvard University are these words: "To charm, to strengthen, and to teach, these are the three great cords of might." Remember, my fellow missionaries, the words of a prophet of old when he said:
We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days, in the times of old.... For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them; but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favor unto them.
You must awaken, strengthen, teach all people, and with your faith in the Lord securely fixed, you will be able to reach the hearts of those people with whom you speak. It is truth and sincerity that are called for today, and you have the power to say: "In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk". You are called to do service. You are servants of the Lord.
What a great thing it is to say to people, "We believe in God, the Eternal Father." Think of it! The Creator of heaven and earth and the stars, the Father of all things, our Father and our God. "And in Jesus Christ," the Redeemer of the world, Christ the King, our Lord, who died for us that we might have life eternal if we will but work out our own destinies by Him. "And in the Holy Ghost". What a sacred message you and I carry to the world!
VISITORS AT TEMPLE SQUARE IMPRESSED
Before any of you were admitted to these grounds this morning, I met a lady and gentleman just outside the gate and because of their desire to see the flowers, trees, and buildings, I had them admitted with me, when I explained something of the history of the temple and tabernacle, the sea gull monument, and the monuments of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. The conversation was soon over, when the gentleman said: "I take it that you are a Mormon. We are Lutherans. I have often wondered what you people believe."
You see, there was a family with certain ideals of life, as I had my ideals of life. The very spirit of the surroundings gave them a feeling of reverence, for they so expressed themselves. Said the lady: "What noble buildings to be created by the pioneers of your state. Only good people could build such houses of worship."
Now, my brother missionaries before we can teach, we must get on common ground, with that love that has just been spoken about, with that genuineness of understanding of the human heart. This man said, "I am a Lutheran."
I had the pleasure of saying to him, "I remember what Luther taught his people when he Said: 'I believe it takes the truth of the heart and soul to understand the truths of God.'"
He replied: "I believe that." And continuing, he said, "You are a great admirer of Luther?"
"Yes, very much so." I will not go into detail, for my time is up, but when he went through the gate he turned to me and said: "And I want to say to you, friend, that I am an admirer now of Joseph Smith, who, you say, is a prophet of God."
You see, we came on common ground, and he felt happy that we found something good in his belief, and I felt happier that he found something noble in mine.
God bless you, and let us all remember that we are missionaries of God, declaring the Gospel of His kingdom, that it may be lodged in the hearts of men. I have a humble testimony of this great work of God that has been revealed in these the last days through prophecy, of those servants who have been near to God and have spoken for him and His holy word. God bless you all, I ask, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Albert E. Bowen
Albert E. Bowen, Conference Report, October 1943, pp. 81-83
We talk about a great many of the departments of the Church, of its various organizations, and quorums, but we have often neglected to mention one of the very important and influential departments that it sustains. I refer to the Department of Education.
LIVING OF GOSPEL BRINGS BETTER TEMPORAL CONDITIONS
This people has always been a people that believed in the enlightenment of its members. Wherever the gospel has been carried by the missionaries of this Church, there has been an endeavor to raise the level of knowledge and understanding of its members. When our emissaries have gone to the islands of the seas, they have built schoolhouses, they have taught the natives, they have tried to let light into their minds, and have tried to make them better. In every way they have tried to improve the spiritual, mental, and temporal conditions of peoples they have gone among.
We could not be satisfied, as a people, with our ideals, to remain unacquainted with the learning of the day. We could not be satisfied to be classed among the ignorant, and neither would it conduce to our general temporal welfare if we did that.
The farmer is a better farmer if he knows something about the science of agriculture. We have conquered pests; we have saved millions through the learning that our people have acquired. You men sitting here do not have to think back very far to remember the day when your sugar factories could not run because a little insect destroyed the beets. Those insects were conquered because men came to learn how to produce a seed that would yield a beet that could resist the onslaught of this little pest.
Great acres of the land of this state have been brought into fertility and have produced the wherewithal to sustain life, because certain chemists studied in their laboratories and learned the secret of making these lands productive, and of producing the kinds of seeds that would thrive in our climate.
IMPORTANT OBJECTIVES IN EDUCATION
We believe in learning. Every time I have to do anything, I know that I could do it better if I only knew more. The limit of my power is the limit of my knowledge and understanding; if I can extend the scope of these, I can grow in power, because truly, knowledge is power.
But we would not at this time have set up schools in the Church to teach some of these things that I have been talking about. There were times in our earlier history when all the educational advantages offered were those that were fostered by the Church. With the growth of the state in population and wealth, it has assumed the responsibility now for a great deal of that kind of instruction.
But there are other things that ought to go side by side with these elements of learning that I have been talking about. It is an interesting observation, the cycle through which our thoughts have run and the way the pendulum has swung from one end of the arc to the other, respecting what constitutes a proper education. We have the old scholastics, who dealt in the classics, and who spent their time in philosophical discussion, dealing with the meaning and purpose of life and man's relationship to the universe, rather than with what we have in this day come to regard as the more practical training.
Then we came upon a period when we thought it was more important in our educational system to prepare men to make a living and so education came to be supposed to have as its purpose the training of men in the art of making a living. We gave training in the crafts, in the trades, and now a good many of our educators are looking over the field and are saying: "We have lost something." They suspect that we have laid too much emphasis upon these so-called practical things. And so we are veering around again now to the notion that the classics should be taught, that men should be concerned more with the intangibles; that education is a business of cultivating the heart and soul of man, rather than training him in the mere business of providing food.
EDUCATION AS A TEACHER OF MAN'S RELATIONSHIP TO GOD
While the pendulum has been swinging from one extreme of educational theory to the other, the Church has had a fairly stabilized view combining the virtues of both. The basic conception upon which our system is elaborated is found in section 88 of the D&C;, from which I now read:
Teach ye diligently and my grace shall attend you, that you may be instructed more perfectly in theory, in principle, in doctrine, in the law of the gospel, in all things that pertain unto the kingdom of God, that are expedient for you to understand;
Of things both in heaven and in the earth, and under the earth; things which have been, things which are, things which must shortly come to pass; things which are at home, things which are abroad; the wars and the perplexities of the nations, and the judgments which are on the land; and a knowledge also of countries and of kingdoms.
As I interpret that scripture, it admonishes us in our educational system, first to make sure that we do the things for which the classicists have so strongly contended, namely to teach men in the art of living, and particularly living the highest philosophy rather than to make education the mere instrumentality for getting their bread and butter. The first business of education is to establish a proper understanding of man's relationship to the universe in which he lives, and to the God who created it. Those are the things which are essentially laid down here, in the first verse that I have read.
Following upon that is given us a latitude wide enough to accommodate the most vaulting ambition. There is nothing from which we are barred. The whole wide world of knowledge is open to us, and we are invited to enter in and make it our own. It is this combination of purpose and attainments which the educational system fostered by the Church is intended to carry out.
We have scores of teachers in our seminaries and our institutes, carrying on the teaching of the eternal values to supplement what is taught in the other schools alongside of which they are placed. And at Brigham Young University at Provo, standing at the head of the system, we hope we may train the men that will be the peers of any men who come out from any institutions of learning in all this broad land.
INFLUENCE OF GOOD TEACHERS NEEDED
Something has been said of the sacrifices which the Authorities of the Church make in accepting the positions that come to them. These teachers make their sacrifices, too. The amount of time and energy which they devote, and the intelligent effort they put forth in order to qualify themselves, would, turned into other channels, be vastly more remunerative.
Anyone who has the intelligence to make a good teacher has enough intelligence, if he wanted to direct it in commercial channels, to become vastly more successful financially. I cannot develop the ideas here, for want of time, that I would like to develop, but I would like to make this plea to you leaders in the wards and stakes of the Church: That you induce the parents of the children to make use of these opportunities that are afforded them in the seminary system and the institute system of the Church and, for those qualified, in its university.
There is no use of our building buildings and manning them with teachers, unless students fill the halls. We are living in a day when the influence and power of those men, specialized in their training and understanding, is needed to assist in the matter of development of character and the nurturing of a living faith in our boys and girls, if we will just put them under the influences that are provided for their convenience. Above all a conviction concerning the purpose of life and their own eternal destiny realizable through righteous living and conformance to laws of God should be given to the youth of our time.
May God bless these teachers in their unselfish efforts, their earnest devotion, and their untiring endeavors to make the kind of men and women of our boys and girls that we would like to have them be, I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Elder Joseph F. Merrill
Joseph F. Merrill, Conference Report, October 1943, pp. 84-88
Brethren, we were informed that these meetings, except this one, would be on the air, so I prepared accordingly. But since this meeting is off the air I shall speak extemporaneously rather than from notes prepared on another topic.
A number of thoughts have passed through my mind during the sessions of this conference. There are two or three of them that I would like to speak about, extemporaneously. They have been suggested by things that were said here. When I attend a conference out in the stakes, and am the senior authority, I always ask to speak last; then I do not have to think about what I am going to say, because there have been so many good things and so many inspiring things said, that all I need to do is to say amen to what has preceded, and perhaps proceed to elaborate a little on some phase of what has gone before.
So I am doing that at this meeting. I can say a hearty amen to what has preceded. But the thought I have in mind is that we have had called to our attention the teaching of the gospel. I think the teaching of the gospel as we proclaim it goes forward under two great divisions, precept and example. Our missionaries go out into the world. They represent both divisions. They teach by precept, they teach by example.
MYSTERIES DEFINED
Now as to precept, I believe it is extremely important to confine our teaching to fundamentals. On this matter may I say I am strongly influenced, have been influenced for a considerable number of years, by the attitude of the late President A. W. Ivins. When we teach by precept, he said, we should confine our attention to things that are fundamental and leave mysteries alone. And, on asking what he would call a mystery, he said:
Suppose I read a passage of scripture; suppose you read it; suppose other brethren read it, and then we are asked what we think it means?
If our understanding is not essentially in agreement, that passage belongs to the realm of the mysteries. We should leave it alone, because the Lord has not revealed it in sufficient clearness and detail that we all understand it alike.
And therefore, it is your duty, the First Presidency ask you to make it your duty, to see that in our Church system of education, within the field of religion, at any rate, that mysteries be left alone.
He used to give me these admonitions when I was in the office of Commissioner of Education.
So in our meetings, in our circulars and whenever we had opportunity to contact our teachers, we delivered that message. And in our lessons also we tried to confine them to those things that were fundamental, those things that are necessary for us to understand while here, in order that we may properly govern our lives to comply with the commandments of the Lord, as they effect us, both in our faith and in our daily conduct.
I have carried that message ever since, to all the teaching groups that I have contacted, and to the missionaries in the field. I never meet a group of missionaries engaged in any religious teaching without in some form or another conveying that message to them.
President Ivins said, with respect to mysteries:
You know, as I know, that even our high priests' classes sometimes get to the hairpulling stage because each insists that his particular interpretation is the right interpretation. The result is that by delving into the realm of mysteries an immense amount of damage is done in this Church all the time.
I think I know something about the truth of that, because I have known cases where such has been true. It is something that has been, I think, a handicap to the development of our faith, and it is still a handicap.
TEACHING OF FUNDAMENTALS ESSENTIAL
Now, of course we have many classes in the Church. We have a number of organizations that carry forward classwork, and that classwork relates to our principles, to our doctrine, and to our practices. We are inclined, greatly inclined, my brethren, to leave the fundamental things, the essential things alone, or pass over them lightly because we think if we have an opportunity to exhibit some type of superior intelligence, or superior wisdom, or we have a clearer insight than our brethren, it is therefore a privilege for us to enlighten these brethren from our points of view. Well, those points of view, I tell the missionaries, are not applicable in teaching the gospel to the world.
I am asked a question: "What does this mean? How do you interpret it?" And I proceed, if I do as some of our people attempt to do, to tell what I think, and the questioner is not satisfied. He then asks another missionary and still another elder. But he is not satisfied with the answers because they do not agree. So he comes to the conclusion, "None of you know what you are talking about," and instead of having his faith developed in the fundamentals and essentials of our religion, he is cooled toward us.
I am a strong believer and advocate of the admonition that in our classwork, in our quorums, in our Sunday Schools, in our M.I.A. classes, and in all other gospel teaching classes, we confine our teachings to the essential things, the things that we understand, because the Lord has revealed them, either in our standard works, or through the mouths of the First Presidency of this Church, so plainly and clearly that we can accept and understand them alike. These things we may call fundamentals. But when we get beyond them I think we are getting on dangerous ground.
IMMORTALITY FOLLOWING PRESENT LIFE
Now, brethren, we are going to live a long, long time. We are not born to die. Of course in this state of our existence we shall not tarry long, but we are going beyond. We are immortal. We came from an immortal parentage, and we shall continue on and on and on.
In this connection, I remember something that President William R. Harper of the University of Chicago said at one of the commencement exercises-though there they call them convocations-in the month of June, 1897. I do not know what led him to say it, but I remember that in effect he said:
I do not want to go to the Christian heaven. I do not want to sit around the throne of grace with a crown on my head and sing praises forever to my Redeemer. I want to go to a sphere where I can continue my work, where I can continue to grow in knowledge and understanding and intelligence.
"Well," I thought, "brother, you want to go to the Mormon heaven." Well, yes, we are going to live a long, long time, and many of the things, that we would like to know, we will have an opportunity to learn, when we pass beyond this sphere, if we are willing to comply with the conditions for advancement. Now, of course, we are not going to come into the possession of knowledge and greater wisdom and understanding without effort. We are not made that way. That is not the way the Lord has planned. Yet we are taught that "as God now is, man may become." How may man become like God? By working, advancing, growing, increasing, by his efforts, and he will have a long, long time in which he can continue those efforts.
So, we needn't be discouraged if we don't learn everything here. It is impossible, of course.
TEACHING BY EXAMPLE
Now, there is another phase of this teaching I want to speak about, and that is the teaching by example. So far as we are concerned-those of us who are in this meeting-I think we ought to hold that method of teaching constantly in our minds: We teach by example.
You know it is said, and I think truthfully by many people, "I'd rather see a sermon any day than hear one." I think that is true, and we are called upon to teach-and that is what I tell nearly every returned missionary whom I interview in my office-we are called upon to teach every day of our lives by this method of example. I tell the returned missionaries whom I interview that they are released for the moment from the precept method. When will they be released from the method of example? Of course they say, "Never." That is true, not as long as they are fellowshipped in this Church, at any rate.
For most of us, I think, the example method is a far more effective teacher than our precept method. We are called upon, therefore, to live in harmony with our faith, with the principles of the gospel, with the teachings that the Lord has revealed to our understanding, which, if we will follow, will eventually lead us back into His presence.
Yes, brethren, we do know that we should love one another, we do know that we should teach the two great commandments by example as well as by precept, and we cannot effectively teach the second great commandment unless we live the Golden Rule. We must do unto others as we would have others do unto us. And a test of whether we are doing it or not, is just to imagine that we are in the other fellow's shoes and he is in ours. When we are in his shoes, how would we like to be treated?
Well, if we can reason and practice it in fairness, I think we can adopt a method of living that will not be very far from living the Golden Rule. Of course, we cannot live it completely, I think, because we are in a world of temptations, we are in a world of evil, and we are strongly influenced by what other people do and what they say, what they think, how they act, behave, and so on.
Again, we all inherit weaknesses from our forebears, to indulge some of which, from our point of view, from the Lord's way of life, is definitely sinful. Well, by reason of these weaknesses, the influence of the world, and the temptations of the Evil One, all of us find it so difficult to live fully and completely according to our teachings and standards, that we do not quite succeed. But anyhow, we are obligated to do our best to do it, particularly all of us who are here. I think perhaps every man in this meeting could stand on his feet and say, "Yes, I do know that the Lord lives; I do know that this is His work; I do know that the Priesthood of the Lord Jesus Christ has been given to us."
Well, if we can speak that positively-and certainly if we speak positively we are speaking according to our knowledge-we are obligated, brethren, to pay particular attention, I think, to the method of teaching by example.
It is so easy to be misunderstood that we must avoid the very appearance of evil, because if we do not, what will some of our people do? What will some not of us do? Well, they will charge us with delinquency, and while of course our principles and the Lord's way of life are absolutely independent of what I do, or what anyone of you does, the fact is that what I do and what you do, by reason of our positions of leadership, has great influence upon our brethren and our sisters, upon our fellow men.
I feel, therefore, that we are obligated, whether we like it or not, to deny ourselves some indulgences that, perhaps are not particularly sinful, but the example of which would be bad. We must remember our obligations. We have these brethren and sisters, some of whom are weak. They are ours. We are our brothers' keeper, and they are looking to us for guidance. They are looking to us as examples. I think we might remember continually that we are obligated to teach by example, and therefore we must deny ourselves of what many indulge in.
THE GOLDEN RULE A DAILY GUIDE
Now, among the greatest of these things that we need to keep in mind is this matter of the Golden Rule, this matter of the second great commandment. And so there must be love in our hearts, not only for one another whom we contact daily, but love for all our fellow men, because we are all children of our Father in Heaven, both in the spirit and in the flesh; and therefore the members of the human family are one hundred percent brothers and sisters, and I think a proper interpretation of loving our neighbors extends to the entire human family. Therefore we are obligated to love them, we are obligated to serve them to the extent of our opportunities; and we can serve them greatly, not by words of mouth alone, but by the example that we set.
The Lord help us, brethren, to be true to our obligations, to live according to our teachings, and to seek his guidance, because without it we shall make mistakes, serious mistakes, we shall fail many times, but if we can only enjoy the companionship of the Holy Spirit, which we may obtain if we fulfil the conditions necessary to get it, then we can teach acceptably, both by precept and by example, which may the Lord help us to do, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Stephen L Richards
Stephen L Richards, Conference Report, October 1943, pp. 91-96
I would like to use the limited time available to me at this conference to broadcast a message to the youth of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. These young people are not with us in our meetings. Restrictions on travel and other war necessities not only prevent their attendance, but have also hindered the functioning of the several organizations of the Church which are devoted principally to the care and education of the youth. For two years now no general conferences of the young peoples' organizations have been held and these groups have had but limited opportunities to meet in stake capacities. I want them to know, however, that they have not been forgotten and that the Church is now as always most ardently devoted to their welfare and advancement.
PROVISION FOR CARE AND TRAINING OF YOUTH
I believe it is safe to say that no organization has ever made more ample and adequate provision for the care and training of youth than has the restored Church of Christ. Since its organization it has devoted a very major portion of all its efforts to the education and development of children in the home, the school, and the Church. And not only has it provided almost unparalleled opportunities for their education but it has also placed upon youth responsibilities that have seldom, if ever, come to young people of comparable age. This has come about, in part, through the unique organization of the Church, and, in part, through the universal concept of its membership that everyone, old and young alike, who secures a knowledge and testimony of the restored gospel thereby becomes a potential missionary for the dissemination of the truth to all mankind.
Another most unusual circumstance supporting this concept is that all the young men of the Church, almost without exception, have been ordained to the holy Priesthood. Beginning at twelve years of age, all boys of good moral standing pass through three gradations or offices of the Priesthood by the time they reach the age of nineteen, and before they reach their majority nearly all of the young men of the Church come to hold the higher or Melchizedek Priesthood, which is the Priesthood after the order of the Son of God. It is needless to say that these offices of Priesthood bring to the boys obligations and opportunities for service. Through divine revelation there have come specific duties for each order of Priesthood and these duties entail a devotion, a discernment, and wisdom that might well become men of far more mature years. So that the Priesthood duties of boys within the Church are not trivial; they call for and promote manliness; and they fully support the premise that the youth can make large contributions to the support of the work of God.
RESPONSIBILITIES CARRIED BY THE YOUNG
The history of the Church is replete with such contributions. The Prophet Joseph was but fourteen when he received the first heavenly vision which initiated the work of the restored gospel. He was seventeen when he received the revelation of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. He was twenty-one when he was given the plates for translation, and he had not long passed his twenty-fourth birthday when he caused to be organized the restored Church with its marvelous institutions and a sizable part of the great body of theological doctrine and principle that has undergone the scrutiny of more than a century without discovering a single error in the fundamentals he announced. He lived only fourteen years after the Church was organized and died at an age young enough to have been included within the present draft of young men for military service.
The Prophet's associates in beginning the work of the Church were, with but few exceptions, very young men. Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, and Lorenzo Snow, who became presidents of the Church, assumed responsibilities very early in their lives. George A. Smith, grandfather of our present president of the Twelve, was only twenty-two when he was ordained to the apostleship, and our beloved President Grant was not yet twenty-six.
The missionary work of the Church has been carried on principally by young people. For many years the average age of missionaries did not exceed nineteen, and latterly it has scarcely been above twenty until the war made impossible the sending of more young men. The missionary labors of the young people of the Church are too well known to require much comment. I believe that their work measured in terms of devotion to a cause, expenditure of available time and means, and proportionate numbers of the whole group engaged, has fed, if any, counterparts in all history. What these young missionaries have accomplished in bearing God's word to the world would require volumes in the telling, and the appreciation of their efforts in the joy they have brought to the hearts of men, women, and children the world over is of a depth and a nature never to be told. Thousands upon thousands who are the beneficiaries of their unselfish Christ-like ministry rise up all over the land to call them blessed, and generations to come will look back upon them as the source of the most enduring happiness they will ever know.
OBLIGATION TO THOSE IN ARMED SERVICES
I cite these things in the hope of making my young friends in the Church more conscious of the part they have to play in this great work of the latter-days. I am cognizant of the fact that the young men of military age are not now available for Church service as they otherwise would be. I must address my remarks chiefly to the boys of pre-induction age and to the girls. These constitute a large group in the Church, and to them I would like to make a special appeal.
I also acknowledge the necessity of making the fullest possible contribution to the war effort and the country's service. We are impelled, not only by the circumstances, but by our sense of obligation to our own and other boys who are fighting the country's battles to give them the fullest possible cooperation and support in every way in which it is possible to help them. But while this is war and it is probably a good time, as someone has suggested, "to adjourn politics," it is no time to "adjourn" religion. We have a definite obligation to our soldiers who bear the brunt of this terrific ordeal to help preserve the worth-while things for which they are fighting-liberty, morality, and justice, and to try to make the country and the world worth their sacrifice and effort.
I don't need to argue with you, young men and women of the Church, that the true religion of Jesus Christ is essential to make the kind of world which the thoughtful, high-principled, young men of the Church and of America are fighting to establish. You know that they want to come back to a decent society that has not been ruined by crime and moral perversion. You know that they want to come back to sweethearts and girls yet to be sweethearts who are worthy of their fidelity and devotion, and worthy to be true mothers in countless homes yet to be established, and you know that they want to come back to wholesome education, to good opportunities for making a living, and to mothers and fathers and brothers and sisters and dear friends whom they prize more than anything else in the world, and of whom they proudly boast as being the finest, the sweetest, and the most exemplary of all people in the earth.
Now, my first appeal to you young men and women is not to disappoint these gallant fellows who have gone to defend your liberties and the things you prize most. They are counting on you, and I think an enemy bullet would not hurt your soldier brother more than information telling him that in his absence his sister had forsaken the high ideals that he ascribes to noble womanhood, or that his brother had been a cad and lacked the courage and manhood to maintain standards of truth and honor. Young folk, you cannot, you will not, be guilty of such treason against your fighting brothers.
Is it not treason to betray the cause these soldiers support; to turn liberty into licentiousness, to mock the God of the land, to violate the high principles upon which the republic was founded? In the long run could any traitor do more damage than those who violate the sanctity of home, the purity of womanhood, and otherwise corrupt the morals and honor of our national life? You are to live in this country and with society longer than some of us, my young friends. It will be a great source of regret to you, for all your lives to come, if you do not make it a good and decent place to live in.
FUTURE MISSIONARY WORK
Now, I do not wish to dwell on the gloomy side of the picture. There is unfortunately much discouraging information and statistical data which might be presented, but I pass over these items because I indulge the confidence that when my young friends of the Church come to realize the opportunities that lie ahead of them they will devote themselves to making preparations for the future. It is of these opportunities and this preparation that I wish to speak briefly.
Every young man and many young women of the Church can look forward to missionary experience. The Church is essentially a missionary Church, its chief objective being to proclaim and establish the gospel of Jesus Christ among men. As I said before, foreign missionary work has been carried forward largely by young people. At the present time very few young missionaries are in the field and in the course of a few months almost none will be left. It is possible that a good many young men who would, except for military service, have been available for missions, may never now have that opportunity. Upon their return from the war many will take on family responsibilities and be unable to leave their homes for missionary service. In these circumstances, we must look to the group to whom I now speak-men of pre-draft age and some of our young women, to be our principal missionaries in the near future. I most earnestly hope that this group will prepare themselves for the service. In this preparation I see three chief items which I shall mention.
PREPARATION FOR MISSIONARY LABORS
First, young men and young women should make financial preparation. Many are now receiving high wages. I know of nothing better to do with any excess money than to save for a mission. Such purposeful saving will accomplish several things. It will deter excessive spending. It will reduce the temptations which come with excessive spending. It will establish thrift habits. It will retard inflation. It will put purpose into earning, and it will ultimately bring great blessings to many people. From the reports which have come on young people's earnings, I feel warranted in saying that many hundreds of missions could be totally or partially financed by a consistent practice of saving for that purpose.
In this respect, I should like to reinforce counsel which has long been given to parents to pay their debts and put their houses in such financial order that they can contribute to the proclamation of the gospel and the support of missionaries. I well remember numbers of families in the days of economic stress whose bandage in debt and financial difficulties made impossible this worthy attainment for many a Latter-day Saint home.
It is readily conceivable that after the war the Church may have need for and opportunities to use far more missionaries than it has heretofore maintained in the field, although previous numbers have been very great. New fields of labor may be opened and a more kindly reception offered our missionaries in many parts of the world. Some influences which have heretofore made our entry into countries and among people almost impossible may be broken down. I feel that the opportunities of the future may tax our missionary resources to a much extended limit. May all be prepared when the day comes.
The next item that I urge is education-education to expound the true principles of the mighty cause we have the honor to represent. This education comprehends school learning, gospel understanding, and spiritual development. Boys and girls who contemplate a mission should neglect no opportunities which their facilities afford to acquire good study habits and as much knowledge of history, man, and the universe as they can possibly secure.
I wish to lay stress on the knowledge of gospel doctrine and principle which every missionary should possess. It is true that with the adaptability of youth many missionaries secure a good working knowledge of the gospel after they reach their mission fields. Unfortunately, however, a good deal of time most valuable to the missionaries and those whom they serve is lost in so postponing gospel education. With the facilities which the Church maintains, this equipment could be had before the missionary leaves home. If he would avail himself fully of opportunities offered in Priesthood quorums, Sunday Schools, Mutual Improvement Associations, and other activities, he could if he would, be prepared to present the distinctive messages of the restored gospel clearly and impressively before he reaches his field of labor. He could have practice, too, in the exposition of the gospel, for he would be welcomed into the ranks of those who carry the gospel to our neighbors within the stakes of Zion. Such education and practice would save thousands of dollars expended for missionaries' maintenance during the learning period of their mission. On this matter of gospel education, I should like to ask a question. Will the election, which we are told each one of God's children is to make as to whether or not he will receive the gospel of Christ, be binding upon the one who makes it unless the principles of the gospel have been adequately presented to him clearly and understandingly? I know of no way to secure a presentation that will suffice except through preparation and testimony.
TESTIMONY NECESSARY TO SUCCESS IN MISSIONARY WORK
That brings me to the final item in a missionary's equipment-testimony and spiritual influence. Before missionary experience is attained it may be difficult to establish these essentials in the minds and hearts of youth. I shall have to get my young friends to take the word of those who have had opportunity to observe the missionary process, that the spiritual influence of the missionary is the most important converting factor at his disposal. Now spiritual influence is the product of disposition and living. No one ever acquires it who does not want it and live for it. It is in reality the spirit of God manifest through man. We often call it testimony because it is characterized by a deep and abiding conviction of the existence of God and the truth of his gospel. It is the expression of perfect faith and a sincere love for God's children. If our young people could but know its worth, I am sure they would strive for it.
HAPPINESS IN WHOLESOME LIVING
To secure spiritual influence is not a joy-killing operation. It is a mistake to think that it robs youth of the zest and beauty of young life. It puts only one limitation on all the aspirations and desires of youth, and that is to do nothing that is not good. Experience, as well as divine principle, has taught us that there is no enduring happiness except in goodness, and the Church seeks only the lasting happiness of its young people, as well as the old.
So I say to my young friends everywhere-enjoy the happy days of youth. Live life joyously, beautifully, unmarred by the ugliness of sin. Show to the world what good, wholesome living will do for the oncoming generations. Demonstrate your gratitude for good homes, loving families, and great opportunities and prepare for happy days ahead when the army of liberators shall have won the victory and broken down the barriers so that you may go forth as an army of peace and good will to invade the countries of the earth and take to men everywhere the pure, restored gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. God keep and preserve you for that great and holy mission, I humbly pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
Elder Joseph Fielding Smith
Joseph Fielding Smith, Conference Report, October 1943, pp. 96-98
Believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
PURPORTED SPIRITUAL MANIFESTATIONS
It has only been a few weeks since I was approached at a stake conference by a good brother who said there was a gentleman there who had a very important message that he wished to present to me, and would I please give him an interview. So the interview was arranged. This man stated that he had been visited by one of the three Nephite disciples, and he told me a very fantastic story. After listening to it patiently until he had finished, I said to him, "If you have had a vision or manifestation, it is your duty to keep it to yourself; it is not for the Church, and I advise you not to repeat it." I hardly think that was the counsel he was seeking.
In the past few months I have received a number of communications from various parts of the Church, from good, honest-thinking people who have made inquiry regarding some purported visions and dreams which are being circulated in all parts of the Church. These inquirers wish to know what my judgment is concerning these purported visions. We have also had certain individuals traveling among our people, prevailing on some of the bishops to let them hold meetings where they could relate to the people their remarkable experiences which they claim to have had. They have on their own responsibility held cottage meetings and invited the people, and some have been foolish enough to go and listen to these stories as they have been told.
Now, I think it is wrong for any bishop or anyone else to invite these people who profess to have had a dream or a vision, or some kind of manifestation, into a meetinghouse, or even into the homes and gather the people in to listen to these presentations. In my judgment it is contrary to the teachings of the Church. When John said, "Believe not every spirit, but try the spirits," he did not mean that we should spend our time accepting or encouraging every wind of doctrine, but that we should prove every doctrine by the revelations of the Lord; by those principles of eternal truth which have been revealed for our guidance. We have certain standards which have been accepted and by which we are to be governed.
REVELATIONS FROM THE LORD THE STANDARD
If I should say something which is contrary to that which is written in the standard works of the Church, and accepted by the Authorities of the Church and approved by the Church generally, no one is under obligation to accept it. Everything that I say and everything that any other person says must square itself with that which the Lord has revealed, or it should be rejected.
Paul said, "Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy". Well, this counsel is very good; but do we understand what Paul meant by the gift of prophecy? When the angel appeared to John on the Isle of Patmos, and he appeared in glory, John fell before him upon his knees and was about to worship him, but the messenger said to John:
See thou do it not: I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
The Prophet Joseph Smith has said that every member of the Church should be a prophet, meaning, of course, that he should have that testimony of Jesus and keep himself in perfect accord with the Spirit of the Lord so that he could recognize truth and the Lord could reveal the truth to him, so that he might comprehend it. Every man in the Church has the right to receive revelation for his own guidance, but not for the guidance of the Church. Back in the very beginning, when the Church was only a few months old in this dispensation, certain individuals arose claiming to have had manifestations and visions for the Church, and they led some of the members astray. There was a woman by the name of Hubble who claimed to have revelations, and some of the members of the Church listened to her. One of the eight witnesses of the Book of Mormon, Hiram Page, began to have manifestations, and he was able to have influence over others. He persuaded some of the Whitmers and even Oliver Cowdery, to accept the things that he proclaimed. The result was that the Lord had to give a revelation correcting all of this sort of thing, but before it was corrected the Prophet had a difficult time to get some of his brethren to understand that what had been given by Hiram Page, and Mrs. Hubble, and others, was not of the Lord.
THE LORD SPEAKS THROUGH HIS PROPHETS
In that revelation, which was given in February, 1831, the Lord said this:
O hearken, ye elders of my church, and give ear to the words which I shall speak unto you.
For behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, that ye have received a commandment for a law unto my church, through him whom I have appointed unto you to receive commandments and revelations from my hand.
And this ye shall know assuredly-that there is none other appointed unto you to receive commandments and revelations until he be taken, if he abide in me.
But verily, verily, I say unto you, that none else shall be appointed unto this gift except it be through him; for if it be taken from him he shall not have power except to appoint another in his stead.
And this shall be a law unto you, that ye receive not the teachings of any that shall come before you as revelations or commandments;
And this I give unto you that you may not be deceived, that you may know they are not of me.
For verily I say unto you, that he that is ordained of me shall come in at the gate and be ordained as I have told you before, to teach those revelations which you have received and shall receive through him whom I have appointed.
This ought to be clear enough for us all. If the Lord has a revelation or a commandment to give to His people, it is going to come from the head, and when someone else comes among the people professing to have revelations and to give commandments we can test that matter very readily. We do not have to go into any details or make an extended examination of the claims, there is no need of any investigation whatever, because the Lord has given us the key as a law to the Church by which we are to be governed.
SEEK FOR THE BEST GIFTS
Now, again, in another revelation which was given a short time later, in March, 1831, the Lord said this:
But ye are commanded in all things to ask of God, who giveth liberally; and that which the Spirit testifies unto you even so I would that ye should do in all holiness of heart, walking uprightly before me, considering the end of your salvation, doing all things with prayer and thanksgiving, that ye may not be seduced by evil spirits, or doctrines of devils, or the commandments of men; for some are of men, and others of devils.
Wherefore, beware lest ye are deceived; and that ye may not be deceived seek ye earnestly the best gifts, always remembering for what they are given;
For verily I say unto you, they are given for the benefit of those who love me and keep all my commandments, and him that seeketh so to do; that all may be benefited that seek or that ask of me, that ask and not for a sign that they may consume it upon their lusts.
In conclusion, I will say that I agree with Paul, that prophecy is a wonderful gift, one that should be sought, for the gift of prophecy is the gift of revelation and may be received for the personal guidance of each member of the Church. I also think that the gift of discernment is a gift everyone should seek, so that we may not be deceived. If we have the spirit by which we can discern the hearts of men, and the doctrines of men, and interpret the inspiration of the Lord, then we shall not be deceived. Again the Lord has said, "And whoso treasureth up my word shall not be deceived". This does not mean merely the reading of the word, but that we put it into practice.
May the Lord bless us, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Alma Sonne
Alma Sonne, Conference Report, October 1943, pp. 99-100
My brethren, I am full of fear and apprehension as I face this large audience of Church leaders. I have been deeply touched, as you have, by the stirring messages which have come to us in song and in sermon. I have been trying to summarize the messages which we have received, and as I have done so, the words of Jesus have come to my mind with force and persistence:
Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
The Master's words never grow old and trite. They come with the freshness of today, and are never outworn and obsolete. They are always vital and timely. I have seen men grow wealthy and influential in worldly things and at the same time grow exceedingly poor in spiritual things. I do not discount material achievements, but deplore the acquisition of such power and influence at a loss of the higher goal in life.
In 1846, Brigham Young stood on the fringe of the great western desert. He looked to the eastward and saw the cities abandoned by the Saints. He jotted down in his diary a statement something like this:
Our homes, our orchards, our farms, our schools, our churches, our temples, and our public buildings, we leave as a monument to our patriotism, our toil, our devotion, our industry, our integrity, and our honesty of purpose.
And he might have added, "our faith."
With Brigham Young first things came first. He knew there were things, even more important than lands and homes and worldly comforts, things like freedom, the right to worship, the right to grow and develop under the inspiration and guidance of Christian ideals. What better testimony could he give of their integrity and their faith? Here was the workmanship of their own hands. Here were the fruits of their labors, the results of their strivings and sacrifice and struggle. All of it they placed on the altar rather than compromise, and rather than forsake their standards and the guiding principles which sustained them.
I read an article recently, written by George E. Sokolsky and appearing in The Deseret News. He discusses the Bible as a guide to human progress. Said he:
I am sure that one of our major difficulties, and when I say "our," I mean the whole of mankind, is that we have lost guidance, moving rapidly without compass, for the man without guidance lives in a vacuum, nothing has come before and he can find no road to the future. I turn to the wisdom of the ages, and find there a transcendent comfort, for those who would destroy are a multitude, but the builder is often and wearily alone.
The wisdom of the ages to which he refers is the holy Bible. History has proved that humanity needs guidance and enlightenment. Without guidance man is a law unto himself. He falters and fails. There are signposts everywhere, but men, in their eagerness to pursue their own course, pass them by. God knows His children. He has made provision for their safety and their security. Christ's gospel is the beacon light to guide humanity. It points the way of salvation. It has come to earth in its fulness to lead the children of men back to God. The true end and felicity of man lies in the enjoyment of God's favor, and His saving power.
Joseph Smith brought to light a great revelation given to Abraham of old. "We will prove them herewith," said God to Abraham, "to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them; and they who keep their first estate shall be added upon;... and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads forever and forever".
Divine guidance for a wise and holy purpose is thus assured to Abraham and his children to the latest generation. One of the most powerful sermons ever delivered by man was preached by Peter to the Jews on the day of Pentecost. It was persuasive and convincing and touched deeply the hearts of the listeners. They were pricked in their hearts and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?". It was a cry of despair and remorse, an appeal for enlightenment. Said Peter:
... Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
May we heed the counsel and the guidance which we receive as members of Christ's Church, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Harold B. Lee
Harold B. Lee, Conference Report, October 1943, pp. 100-105
PIONEER LABORS
When our Pioneer fathers came to this semi-arid country they settled on the mountain streams without the benefits of which they could not have made their homes or established communities. They organized themselves into irrigation companies in order that the water so vital to their welfare might be properly distributed, each man receiving shares according to his need. They builded ditches and canals; they constructed reservoirs to hold back the spring run-off for late summer use. They gave special attention to the securing of culinary water that they might have from the mountain springs the purest of the water for human use. They were aware of the fact that if they carried this water long distances in open ditches there was danger of pollution; that disease and epidemic might result, unless there be a special care given. With that in mind they safe-guarded the channels, and later constructed pipe-lines that were placed below the level of the ground to protect from heat and frost. To enjoy the benefits of this system, it was necessary that they work together, each man receiving an assessment which he was expected to pay either in labor or in money, and for the maintenance of such a system each was required to pay his annual dues. Those who refused to accept such obligations were penalized by the company's refusing to deliver the water that they were therefore not entitled to.
GOSPEL ESSENTIAL TO SPIRITUAL LIFE
Just as water was and is today essential to the physical life of those who settle in this country, just so is the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ essential to the spiritual life of God's children. That analogy is suggested by the words of the Savior to the woman at the well in Samaria, when He said: "...whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life".
Great reservoirs of spiritual water, called scriptures, have been provided in this day and have been safeguarded that all might partake and be spiritually fed, and that they thirst not. That these scriptures have been considered of great importance, is indicated by the words of the Savior, "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me"; and the experience of the Nephites being sent back to procure the brass plates which contained the scriptures so vital to the welfare of the people. The use of those scriptures was suggested in the statement of Nephi when he said, "... for I did liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning". And again, when Laban forbade their use of these scriptures, the angel declared it were better that one man should perish than a whole nation dwindle and perish in unbelief. Through these generations the messages from our Father have been safeguarded and carefully protected, and mark you likewise that in this day the scriptures are the purest at their source, just as the waters were purest at the mountain source; the purest word of God, and that least apt to be polluted. is that which comes from the lips of the living prophets who are set up to guide Israel in our own day and time.
The distribution system which our Heavenly Father has provided is known as the Church and kingdom of God to give aid to His great an divine purpose in bringing to pass the immortality and the eternal life of man, whereby eternal joy might come. But because of the free agency which our Father in His wisdom has vouchsafed to us, His children, the dangers of pollution are great, for ever beckoning with tinsel show and with gaudily wrapped packages, with neon signs beckoning on every hand, the devil has tried to entrap, and under the label of "pleasures" he has sought to dissuade mankind from a straight course which would lead to eternal happiness. Pleasure-mad crowds surge at the bargain counters of him who would thus destroy.
PRIESTHOOD QUORUMS CHANNELS OF TRUTH
The Priesthood quorums and the auxiliary organizations are the carefully guarded channels provided within the Church through which precious truths are to be disseminated. Some have speculated that the strength of this Church lies in the tithing system; some have thought in the missionary system; but those who understand rightly the word of the Lord understand full well that the strength of the Church is, fundamentally, in neither of these. The strength of the Church is not in a large membership, but the real strength of this Church lies in the power and authority of the holy Priesthood which our Heavenly Father has given to us in this day. If we exercise properly that power and magnify our callings in the Priesthood, we Will see to it that the missionary work shall go forward, that the tithing shall be paid, that the Welfare plan prospers, that our homes shall be safe, and that morality among the youth of Israel shall be safeguarded.
Just as in the illustration of the water system, however, we have certain obligations which we must assume if we are to be blessed. The price we pay for these eternal blessings and the right to use of this eternal stream of water is first, to yield obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel, second, to render willing and unselfish sacrifice, and third to assume responsibility and our obligation to serve our fellow men whereby we might gain rights and titles to blessings that our Heavenly Father has in store for us. Every faithful Church member can bear witness to the joy and extreme happiness that comes to one who has kept the law; but, perhaps all of us can likewise bear witness to the anguish and the disappointment that come through lack of obedience and through our own negligence.
EXPERIENCES OF AN ARMY DOCTOR
Last June I was in an army camp, up near Corvallis, Oregon, I listened to a young Latter-day Saint army doctor tell of an experience he had down in one of the islands just off the raging battle of Guadalcanal. He said they had established a hospital base back away from the front line where they were receiving the wounded that were now coming from that area. Because of their limited facilities and the great need of medical attention by so many wounded, it was necessary that someone look carefully over the men who were brought in, that those who were most seriously wounded might be attended to first, and his was the task of making the initial examination as the boys came ashore. As he leaned over to these boys who were conscious, he would whisper to them, ask them how they were feeling, and would ask each one, "What church do you belong to?"
On one occasion as he leaned close to the ear of one boy, pretty badly wounded, and asked him what church he belonged to, the boy whispered back, "I am a Mormon." The doctor said, "Well, I'm a Mormon, too. I'm an elder in the Church. Is there anything you would like me to do for you?" The boy, as he clenched his teeth, with resolute white face, replied, "I'd like you to administer to me." The doctor said, "I took out my little bottle of consecrated oil, and there before the gaze of all, because there was no chance for privacy, I anointed his head with oil, by the authority of the holy Priesthood. I blessed him that he might be made well. I took him into the hospital tent for the care that he so much needed, and returned back to the other wounded men. By a strange coincidence I found the next boy that I approached was likewise one of our own Latter-day Saint boys, and I asked him the same question, "What would you like me to do?" and he replied, "I'd like a cigarette." I said, "I think I could get you a cigarette," and as the boy started to smoke the cigarette I said to him, "Son, are you sure there is nothing else you would like me to do for you now?" Tears filled the boy's eyes. He said, "Yes, there is, doctor, but I'm afraid I am not entitled to ask for what's in my heart. I wonder if the Lord would have a blessing for me. Would you administer to me?" I said, "We'll leave that for our Heavenly Father to judge. If you want a blessing, I shall be his servant in asking the Lord to give you that blessing."
WORK OF THE CHURCH AMONG SOLDIERS
I ask you, my brethren, what condition are our boys in? What part have you, played in preparing them to partake deeply of the streams of eternal life? A great missionary work is going forward under the guidance of the Church today among these forty thousand Mormon boys out in armed service. In this missionary work, under the authority of the Priesthood, they have been organized into M.I.A. groups and have been prepared to partake of these things which our Lord has for them. On my desk I have a picture of a group over in New Guinea who are holding a sacrament service. Their rifles are across their knees, which evidences the fact that they are on alert and expecting attack any moment. I read in a letter how down on the Midway Island our boys likewise gathered around to hold sacrament services. Said the boy writing this letter, "... because we felt if the Church could come that close to us we would feel better and our minds would be relieved." And when I read the story of the boy who, with five companions flew over in a plane, by permission of their commanding officers in Sicily, to administer to one of their sick comrades who had been severely wounded, when I read of a boy getting the names of our boys who had been killed in this last campaign down in Italy, securing the places where they were to be buried or had been buried that he might go there and dedicate their graves; when I read of the stories of their holding Sunday services out in the olive groves of that place, their songs rending the Sabbath air, I remember the words that have come from our Father:
And that thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world, thou shall go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day.
I can't think of the work being done among these boys, and the results therefrom, without remembering that if there be thirty-two thousand Latter-day Saints in the war-torn countries of Europe as has been stated in this conference, approximately fifty percent of these live in the nations we now call the Axis powers. If the same percentage of boys have been called from among the Saints there as have been called here, there are probably no fewer that seven or eight hundred of our Latter-day Saint boys who hold the Priesthood bearing the arms in those nations we call our enemies. Oh, I pray that the channel of communication will be opened to those boys whom we can't reach with M.I.A. organizations, to whom we cannot send books, to whom we cannot give the ministrations of the Priesthood. I pray God that He will save our boys in those countries who perhaps are no more guilty of wrongdoing than our own loved boys in this country, and yet are suffering the pangs of a terrible war.
FAITHFULNESS SHOWN BY A YOUNG GIRL
I met a young girl over at the Lion House last summer where I had been speaking to a group of a hundred and fifty or two hundred girls who had come to Salt Lake City from outside of the city for work here. After the meeting, this young girl came up to me, with a sparkle in her eyes, and showed me a picture of a handsome soldier boy down in Australia. From behind his picture she took out and unfolded a paper that proved to be his baptismal certificate. She said, as she filled with emotion, "I left that boy six months ago-I thought, never to see him again, because I told him that I could not be married, except it was in the temple of our God, for time and eternity. He was not a member of the Church, but after he felt he began to think, and he began to study. Six months have gone past, and on my birthday he sent me this and says in his letter, 'I am now preparing myself, so that when I return I can be sealed to you, my sweetheart, in the house of the living God.'"
There was a girl who had drunk deeply from the fountain of spiritual waters, and hers will be a well of living water, springing up into everlasting life. And so we might go on.
PLEA FOR GUARDIANSHIP BY LEADERS
Latter-day Saints, you bearers of the Priesthood, and leaders in Israel, may we see to it that the streams that guard youth, that guard our homes, are kept unpolluted, because of ever-watchful care that we shall exercise in this trying day. May we be not unmindful of the counsel of Our Father in these fatherly words:
... provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their Lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately.
And then, again in our day:
Wherefore. fear not even unto death; for in this world your joy is not full, but in me your joy is full. Therefore, care not for the body neither for the life of the body; but care for the soul and for the life of the soul. And seek the face of the Lord always, that in patience ye may possess your souls, and ye shall have eternal life.
God bless us to seek always the face of our Heavenly Father. May we without fear, even unto death, protect the fountains of truth, and if it need be in this day that our lives be given for the protection of that truth, may we do so willingly and with the seal of approval of our Heavenly Father upon us, I pray humbly, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Untitled
Elder Antoine R. Ivins
Antoine R. Ivins, Conference Report, October 1943, pp. 109-111
My dear brethren, if I say anything to you that will be worth while this afternoon, I shall need your faith and prayers, so please extend them in my behalf.
INTERESTING VISIT TO MISSION
Most of the month of September I spent visiting the North Central States Mission, in company with President Richards, his wife, and my wife. I bring to you, who are the fathers of those missionaries, their greetings, and the report that they are all well and happy, and doing an excellent work.
I went into that mission to find, as I went from place to place that I was asked to meet people who are not of our faith, in numbers equal, almost, to those of the converted members resident in the branches. I was faced with the problem of explaining to them why we are there, and why we are working in the world as we are.
I wonder if it would be well for us to think occasionally about ourselves in that light, what we want to tell the world. Many of you who are here today are missionaries in the stakes of Zion, and you are faced with that problem likewise.
As I faced those audiences, I felt impressed to bear testimony to the restoration of the gospel in this day and age. I remembered that Christ told Peter that he would found His church upon the testimony that He is the Son of God. I remembered also that when the Prophet Joseph Smith was alive that the world appeared to have a very hazy idea as to the personality of God. They were shocked and surprised when that lad told them that he had gone into the woods to ask God for wisdom, and that both God the Father and Christ His Son had appeared to him, in vision, and that he saw them as glorified Beings.
PERSONALITY OF GOD
The world was shocked to think that God, after all, might have a personality of that kind; and generally speaking, I believe, that idea is not to this day accepted, for they rely upon a certain scripture in the New Testament which says, "God is a God of spirit", and they say: "All the world knows that spirit is immaterial."
I called to their attention the fact that the Prophet Joseph Smith teaches that there is no such thing as immateriality in the world, and that even spirit is matter, and substance; and if God is a God of spirit, and if spirit is matter, then God is material, and thus can have a definite form. The scripture which says that God created man in his own image, is a real and true scripture, and when the Prophet Joseph Smith was given that wonderful blessing, he saw God in His true form.
While we worship God the Father, His Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost, we have a different idea as to their personality and being from that which the world at large possesses. It was the restoration of that truth, among others, that was essential at that time. When we tell the world that they have gone astray, we do nothing more than quote the word of Christ our Lord to the Prophet Joseph Smith, and there is no egotism on our own part when we say it. We accept the responsibility of that announcement in humility and faith.
I found that there are many people who are blessed with that interpretation of God, even among those who are not of our faith. They are pleased with the thought that God can be real, that there is no confusion in that scripture, after all, but that he is a definite personality. I taught them our method of faith in that type of God.
I believe as our many friends who have come amongst us here inquire as to why Mormonism, that that, perhaps, shall be our first explanation: that God is real, and truly a being, and that he has restored the gospel.
THE FIRST PRINCIPLES OF THE GOSPEL NECESSARY
Then I taught them that the Priesthood of God was restored through the instrumentality of heavenly beings, and that we are the custodians of that Priesthood, as we were told by Brother Richards in his address here at this Conference. I taught them faith and repentance and baptism.
The law of repentance is a law that is ever active among us. I read that there is nothing so apparent to man as his own imperfection, that life is a struggle to reduce that imperfection. No man can compare himself with his ideals and be proud or haughty. The proud and the haughty are only they who compare themselves with more unfortunate people than they. There is no place in the heart of man for pride or arrogance, and there is room, every day that we live, for repentance on the part of man.
Repentance is the recognition of improper ways of living, the resolution to depart from them, and the final putting in the place of those bad ways of life the correct and superior methods of doing things. And if there is ever a day in the lives of anyone of us when that type of repentance does not have place, I will be surprised.
When God told certain of His servants, through the Prophet Joseph Smith, that the thing they could best do for their own spiritual welfare was to cry repentance to this generation. He knew exactly what He said, and repentance is the thing that we most need, all of us, every day of our lives.
Along with the law of repentance comes a law of forgiveness. We are told that though our sins shall be as scarlet, if we repent, honestly and sincerely, and do them no more, we shall be washed as white as wool.
Now, repentance brings that forgiveness. There are too many of us, however, who, when we say that we forgive, forget that forgiveness means the washing away of our remembrance of those things. Forgiveness availeth a man nothing, so long as we who pretend to forgive hold before our eyes when we consider him, his past record. If we are going to forgive a person, being convinced of his sincere and honest repentance, offer reinstatement and forgiveness, we must forget. We must accept him as of today, with a clean heart and an honest motive, and we must give him his opportunity.
I believe that it is in that spirit that God accepts of us through repentance, and that He will actually forget our offenses against Him if our repentance is sincere, and our future conduct honorable and upright, such as to justify His confidence. Wherever you go, you find the past record of people following them from place to place after we have forgiven them. I would ask your indulgence to give them an honest "break." That is what repentance means to me.
And then we have to teach those people in the world the necessity for baptism, and our method of baptism, which is not unique with us at all, because it was one established by Christ, and it has persisted in certain quarters of the world. But baptism by immersion for the forgiveness of sin, the remission of sin, is a cardinal principle with us. The why and the wherefore, we leave with God, for Christ has said it is necessary. "Whomsoever ye baptize shall be saved", and whoever is not baptized and rejects the teaching will be damned. It is essential, because Christ has said so.
The symbolism is an interesting study, and means much to us. It is only necessary because Christ has said so, and God established it from the beginning as a principle of redemption for mankind.
These and many other things we had the pleasure of testifying to these good people, and we hope that we did them good. We know full well that we ourselves were benefited and blessed, and I feel that these are cardinal things that we should contemplate every day of our lives. If we are sincere in our testimony, such contemplation will benefit and bless us, and make us better.
STRENGTH IN TESTIMONY
The strength and the power of this Church is in the testimony of its members, for Christ said, "Upon this rock I will build my church" -upon the testimony that He is the Son of God. In every generation and every place where the Church has been established, it has been introduced by that testimony, and so long as that testimony was retained in the hearts of the members and followers of Christ, strength and power and vigor characterized the organization.
If there ever comes a time that the members of this Church shall fail in that testimony, the Church will go down to destruction. Fortunately, Christ has told us that He will never take it from the earth so long as we are faithful, and my faith leads me to believe that there is the power within this Church to maintain that testimony in vigor and strength; and that God will keep us all firm in it, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Redeemer. Amen.
Elder John A. Widtsoe
John A. Widtsoe, Conference Report, October 1943, pp. 112-116
My dear brethren: I hold it a great privilege to be allowed to bear witness of the truth of this work to the assembled priesthood leadership of the Church. I bear testimony to you that this is the work of God, established by Him through the instrumentality of the Prophet Joseph Smith.
FORMULA FOR A TESTIMONY
This testimony I found in my early youth. It has remained with me as a certain knowledge all these years. I have discovered, as you have, I am quite, sure, the method by which such a testimony may be kept alive, blossoming, useful in human life. The formula is simple: Live the gospel every day, practice it, and study it regularly; do not let the affairs of the day that deal with the making of our temporal living crowd aside matters that pertain to the gospel. If we use this formula, our testimony will become increasingly certain, will grow, will expand in meaning and comprehension.
OBJECTIVE OF CHURCH TO BRING PEACE
During these days of Conference I have enjoyed, with all of you a feast of good things. During the days a thought has come into my mind repeatedly and has crowded out any preparation that I may have made for this occasion. It is an ancient theme, touched upon by several speakers at this conference. If the Lord will help me, I should like to discuss it with you briefly.
This is a Church of peace. The gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is a gospel of peace. The head of the Church, the Lord Jesus Christ, was spoken of in Brother McKay's address, as the Prince of Peace. If we study the conditions of the Church, its principles, its practices, all that pertains to it, we shall find that they all converge upon one great objective-the establishment of peace upon earth and among the children of men. That is the objective which dates back to the beginning of mortal time.
This matter of peace appears and reappears in the scriptures. It was Brother Kirkham, yesterday, who quoted the Savior: "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you".
At this particular time in the world's history, we have much to say about peace. The devil for some time has been given ample dominion over his own; but we understand, that there never was a time when the hand of the Lord was wholly withdrawn from human affairs. Apparently the tide of battle is now being turned by the Lord toward victory for those who are battling for righteous principles.
Therefore, men are speaking about peace, and what is going to happen after the war. Books and articles are being published, there is a deluge of written material setting up propositions and proposals relative to the disposition of all mankind and all human affairs after the war is over.
I want to say to my brethren here today that these proposals begin at the wrong end, and that they will all fail. Peace upon earth is not to be established by Congress or Parliament, or by a group of international representatives. Peace is not a thing that can be taken on, then taken off again, as we do a piece of clothing. Peace is quite different from that. Peace cannot be legislated into existence. It is not the way to lasting peace upon earth. That, every man here understands.
Remember, the Savior Himself tried to point that out to us, for when he spoke to his disciples and said, "Peace I give unto you, peace I leave with you," He added, "Not as the world giveth, give I unto you".
Peace comes from within; peace is myself, if I am a truly peaceful man. The very essence of me must be the spirit of peace. Individuals make up the community, and the nation-an old enough doctrine, which we often overlook-and the only way to build a peaceful community is to build men and women who are lovers and makers of peace. Each individual, by that doctrine of Christ and His Church, holds in his own hands the peace of the world.
That makes me responsible for the peace of the world, and makes you individually responsible for the peace of the world. The responsibility cannot be shifted to someone else. It cannot be placed upon the shoulders of Congress or Parliament, or any other organization of men with governing authority.
I wonder if the Lord did not have that in mind when he said:... "the kingdom of God is within you", or perhaps we should re-emphasize it and say: "The kingdom of God is within you."
PEACE COMES FROM WITHIN
I believe that our problems in this day and age are in some respects the most terrible in the whole history of the world, and the most difficult to understand. Yet we know that peace and all that pertains to it must come from within honest human hearts who have been drilled and tested in righteousness.
The question may be asked, Is it really possible for such individuals to be vanquished, shall we say, by peace? Is it possible for such individuals to be so multiplied in number, as to make of the earth a happy, peaceful dwelling place. The answer which we give to the world is that if a man but conform to, if he be in harmony with, eternal law, peace will be his. That is a simple formula which refers to body, mind, and spirit, and to our neighbors. If I obey the physical laws of the body, physical peace will be mine. If I obey the laws of mental health, I shall be mentally at peace. If I obey the spiritual laws which God has given, I shall likewise find peace, the highest peace. If I love my neighbors, even as I love myself and my God, and all men do the same, there will be complete social peace. Such obedience can be yielded; such harmony can be won. It has been done by men; it can be done again. Such harmony with law lies at the foundation of the problem of our searching and reaching out for peace in our troubled world.
There may be some here who have tried to pay a part of the tithing due the Lord. Has peace remained in their hearts? Ask ourselves! There may be those, like the soldier mentioned by Brother Lee this morning, who have been taught the Word of Wisdom, and have failed to keep it. There was not peace in the heart of our soldier brother when he lay wounded and in dire need of divine help. There is not peace in our hearts when we disobey the law. Conformity to the law alone brings peace.
But before we can obey we must know and understand the law. Thereby hangs a tale so long that it is impossible to discuss it in the few minutes at my disposal. Peace has been lost because the world has lost the knowledge of divine truth, or knowing it, has misunderstood it.
For example, God, who needs to be known first, has been made into an ethereal essence, filling space, which, as the Father of men, is incomprehensible to the human mind. It is folly to look for peace among men when the deeper realities of existence are not understood. Men are ill at ease who do not comprehend these truths correctly, and are prone to warfare. Only as the truths of existence are found and accepted will peace prevail on earth.
Men must also understand the plan of salvation, the meaning of life, to find peace in their own hearts, and to help establish peace on earth. I remember the hostile British officer who attempted to prevent my entrance into Great Britain because I was a "Mormon." In the ensuing conversation he said finally: "If I admit you, what will you do in Great Britain?"
I answered: "If you admit me, I shall, to the best of my ability teach the people of Great Britain how to win happiness in this life and the life hereafter. I shall tell them whence they came, why they are here upon this earth, and where they are going after death."
The uniformed man, a long-time servant of the empire, looked at me in astonishment. "Can you answer these questions? All my life I have sought answers to them. No one has been able to answer me. Please teach me."
He was not at peace; he was uneasy in his heart.
I remember the aged widow in southern Utah, a convert from England, who had left a cultured home to begin the pioneer toil of building an empire here in the western desert. She told of her struggles and sacrifices, of the pains of her days and years. When she had told the story, one to bring tears to my eyes, I said to her, "Sister, yours has been a hard life; you have sacrificed much. Let me ask you, if you were a girl again in England and could look down the coming years, would you do it again? Would you accept the gospel and face the life that you have here lived?"
The old lady, in her eighties, got up from her chair, looked me in the eye: "You ask me, would I do it again? For that which the gospel has given me, I would do it over again ten thousand times." She had found peace. Her heart was at ease.
There is no time to discuss further the method by which individual peace may be won, but it may be added that the seeker after peace must forget himself in the search. The art of placing the cause above oneself is of first importance if peace shall grow in our hearts. Whenever we place ourselves before the cause, we are, in the words of President John Taylor, in the hands of evil. The peace disappears.
THE MEANING OF "ZION"
Let me say one thing more. There is a statement in the D&C;, which I have read with many a sober thought:
... every man that will not take his sword against his neighbor must needs flee unto Zion for safety.
And there shall be gathered unto it out of every nation under heaven; and it shall be the only people that shall not be at war one with another.
"They shall flee to Zion for safety." That I believe does not mean a geographically limited place, but a place where the pure in heart dwell, for they are Zion, and out of that Zion consisting of the pure in heart shall go forth the force and power that will bring peace to pass upon this unhappy earth.
We are Zion; we say we are; I know we are. We are under the tremendous commission so to live, so to establish peace in our own hearts as to make our companionship, wherever we are, a society to which the suffering, the uneasy, those without peace, in all the world, may flee for safety. Truly a tremendous obligation rests upon the Latter-day Saints.
Our patriarch spoke last night of this people being as a leaven. We know that to be true. We are as a leaven to all the world. That is why the "minority" of which he spoke does not count. Future, lasting peace is not a question of majority or minority, but of the power of the leaven. The leaven may be weak. Sometimes it needs to be strengthened. That is our problem, especially the task of leadership, to strengthen among our people the leaven of peace, the gospel of peace, so that out of our very presence, out of our hearts and faith, something radiates that will touch the hearts of all who are seekers after truth, who are lovers of peace. As such people gather to us, if we do our duty, they will be blessed and find that which they seek, and with us help establish upon earth the kingdom of peace, which is the kingdom of heaven.
At this moment I am looking into the faces of the leadership of the Church of Christ. We have had in this Conference a wonderful feast of good things. Seldom have I felt so spiritually fed. Shall we go back now to our homes and to our labors and take all the truths that we have received, and convert them into a message of peace wherever we go? Let us do so. Remember that
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
My message to you, and my plea with you is that each one of us, in behalf of himself, his flock, the world, will constitute himself a peacemaker, beginning with his own heart, to cleanse it, to make it fit for the abode of peace.
May God so help us and bless us, I pray, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Joseph L. Wirthlin
Joseph L. Wirthlin, Conference Report, October 1943, pp. 119-124
Those of us who are privileged to work with youth are prone many times, in fact most of the time, to admonish and counsel parents in the training of their sons and daughters. In this there is involved another factor of equal importance, namely, the counsel that should be given to children with reference to their attitude toward fathers and mothers. This not alone involves children, young men and women, but us of an older generation.
A COVENANT OF ISRAEL
It brings to mind the children of Israel who had been out of the land of Egypt three months, traveling to the wilderness of Sinai, when the voice of the Lord was heard:
Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
Thus spoke the Lord to his covenant people with whose progenitors he made a promise and a covenant that they were to be his chosen people, the elect of the earth, becoming as numerous as the sands of the seashore. But bondage to a great nation of worshippers of false gods became their lot, and the ideologies of worship and life of the Egyptians became a part of the practices and lives of the children of Israel. Consequently, the Lord delivered them as he said from the fleshpots of the Egyptians and gave them forty years of preparation based upon the Ten Commandments before permitting them to enter the land of their inheritance, a repentant and chastened people.
A COMMANDMENT AND A PROMISE
The fifth commandment was one of the most basic in the Lord's training of his disobedient children, for upon it hinged the patriarchal order of the family. It is the only commandment of the ten that has in it a promise, a promise of longevity upon the earth to those who obey it:
Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
In the days of the Israelites, it was the custom for a father to become the very head and ruler of his posterity; his word was law. He was counselor to his children. Although Moses was called of God to deliver the children of Israel from bondage, in lieu of his own father, he sought the counsel and advice of his father-in-law.
All of the ancient servants of the Lord understood fully the significance of this commandment, for the writer of Proverbs declared to the children of his day the following:
My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother: Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck. When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee. For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life.
Parents were honored and revered not only in the flush of younger years, for the writer of Proverbs again declares:
Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old.
A son or a daughter who cursed father or mother in the light of Israelitish understanding of the fifth commandment had the following hanging over his or her head:
Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness.
Micah, the old prophet, points out in the following passage the reasons for disunited families and divided households.
For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter in law against her mother in law; a man's enemies are the men of his own house.
Jesus Christ, our Elder Brother, exemplified in his attitude toward his earthly parents complete compliance with and obedience to the fifth commandment, indicating to the Scribes and Pharisees, upon one occasion, as recorded in Matthew 15, verses 2 to 8, that they were hypocrites in that they had failed to obey the fifth commandment and had taught to the people the wrong concept of it.
A dying Redeemer on Calvary's hill observed the swooning form of his loyal and devoted mother. Mindful of her to the very last, he said to John the Beloved, "Behold thy mother", consigning her to the care of John, exemplifying his love and respect for her.
The Apostle Paul declared to the Ephesians:
Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.
THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT BINDING AT THE PRESENT TIME
Many centuries have passed since the days of the Israelites and the Redeemer of the world, but again we submit the question: What about the fifth commandment in this dispensation? Is this commandment still binding upon the covenant people of this day? The answer is obvious for in the restoration of the new and everlasting covenant, family ties, bonds, and relationships in this life and the eternities yet to come are dependent upon the acceptance of and obedience to the immortal commandment, "Honour thy father and thy mother", for the Lord promised the ancients that He would send Elijah the prophet as recorded in Malachi 4, verses 5 and 6.
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
Since Elijah's appearance to the Prophet Joseph Smith, temples have been erected wherein are performed these binding ordinances which seal fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters together, not only for time but for all eternity. These sealings are valid as far as eternities are concerned in so far as children honor fathers and mothers. Family relationship in this life will influence our future eternal associations. Failure to honor parents temporally will jeopardize anticipated eternal blessings. Israel's God will never sustain any son or daughter who enjoys the privilege of having a tabernacle in the flesh and then casts that father or mother aside who has made this glorious privilege possible. As God's covenant people, the obligation resting upon us to honor fathers and mothers is just as binding as it was upon the children of Israel and the Saints who lived in the days of Christ. If there is one people who should fully understand and comprehend the fifth commandment from a temporal and a spiritual point of view, it should be the members of the restored Church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
PARENTS WORTHY OF HONOR
Consider the sacrifices made by fathers and mothers in the struggle to provide for their children the necessities of life in addition to scholastic and other opportunities. In many instances if these privileges had not been afforded by the parents, the parents would have had enough of this world's goods to live independent of children or other agencies, but because of parental love, personal sacrifices for children have not been too great in the eyes of loyal and devoted parents.
THE MAINTENANCE OF AGED PARENTS A DUTY
The servants of Jacob's God, speaking in these the last days, declare again to the people of the Lord to honor thy father and thy mother, to accept their advice and maintain them if necessary with the essentials of life, not permitting this special privilege and sacred obligation to be placed in the hands of any public agency.
The older brethren and sisters may be classified in two divisions: first, those who are physically able to work, and second, those who are incapacitated. Those who are physically able to work should be provided with this opportunity, for the Lord has denied no man this privilege on account of age. Adam was commanded to leave the Garden of Eden and to earn his bread by the toil of his hands and the sweat of his brow. The Lord at no time indicated to Adam that a certain age he would be retired. Those who are physically incapacitated for work should be cared for, first by their children, then by the Priesthood quorum, or the Church.
The fifth commandment is a definite and integral part of the Gospel of salvation; therefore the servants of the Lord throughout the Church are responsible for its being taught to the people.
Bishops should determine the economic status of all aged members, calling into council sons and daughters of those who are dependent for their sustenance upon public relief agencies, to work out means and ways whereby fathers and mothers in declining years receive from their own flesh and blood the necessities of life as a loving expression of gratitude to the Lord for faithful and loving parents.
QUORUMS TO ASSIST
There are some cases where sons and daughters, because of family responsibilities, find their resources insufficient to care fully for parents. For this reason, the Priesthood quorum to which the aged father belongs should be called upon to provide work or some means whereby an individual can sustain himself. Thus the Priesthood quorum magnifies the real order of this divine brotherhood, namely, in being my brother's keeper.
When the family and the quorum have done all within their power to assist, should further assistance be needed, then the bishop of the ward, with the resources of the Welfare program, the fast offerings, and the tithes of the Church, should supplement and augment the assistance already rendered. In the case of an aged brother and sister who have no children or quorum connections, the bishop of the ward is obliged to provide food, shelter, clothes, fuel and such cash as is needed to provide medicine and other small incidentals for the comfort and maintenance of such brethren and sisters. Any bishop who advises older brethren and sisters, worthy members of the Church, to seek assistance from agencies other than that of family, Priesthood quorum and Church, in the light of the fifth commandment is not following the will of the Lord nor the advice and counsel of the General Authorities of the Church.
THE GOVERNMENT NOT TO BE BURDENED
No doubt the question has already flashed through your minds, "What about taxes paid and revenues collected for maintenance of the aged?" Because taxes are levied for a certain cause or project does not make the cause or project right nor lift the obligations that rest upon the shoulders of Latter-day Saint sons and daughters in relationship to their parents. As loyal citizens, we pay the tax; in fact we follow the admonition of the Savior when He said, "Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's". Assuming our responsibilities of maintaining parents, we also exemplify a high degree of patriotism and genuine love for our government in that we relieve it of the expense involved. We should ever remember that the government in and of itself produces nothing except through the channels of taxation. Therefore, the people should sustain the government and not expect the government to sustain them.
One not of our faith declared:
There is more guarantee in the initiative, the will, the conscience of an American than in all the statutes ever passed by Congress. How have we lived on this continent these three centuries since a Pilgrim set foot on Plymouth Rock? How have we managed to exist without a government guarantee? Except for the crippled and the sick and the weakest among us, we lived by God's mandate, "Honour thy father and thy mother." The parent nurtured the child; the child protected the aging parent. It was love, not law, that guaranteed life within a God-fearing, God-loving family.
ADVICE AND EXAMPLE OF LEADERS
As a people, our leadership has always set us an inspiring example in that they, from the Prophet Joseph Smith down to President Heber J. Grant, have been most solicitous for the welfare and comfort of their parents. Think, if you will, of President Heber J. Grant; faced in his younger years with financial ruin, yet he provided his mother with a home and supplied her with the comforts of life to her dying day. Such an example of obedience to the fifth commandment, "Honour thy father and thy mother", no doubt has led to the many blessings, both spiritual and temporal, that the Lord has showered upon His servant. President Joseph F. Smith declared:
The family organization lies at the basis of all true government, and too much stress cannot be placed upon the importance of the government in the family being as perfect as possible, nor upon the fact that in all instances respect therefore should be upheld.
Young men should be scrupulously careful to impress upon their minds the necessity of consulting with father and mother in all that pertains to their actions in life. Respect and veneration for parents should be inculcated into the hearts of the young people of the Church-father and mother to be respected, their wishes to be regarded-and in the heart of every child should be implanted this thought of esteem and consideration for parents which characterized the families of the ancient patriarchs.
God is at the head of the human race; we look up to him as the Father of all. We cannot please him more than by regarding the respecting and honoring our fathers and mothers, who are the means of our existence here upon the earth.
Peter declared:
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal Priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of the darkness into His marvelous light.
MODERN ISRAEL A COVENANT PEOPLE
True, we enjoy all of the privileges of the royal Priesthood. For that reason alone we should become a holy nation, a peculiar people, for our path has led us out of darkness into the marvelous light of the restored gospel and revealed truth. Being a covenant people as were the children of Israel of old, we today are the descendants of the modern children of Israel who one century ago stood on the banks of the Mississippi River with Nauvoo the Beautiful in flames at their backs and in front of them the desolate wilderness, swept by the winds of winter. But God of Israel remembered His covenant people as He remembered them in the days of bondage in Egypt and revealed to a modern Moses, Brigham Young, the plan whereby this peculiar people were to be led across the boundless plains through the rugged defiles of yon mountains and into the land of modern Palestine, with its body of fresh water on the south, connected to the salten sea on the north by the River Jordan. This modern Moses declared after arriving in the valley, "Hear ye, oh hear ye, Israel! Ye are to become a self-sustaining people." Alone in the wilderness, a thousand miles from the borders of civilization, these modern children of Israel went to work with an implicit faith in their God, obeying his commandments, sustaining the aged, the widow, and the fatherless, and cooperating fully with one another, believing wholly in the principle of free enterprise and personal initiative; and there arose on the foundation of these divine fundamentals a great commonwealth in which the kingdom, as Brigham Young called the Church, was firmly anchored.
We, the descendants of these fathers and mothers, owe all that we have and are to them, which affords a wonderful opportunity in observing the fifth commandment. In honoring them we will abide by the principles in which they had implicit faith, and render service to the cause for which they worked, lived and died, to the end that we may remain away from the fleshpots of a modern Egypt, to the end that the promise given in the fifth commandment shall be fulfilled in our behalf, that our days shall be long upon the land which the Lord our God giveth us. "Long days upon the land" stimulates the thought that it may not mean days of mortality alone, but the days to come when our earth shall become celestialized and the dwelling place of those who shall enjoy and inherit the celestial kingdom, which I pray will be the blessing of every worthy father and mother and every loyal son and daughter in Israel. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, October 1943, p. 125
I think it was Carlyle who said:
In this world there is one Godlike thing, the essence of all that ever was or ever will be of Godlike in this world-the veneration done to human worth by the hearts of men.
TRIBUTES TO RUDGER CLAWSON AND SYLVESTER Q. CANNON
That came to my mind this noon when our beloved President suggested that something should be said in this conference by way of appreciation and tribute to two members of the General Authorities who, since our last Conference, have passed to the other side-President Rudger Clawson and Elder Sylvester Q. Cannon.
President Grant is one of the most thoughtful men in the world, one of the most kind-hearted. Many people do not know that. This request is typical of him; his mind was on an appreciation of services rendered by these two men who associated with him so many years, particularly Brother Clawson, who came into the Council somewhere near the time or soon after President Grant was called.
President Clawson was a heroic defender of truth. He faced death, as you know, on one occasion, folded his arms and said, "Shoot." His life, however, was preserved. His companion sacrificed his life, was martyred for the truth. President Clawson's heroism on other occasions is a good example for us, when we face temptation. Rather than yield the truth or honor, let us sacrifice any convenience, and if necessary life itself.
President Clawson's life was integrated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He has passed to a great reward.
Elder Sylvester Q. Cannon was Presiding Bishop of this Church for many years. Hours counted nothing; it was just service, early morning until late at night. The gospel was all in all to him. In fact, he, I believe, shortened his life through over-exertion. We pay tribute to his memory, and pray God to bless his loved ones, and give them the assurance that Brother Cannon, too, received the welcome plaudit: "Well done, thou good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of thy Lord".
President J. Reuben Clark, Jr.
J. Reuben Clark, Jr., Conference Report, October 1943, pp. 125-126
My brethren: It is not an easy task to say a few concluding words in this great Conference. It has been a great Conference, great in it attendance, for those who are here are the leaders of the Church. It has been a great Conference in the eloquence of its addresses. It has been a great Conference in the wide field of human effort and truth which the addresses have covered. It has been a great Conference in the fundamental philosophy which we have heard. Lastly and most importantly, it has been a great Conference because of the spiritual uplift which has come to each and every man who has been in attendance. No man can go from this Conference without being a better man than when he came to its first session.
THE TRUE MEANING OF UNITY
I referred Friday to the question of unity. "Except ye are one, ye are not mine".
If I might make that just a bit intimately personal: If I am not one with President Grant, if I as his counselor do not hearken to what he says; if I do not follow along the lines that he directs; if I do not lend to him every assistance and every aid which it is possible for me to give, I am not one with him, and I am not then among those whom the Lord calls "mine." I may not be one with him and exercise my own discretion, consult my beliefs, trace out my own path in opposition to his, and what is true of me, is true of every other officer in the Church.
If we are going to bring about and accomplish the great purposes which the Lord has marked out for us and of which we have heard so much, so eloquently, so beautifully, and so truthfully in this Conference, we must be one. As I have said to the Priesthood of this Church over and over again in the past: If we are one, really one, bringing together all of our wills and our forces of character, and our powers, and our abilities into harmony with the Prophet, Seer, and Revelator of God on earth at this time, there is nothing which is beyond our power in righteousness. And I can think of nothing that today is more important than that we as individuals shall seek, each and everyone of us, to be one with him who is the Lord's anointed, called and ordained to head His Church.
THE LORD'S BLESSING INVOKED
Brethren, may the Lord bless us. May He give us charity and forbearance. May He give us the power to discern truth from error. May He give us the most precious gift He has to give-wisdom. May He increase our knowledge, our testimonies, for, as has been said today it seems to me that the greatest force which we have is our testimony, which means our knowledge. May He put into our hearts a burning fire of love of freedom and liberty. May we understand what it means to have our free agency. May He be constantly with us by His Spirit, and may we be able always to enjoy the influence and power of the Holy Ghost. May He give us faith, through which the world was made and all that in it is. May He give us power to overcome evil, and to do always that which is good. May He bring constantly nearer to us the knowledge that Jesus is the Christ, the Redeemer of the world, and that we are His Church brought to pass in these last days through the Prophet Joseph Smith, all to the end that we and ours finally may be saved and exalted in his presence, I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
President Heber J. Grant
Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1944, pp. 3-12
I am grateful that the Lord has lengthened my life and increased my strength so that I may have the privilege and the joy of meeting with you at another general conference of the Church.
I am grateful I can say that I feel I am better now than I was at the conference six months ago. I am able to work nearly half of each day at my office, and sometimes more, with the counsel and consent of my doctor. It is his recommendation, however, that I do not speak at this time, and so I shall ask your forbearance while that which I have to say shall be read. If I were on my feet, speaking under the momentary promptings of the Spirit, perhaps it would be given to me to say more things in addition to those which are here written-and I ask the Lord that he may direct all who speak during this conference, that they may speak under the guiding influence of his holy spirit, and that those things which are now read, and those things which shall yet be spoken, will further bear witness of the truthfulness of the cause in which we are met, and give comfort and counsel to all who shall hear or read them.
As I sit in this tabernacle my mind goes back over the many years that have passed since we first began holding meetings here. I see the leaders of this people who have come and gone-from Brigham Young on down-and I can see generations of the priesthood of Israel who have gathered here to learn their duty, to renew their faith, and to go forth to labor for the furtherance of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Faces and events pass in memory-the faces of mighty men of God, most of whom have long since finished their work here-and you, my brethren, have taken their places, and carry forward the work from where they left it.
MY BROTHER'S CONVERSION
As I sit here today, I remember what to me was one of the greatest of all the incidents in my life, in this tabernacle. One Sunday afternoon, nearly fifty years ago, I came here as one of the youngest of the apostles to attend the meeting, and saw for the first time in the congregation, my brother who had been careless, indifferent, and wayward, and who had evinced no interest in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. My brother, Fred, and I had engaged in a venture which had failed. We had both placed all that we had in it and more. Feeling that he had ruined me financially and being without that faith which sustains in time of crisis, Fred went into the woods with the intention of taking his own life. Finally, he got down on his knees and prayed, "O God, if there is a God!". When he got up from his knees, he threw his pistol into the brush, and sat down and wrote me a letter, saying that he knew there was a God who told men to do good, and that there was a devil who inspired men to destroy their own lives, which is second only to murder.
As soon as he had written the letter a spirit came over him telling him, "The minute your brother gets that letter he will insist on you being baptized. You are a fine specimen to be baptized; you are one of the worst profaners in the country; you once had an interest in a gambling house." And so he threw the letter into his trunk instead of mailing it.
The next night he wrote the same thing again, and shed more tears, but did not have the courage to send me that letter either. He wrote three such letters and put them all into his trunk. Finally, he wrote again and said, "Heber, this letter is going to be mailed," and he went to the post office and mailed it. He fought all night with himself, and got up before daylight and went to the post office and got the letter out and threw it in the trunk also. Finally, he wrote again and said, "This letter will surely be mailed." He did mail it, and again he got up before daylight and started for the post office to get it out, but came to a large post or pole and threw his arm around it, and said, "I am going to stand here and hold on until the mail goes out," which he did.
When I got his letter, instead of my writing and telling him he was to be baptized I wrote him and said, "Fred, maybe now that you know there is a God and a devil, you think I will ask you to be baptized, but as long as you live I do not want you to be baptized until you yourself have faith in the truth of the Gospel."
I bought a Book of Mormon and took it to my office, and I prayed to The Lord that when I opened it it would be to the best passage in the entire book for my brother. It opened to the 36th chapter of Alma, wherein Alma tells of his going about with the sons of Mosiah, fighting against the Church, and that he had suffered the torments of the damned, but after praying to the Lord and becoming converted to the truth he had exquisite joy, and from that day he had labored unceasingly to bring souls to a knowledge of God.
I turned that page down, and I turned down a page at chapter 29 wherein Alma says: "O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people!". I felt that those comments were the best in the whole book for my brother, and I thanked the Lord that the book had opened to the 36th chapter of Alma, and for prompting me also to think of the 29th chapter. When, after this, I saw Fred for the first time in this building, and realized that he was seeking God for light and knowledge regarding the divinity of this work, I bowed my head and I prayed that if I were requested to address the audience, the Lord would inspire me by the revelation of His Spirit, to speak in such manner that my brother would have to acknowledge to me that I had spoken beyond my natural ability, that I had been inspired of the Lord.
I realized that if he made that confession, then I should be able to point out to him that God had given him a testimony of the divinity of this work.
President Angus M. Cannon, who was presiding at the meeting, came to me and said: "Brother Milton Bennion is here and has been invited to speak, but he can come some other day."
I said: "I never speak long. Let Brother Bennion take all the time he needs and I will take what time is left."
Brother Bennion told of his visit around the world; among other things, of visiting the Holy Land and the sepulchre of Jesus.
While he was speaking, I took out of my pocket a Ready Reference that I always carried, and marked some passages that tell of the vicarious work for the dead, of the announcement that Jesus went and preached to the spirits in prison, and proclaimed the Gospel of Jesus Christ to them. I intended to preach upon the fact that the Savior of the world had not only brought the Gospel to every soul upon the earth, but also that it reached back to all those who had died without a knowledge of it, and that they would have the privilege of hearing it. In choosing this subject, I thought, "What will appeal most to my brother?" Our father had died when Fred was six weeks old, and realizing that work was being done where his father now is, it seemed to me that this was the best subject I could discuss.
When it came time for me to speak, I remember standing here at this pulpit, feeling that this was perhaps the greatest of all the great themes that we as Latter-day Saints had to proclaim to the world. I laid the book down, opened at that page. I said: "I cannot tell you just why, but never before in all my life have I desired so much the inspiration of the Lord as I desire it today." I asked the people for their faith and prayers. I prayed for the inspiration of the Lord, and I never thought of the book from that minute until I sat down thirty minutes later. I closed my remarks at twelve minutes after three o'clock, expecting that President George Q. Cannon, who was also present, would follow me. Brother Angus Cannon came to the upper stand, and said, "Brother George, there are forty-eight minutes left for you; will you occupy the rest of the time?"
Brother George Q. Cannon declined, and indicated that he thought it would be a good time to close the meeting. But Brother Angus refused to take "No" for an answer, and said: "I am not going to waste three-quarters of an hour. If you don't speak, I shall call on somebody else to occupy the balance of the time.
Brother Cannon said, finally: "All right, I will say something. And he arose and said in substance:
"There are times when the Lord Almighty inspires some speaker by the revelations of His Spirit, and he is so abundantly blessed by the inspiration of the living God that it is a mistake for anybody else to speak following him, and one of those occasions has been today in the address of Brother Grant, and I therefore ask President Angus Cannon to call on someone to offer the benediction, after the choir has sung, and dismiss the meeting." Of course Brother Angus could do nothing else.
When I sat down after my talk, I remembered that my book was still lying open on the pulpit. President George Q. Cannon was behind me in the President's seat, and I heard him say to himself: "Thank God for the power of that testimony!" When I heard this I remembered that I had forgotten the sermon I had intended to deliver, and the tears gushed from my eyes like rain, and I rested my elbows on my knees and put my hands over my face, so that the people by me could not see that I was weeping like a child. I knew when I heard those words of George Q. Cannon that God had heard and answered my prayer. I knew that my brother's heart was touched.
I devoted my thirty minutes almost entirely to a testimony of my knowledge that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, and to the wonderful and marvelous labors of the Prophet Joseph Smith, bearing witness to the knowledge God had given me that Joseph Smith was in very deed a prophet of the true and living God. I will not take time here to repeat that whole sermon, but some paragraphs from it I should like to recall now. I said:
"It affords deep interest, no doubt, to all the Latter-day Saints who are here, as well as to those who are not members of the Church,.... to listen to a recital that has any bearing upon the life and labors of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is a remarkable fact that we can never read of the labors which he performed, or listen to others speaking of the great work which he accomplished, without taking pleasure in it, while on the other hand, there is nothing so interesting in the life and history of any other individual but what by hearing or reading it time and time again we become tired of it. I can bear testimony, from my own experience, that the oftener I read of the life and labors of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ the greater are the joy, the peace, the happiness, the satisfaction that fill my soul in contemplating what he did.
"It is also a source of unbounded joy to me and fills my heart beyond my power of expression to contemplate the fact that God our Heavenly Father and our Lord Jesus Christ have visited the earth and again revealed the gospel to man; and it fills me with thanksgiving and gratitude, far beyond my power to tell, that he has blessed me with a knowledge of the divinity of the work in which we are engaged. The Lord in this regard has been no respecter of persons. The humble, the poor, the unlearned have been as abundantly blessed of God with this testimony as those that have had more abundantly of the things of this world. We find people that have been gathered from all the nations of the earth, in fulfilment of the prophecies that were uttered thousands of years ago, that the Saints should be brought to the tops of the mountains and that the Lord would establish His work here; and this people are blessed with a testimony of the divinity of the work in which they are engaged.... No power upon the face of the earth, not the wisdom of all the wise men combined, could ever have united the hearts and the souls of the Latter-day Saints as God has united them....
"While I was visiting in St. George and talking with the president of the St. George Stake of Zion, I was forcibly reminded of the faith that burns in the hearts of the Latter-day Saints. He was speaking of his early experience, and he told me that one day President Young said to him, 'Brother McArthur, within ten days I wish you to prepare to go on a mission to Europe, and I expect you to be absent for four and perhaps seven years.' That very day that he was told to get ready he had a child born, and when he returned home the child was over four years of age.
"In going upon that mission he did not have the means..., but he sold some property that was worth three or four times as much as he was able to get for it; in fact, some few months after, it changed hands for about four times more than what he sold it for. He made this sacrifice, and without one dollar of reward he went to the nations of the earth and spent four years of his life proclaiming the gospel, declaring that the angel that was seen flying through the midst of heaven having the everlasting Gospel to preach to them that dwelt on the earth had come, and that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God who testified of this.
"Brother McArthur told me of many incidents of his mission that were truly remarkable. Among other things, he said the Prophet Joseph Smith visited him while he was on this mission. And I say to you today that... thousands, yes, tens of thousands of men and women will stand up and testify, as Brother McArthur did to me, that God our Father has blessed them, that he has given them manifestations of his approval of their labors which have been inspired by the Holy Ghost; and they will, in all solemnity and without any excitement, testify to you that they do know for themselves that they are engaged in the work of God...
"More than once I have heard President Wilford Woodruff say, in private and public, that he has listened to the Prophet Joseph Smith stating to them the fact that the Latter-day Saints would yet come to the valleys of the Rocky Mountains and become a great and a prosperous people. We stand today as a living evidence to the world of the divinity of mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Why? Because our very presence in these mountains is a fulfilment of the predictions of that inspired man.... I stand before you today a mere boy, and yet Joseph Smith was martyred when he was a year younger than I am.... When we contemplate what he did... it is indeed a marvel and a wonder. In speaking of this I am reminded of... the book, Figures of the Past, written by Josiah Quincy, who was a statesman and a philanthropist. In it was the following statement:
It is by no means improbable that some future textbook for the use of generations yet unborn will contain a question something like this: What historical American of the nineteenth century has exerted the most powerful influence upon the destinies of his countrymen? And it is by no means impossible that the answer to that interrogatory may be thus written: Joseph Smith, the Mormon Prophet.
"... The Latter-day Saints have seen scores of the prophecies that he uttered fulfilled to the very letter. Everybody that came into his presence was impressed with the influence and spirit which he manifested. Many are the men whom I have met that have ridiculed the late Prophet Brigham Young, and I have persuaded such men to go with me to meet him, and they have invariably come away from meeting him inspired with a reverence for the man, because the Spirit of God surrounded him day by day. I tell you that it is by the inspiration of God, and not by the power of man, that Joseph Smith, that Brigham Young, that John Taylor, that Wilford Woodruff have been able to unite the hearts of the Latter-day Saints and to establish and build up the Church of Jesus Christ. Without the light and the guidance of the Spirit of God the work of God on the earth could not succeed; it would crumble and go to pieces....
"I want to say to the Latter-day Saints that it behooves us, having received a testimony of the divinity of the work in which we are engaged, so to order our lives from day to day that glory shall be brought to the work of God by the good deeds that we perform, so letting our light shine that men, seeing our good deeds, shall glorify God. No people upon the face of the earth have been blessed as have the Latter-day Saints; no people have ever had the many manifestations of the kindness and mercy and long-suffering of God that have been bestowed upon us, and I say we, above all men and women upon the earth should live Godlike and upright lives. That God may help us to do so, is my prayer and my desire...."
This, in brief, in spirit and in substance, is what I preached to my brother under the inspiration of the Spirit of the Lord, in this tabernacle on January 26, 1896. I was then thirty-nine years of age.
The next morning, my brother came into my office and said, "Heber, I was at a meeting yesterday and heard you preach."
I said, "The first time you ever heard your brother preach, I guess?"
"Oh, no," he said, "I have heard you many times. I generally come in late and go into the gallery. I often go out before the meeting is over. But you never spoke as you did yesterday. You spoke beyond your natural ability. You were inspired of the Lord." These were the identical words I had uttered the day before, in my prayer to the Lord!
I said to him, "Are you still praying for a testimony of the gospel?" He said, "Yes, and I am going nearly wild."
I asked, "What did I preach about yesterday?"
He replied, "You know what you preached about." I said, "Well, you tell me."
"You preached upon the divine mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith."
I answered, "And I was inspired beyond my natural ability; and I never spoke before at any time you have heard me, as I spoke yesterday. Do you expect the Lord to get a club and knock you down? What more testimony do you want of the Gospel of Jesus Christ than that a man speaks beyond his natural ability and under the inspiration of God, when he testifies of the divine mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith?"
The next Sabbath he applied to me for baptism.
ENDURING TO THE END
God our Heavenly Father has promised that those who are faithful to the end shall be saved in his kingdom. It fills my heart with unspeakable joy when I see the aged veterans stand up and bear their testimonies to the truth of the gospel... I rejoice also when I see the youth of Israel in the line of duty, the sons and grandsons of those who have labored energetically for the advancement of this kingdom. It fills my heart with gratitude and thanksgiving that the testimony of the Holy Ghost does abide in the sons and daughters of those who have been faithful to the cause of God.
But there is nothing that is more sorrowful, nothing that brings greater regret to my heart, than to see the sons and daughters of those who have been faithful turn away from the Gospel of Christ, but I believe that if we as Latter-day Saints will arise in the might and majesty of our calling, arise in the testimony of Jesus Christ that burns in our hearts, and do our duty and keep the commandments of God our Heavenly Father as we should keep them, and set examples before our children that are worthy of imitation, few of them will turn away from the path of right.
Go where you will among the elders of Israel, travel from one end of the Church to the other, and you will find a testimony burning in the hearts of the Latter-day Saints that this is the work of Almighty God and that his Son Jesus Christ has established it. You find this testimony, you hear it borne, but do we always live the lives of Latter-day Saints? Do we live as we should live, considering the great testimony that has been given unto us? Do we keep His commandments as we ought to do? We carry upon our shoulders the reputation, so to speak, of the Church, every one of us.
When I look around and realize how many of those who have been wonderfully blessed of the Lord have fallen by the wayside, it fills me with humility. It fills me with the spirit of meekness and with an earnest desire that I may ever seek to know the mind and the will of God and to keep His commandments rather than to follow out my own desires.
THE REPENTANT SINNER
There is nothing in the world that is more splendid than to have in our hearts a desire to forgive the sinner if he only repents. But I want to say, do not forgive the sinner if he does not repent. "By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins-behold he will confess them and forsake them". It is up to the Lord, however, and unless they confess their sins we are not obliged to forgive, but when they really and truly repent, it is one of the obligations that rest upon us to forgive those who have sinned.
The devil is ready to blind our eyes with the things of this world, and he would gladly rob us of eternal life, the greatest of all gifts. But it is not given to the devil, and no power will ever be given to him to overthrow any Latter-day Saint that is keeping the commandments of God. There is no power given to the adversary of men's souls to destroy us if we are doing our duty. If we are not absolutely honest with God, then we let the bars down, then we have destroyed part of the fortifications by which we are protected, and the devil may come in. But no man has ever lost the testimony of the Gospel, no man has ever turned to the right or to the left, who had the knowledge of the truth, who was attending to his duties, who was keeping the Word of Wisdom, who was paying his tithing, who was responding to the calls and duties of his office and calling in the Church.
There are some who are forever asking to know what the Lord wants of them, and who seem to be hesitating on that account. I am thoroughly convinced that all the Lord wants of you and me or of any other man or woman in the Church is for us to perform our full duty and keep the commandments of God.
PRAY ALWAYS
One of the requirements made of the Latter-day Saints is that they shall be faithful in attending to their prayers, both their secret and family prayers. The object that our Heavenly Father has in requiring this is that we may be in communication with Him, and that we may have a channel open between us and the heavens whereby we can bring down upon ourselves blessings from above. No individual who is humble and prayerful before God and supplicates him every day for the light and inspiration of his Holy Spirit will ever become lifted up in the pride of his heart, or feel that the intelligence and the wisdom that he possesses are all sufficient for him.
Pray always, that you may come off conqueror; yea, that you may conquer Satan, and that you may escape the hands of the servants of Satan that do uphold his work.
Pray always, that ye may not faint, until I come.
OUR YOUNG MEN IN SERVICE
Between forty-five and fifty thousand of the young men of this Church are now wearing the uniforms of their respective countries. Some of them are here today, and thousands of them are scattered on far fronts in many lands. I hope and pray that every boy will feel in his heart: "I want to know what is right and dean and pure and holy, and I want God to help me." I want every Latter-day Saint soldier to get down on his knees and pray God to help him to lead a dean life, and to preach the Gospel wherever he is by the way he lives. There are no sins charged to our account because we are tempted, provided we shall resist the temptation. But we have no right to go near temptation, or in fact to do or say anything that we cannot honestly ask the blessing of the Lord upon; neither to visit any place where we would be ashamed to take our sister or sweetheart. The good Spirit will not go with us onto the Devil's ground, and if we are standing alone upon ground belonging to the adversary of men's souls, he may have the power to trip us and destroy us. We can't handle dirty things and keep clean hands. Virtue is more valuable than life.
I pray the Lord to bless you, our young men in the armed forces of the world, that our Heavenly Father will be with you to sustain you and to increase your faith day by day; that you may be preserved in your trials, your hardships, your suffering, with strength to face the eventualities of each day and with the assurance that the Lord, your God, will bring in his own way and time everlasting compensation to you for your sacrifice, as you walk in his ways and live lives that conform with the Priesthood you bear.
I pray for the wives, the children, the mothers and fathers of these men who are serving their countries the world over, that they may be sustained in their waiting, that their anxious fears may be quieted, that comfort and assurance may come into their lives.
I pray for peace; for wisdom, reverence and humility on the part of the leaders of nations; for repentance, and a turning to the ways of righteousness on the part of all men.
I pray for the Latter-day Saints in all nations, at home and abroad, and on the islands of the sea; I pray that they may have the strength and the faith to live righteously, and I extend to them anew the hand of fellowship.
I pray for righteous men everywhere. To all of God's children who are worthy to be called such, I send my blessings, for we are all the children of our Father in heaven, and heirs to his blessings, according to our faithfulness and obedience.
I pray for the sorrowing, for the bereaved, for the oppressed that they shall be comforted.
What the world needs today more than anything else is an implicit faith in God, our Father, and in Jesus Christ, His Son, as the Redeemer of the world, The message of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to the world is that God lives, that Jesus Christ is his Son, and that they appeared to the boy, Joseph Smith, and promised him that he should be an instrument in the hands of the Lord in restoring the Gospel of Jesus Christ in this dispensation. I leave this testimony as a witness to all the world, and I do it in the name of Him whose work this is, even the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
President George Albert Smith
George Albert Smith, Conference Report, April 1944, pp. 26-32
I am just trying to collect my thoughts, after listening to that remarkable report of the financial condition of the Church. I am somewhat amused, too, because only a few days ago one of our citizens here in Salt Lake City told a friend of his in confidence that the Church was tremendously in debt.
GRATITUDE FOR BLESSINGS
I am grateful to our Heavenly Father this morning for the privilege of being here in this opening session of our general conference. I have been inspired by the opportunity I have had of shaking hands with many of my brethren. It is always a joy to me to see you come here, from all parts of the Church, to wait upon the Lord, and to participate in the activities of the conferences that are held from time to time.
As I look into your faces today, I realize that here is a Very fine cross-section of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and I don't know where anybody could go in the world to witness a finer group of men in worship than we have here today.
I am grateful that President Grant was able to be with us. It is a marvel to me how his life has been preserved. Three times, to my knowledge, his life has been despaired of by those who are close to him, and he has been healed by the power of the Lord. Today is an evidence of what can come to an individual who lives a righteous life. He has always been active and a hard worker, and yet today, at eighty-seven years of age, he comes to us to enjoy part of conference, though his limited strength requires that he return to his home and rest before he can come back again.
I trust that I may have the benefit of your faith and prayers, that I may be led to say something that will be helpful, something that may cause us to feel that it is a privilege to be identified with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. When we realize the situation that people of the world are confronting everywhere, when we pause long enough to consider that the world is in a critical condition, that the destruction of life and property goes on and increases as the days go by, we may be grateful that we have benefited by those who were our forebears, who heard the cry to "Come out of her, O, my people, that ye partake not of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues".
When I realize that our people were gathered from a prosperous, fine section of the world, in most cases, and were transplanted by the power of God, and no other power, to live in these mountain vales at a time when they were considered unfit for the habitation of civilized man, and then see what the Lord has done for us, I marvel.
It has been my privilege to travel in many parts of the world; it has been a great joy to me to mingle with men and women in many nations, fine, wonderful characters, all sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father, but when I come back to the valleys of the mountains, and partake of the influences that I find here, my heart swells with gratitude that my membership is in this Church that bears the name of the Redeemer of mankind, so named by him.
THE EARTH PREPARED TO MAKE MEN HAPPY
It would seem, as you look over the conditions in the world, that men generally have lost all understanding of the purpose of life. A great majority of the people of the world do not know why we are here; but the Lord in the beginning, starting with our first parents who were placed upon the earth, began teaching His children the purpose of life, and gave to them rules of conduct, which, if observed, would have enriched their lives, brought happiness in mortality, and enjoyment of eternal life in the celestial kingdom.
When the Lord began the peopling of this earth-and he prepared it for the people who live upon it-he provided everything that is necessary to make us happy. You cannot think of anything that we need that is not provided. As the years, the centuries, have passed, there have been uncovered new opportunities for development, refinement, culture, and happiness in almost every part of the world.
When the children of Israel were coming out of bondage, where they had been taken in order that a great and wonderful work might be performed, they came out to the Promised Land, and on the way the Lord talked, face to face, to Moses, who was their leader, and gave to him a marvelous rule of conduct, the Ten Commandments.
I should like to read just a part of those commandments, at least, and call attention to the fact, that from the beginning of time, so far as this earth was concerned, when it was populated, our Heavenly Father has been advising his children what to do, in order that they might be happy. He has never counseled them to do anything that would make them unhappy. He has offered a premium of eternal happiness to those who will live in mortality according to His advice and counsel.
When the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they disobeyed the commandments of the Lord. It was not very long until they were doing things that displeased Him. Notwithstanding, they were led all day by a pillar of cloud, and at night their whereabouts was indicated by a pillar of fire. A cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night! And they were fed manna, or "angel food," to preserve them while they traveled through the wilderness.
COMMANDMENTS GIVEN FOR THE GOOD OF MANKIND
While they were there, in order that there could be no mistake on their part as to what would make them happy, the Lord gave to them these commandments. I want to emphasize that; I want to say that the only way of happiness is the pathway of righteousness. There is no other way. We refer to them as commandments, though I have always looked upon them as the loving advice of a kind Heavenly Father who, knowing all things, has pointed the way, that his children might be happy.
Now, he says:
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 the membership of this Church realize that profanity in the sight of our Heavenly Father is displeasing, and that there follows a loss of blessings whenever we fail to measure up in the way that he indicates we should.
Again, let us read.
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Now, that is the advice of your Father and mine. That is the advice of the Father of our spirits, given to our forebears thousands of years ago, given with the expectation that they would listen, at least many of them, to his wise counsel; and if they had observed to keep that commandment, to honor the Sabbath day and keep it holy all through the ages, there would be an entirely different condition in the world today.
There was no happiness worthy of that name which resulted from violating the Sabbath day, in the time of Moses, and I want to say to there is no happiness for us now, when we violate the Sabbath day.
Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
"Honor thy father and thy mother-" you men here, most of you, are fathers, and you know what it means to have a child respect you and honor you in your place as head of the household. Our Heavenly Father is just as pleased with us when we honor him.
"Thou shalt not kill". Think of the distress that is in the world today as a result of the violation of that advice of our Heavenly Father. Millions of people are being involved, and many millions more are made to suffer as the result of the destruction of human life in violation of the commandment, "Thou shalt not kill."
"Thou shalt not commit adultery". One of the greatest distresses in all the world today is the disease that afflicts the human family as a result of immorality. There isn't anything that will destroy a man's self-respect like abusing himself and defiling his body by becoming immoral. Our Heavenly Father did not place us in a position where we could not help ourselves. He gave us our agency in all things, and for the observing of His counsel He gave to us a promise, and that promise was happiness.
"Thou shalt not steal". Just think of the theft, the dishonesty, that is in the world today-taking that which belongs to a neighbor without his permission. We understand that in the United States alone there are organized bands of marauders and thieves that number hundreds of thousands, feeling that they can do just as they please. The remarkable thing is that the man who steals never receives any happiness as a result of his theft. He loses his own self-respect, he loses the respect of his neighbors, and brings upon himself the displeasure of our Heavenly Father, who makes it possible for all of us to live without stealing, if we will.
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
Think of the sorrow and distress in the world, as a result of men and women gossiping about their neighbors, testifying to things, or referring to things that are not true, and implying that they are true. But they never get any happiness out of it. You never saw a gossip in your life that was happy. He is just as unhappy and miserable as the devil all the time-and of course he is in Satan's company when he is gossiping about his neighbors.
This is one of the transgressions that the Lord points out particularly, and we ought to be very careful. If we state anything, it should be the truth. We should never testify to anything that is untrue. And if we are truthful always, our Heavenly Father has assured us happiness.
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.
Some people are never satisfied with what they themselves possess, but they want something that somebody else possesses, and if they cannot obtain it in any other way, they will obtain it by foul means. But it does not result in happiness.
I want to say in passing, my brethren, if you want to be happy, and I think we all want to be happy, we must conform our lives to the wise counsels of our Heavenly Father, who gave these Ten Commandments to ancient Israel, and they are binding upon modern-day Israel, just the same.
A LAW GIVEN TO THE LATTER-DAY SAINTS
Then he gave us another commandment that has a great influence upon the happiness of our lives. I should like to refer just briefly to this.
The world is not responsible to the Lord for what I am about to read you, but we are, because He gave it to us in addition to all the other commandments that have been given us in the Old and New Testaments-"Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself", and all other inspired advice intended to make men happy-in addition to which he gave us in our day another law that is referred to as the Word of Wisdom. It means a simple law, but I have never known anybody that was happy as a result of violating it.
The Lord says that we should not use hot or strong drinks. He tells us that tobacco is not good for us. He advises us against the using of these things, and tells us that we should use grain for food and even tells us the kind of grain that is best for us. He tells us that there are some things that are better than others. He tells us to use meat only sparingly, and he gives us the privilege of having all wholesome herbs and fruits as part of our diet and promises us, with the use of these things, happiness.
He warns us against the use of strong drinks and tobacco. Last year, this state that we live in, violated that commandment of God to the extent of over $22,000,000. Yet, we, many of us, belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
I want to say that not one penny of that $22,000,000 that was used for these things that our Heavenly Father has said are not good for us, has produced any happiness. On the contrary it has produced misery, and sorrow, and the unfortunate part of it is that it not only applies to us in mortality, but also it will mean sorrow in many cases throughout the ages of eternity.
So, my brethren, how blessed we are if we are living under the influences that God intended we should live under. If we keep His commandments we are making progress, and development is sure to follow. But if we fail to take His advice, if we refuse to accept His counsel, then we will be in the same condition as the rest of the world who are soon, I may say, to be "ripe for destruction", unless they repent; and unless we repent of the wrongs that we do, some of us will be very remorseful when we analyze the situation and examine ourselves to find we are justifying ourselves because we are like the world.
Now, when the Savior was upon the earth in the meridian of time, He taught his disciples what they should do, exhorted them to works of righteousness, and marked the pathway that would lead them into his presence in the celestial kingdom-not only did He advise His children in the Old World, but He came over into this western hemisphere and taught the people the same things here. Why? Because He wanted them to be happy; He wanted them to utilize their time upon the earth to their advantage and not waste it. He came down from heaven, and they saw Him coming out of heaven. He gave them counsel and advice that is contained in the Book of Mormon, some of which is also contained in the Old and New Testaments.
He revealed the Word of Wisdom in our day with the promise of health and happiness and long life if we would observe it. Now, brethren, we cannot blame our Heavenly Father if we are not happy. We have nobody to blame but ourselves.
I can say to you that if we have the spirit of the Lord burning in our souls we cannot be unhappy. We read in Job that there is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth him understanding. If we keep the commandments of God we are entitled to that inspiration, and if we live as the sons of God ought to live, we will have that inspiration, and nobody can prevent it, and the result will be our own physical and mental and moral development in mortality, and continued development throughout the ages of eternity.
OBSERVANCE OF GOD'S LAWS BRINGS SAFETY
So I am asking today that we examine ourselves. Let us set our own homes in order. Are we observing the teachings of our Heavenly Father, or are we setting our own judgment up, and saying, "We'll do as we please"? The world may do that without so much criticism, it seems to me; but I cannot understand how we, who have received so many blessings, can do that. I cannot see how we can be satisfied with ourselves if, when we make a mistake, we do not correct it just as soon as possible. I am sure that most of us will make mistakes, but we do not need to go on making mistakes. I remember my own father saying to me when I was a child: "My son, you will go out into the world, and every once in a while you will stub your toe and fall down; but for goodness' sake, do not stub your toe twice in the same place."
I have thought of that a good many times. When I have made a mistake and found I have made it, I have tried to avoid it in the future. Insofar as I have done that, I have had happiness. I may say to you, all the unhappiness I have known in the world has been the result of a failure to measure up in taking advice from our Heavenly Father and living it-all of it. It may not have been my own transgression; it may have been the transgressions of some others that I love, but unhappiness has always followed violating the advice of our Heavenly Father.
You brethren hold the Priesthood. That is why you are here. You are here because you have received a special gift from our Heavenly Father. You are here because the hands of the servants of God have been laid upon your heads and you have been given a divine calling and an opportunity, and in addition to that you have been given all the advice that anybody has had in all the world to make us happy. Our Heavenly Father loves us, and he loves our lives when they conform to his teachings.
Today in the midst of the confusion that exists in the world, let us not follow the adversary who would lead us into by-paths. Rather let us plant our feet upon the highway that leads to happiness and the celestial kingdom, not just occasionally, but every day, and every hour, because if we will stay on the Lord's Side of the line, if we will remain under the influence of our Heavenly Father, the adversary cannot even tempt us. But if we go into the devil's territory where drinking, smoking, carousing, immorality, lying and stealing predominate, we will be unhappy and that unhappiness will increase as the years go by, unless we repent of our sins and turn to the Lord.
I have traveled in the world approximately a million miles, in my ministry. I have been in many lands and climes, and I have met many people. I have never known anybody who had real happiness in his life except on the score that he was keeping the commandments of God as far as he was able.
Now, we want to be happy. We want our homes to be happy. If we do, let them be the abiding place of prayer, thanksgiving and gratitude. Ask a blessing upon the food when we partake of it. Fathers, be kind to wives and children, and children be kind to mother and father. "Love one another". "Honor thy father and thy mother".
I feel very grateful that the Lord has made me capable of understanding some of these things. I am grateful that the inspiration of the Almighty has taken possession of me sufficiently that I have understanding in regard to these things, and He has given you the same opportunity, and you have enjoyed it.
Today in this conference and the meetings that follow, we are here to wait upon the Lord. All the advice recorded in the Scriptures we have access to; and then He calls us together, and advises us, under the influence of His Spirit, to do the thing that is right. When we do what He wants us to do, we will never injure any living soul. We will always be helpful to them, and we will enrich their lives as well as our own.
A TESTIMONY
I know that God lives; I know that Jesus is the Christ; I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of the living God, and I am thankful to have lived in a day of the world when these things were made known unto the children of men. I am thankful to my forebears that they accepted the Gospel and made it possible for me to partake of its blessings if I will.
That the Lord may add his blessing, that we may continue faithful, that we may love one another, remembering those who have been our associates before, who have been faithful and have passed on I humbly pray. As I stand here I think of the men who have preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ from this pulpit, who have long since passed to their reward, and realize that in the not far distant future every one of us who are here will face our record, whatever it may be. With that feeling and that assurance, let us set our own homes and our lives in order, and be rich in the companionship of the spirit of God, for the only pathway of happiness is the pathway of righteousness that will eventually terminate in the celestial kingdom, in the presence of our Heavenly Father, with the good men and women who have lived upon the earth from the beginning. I bear you that witness, in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Elder George F. Richards
George F. Richards, Conference Report, April 1944, pp. 33-37
I realize that I am standing before a large body of leading representative men of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, men of ability, experience and devotion to the work of the Lord.
I sincerely hope that what I have to say will be considered appropriate for the occasion, and stimulate some of us to greater effort, along lines of religious activity, particularly that of individual missionary work, one of the most important, and most neglected, of all the responsibilities resting upon us, as members of the Church.
SERVICE THE MANIFESTATION OF LOVE
The scriptures plainly teach, and we, the Latter-day Saints, most sincerely believe in the doctrine, of the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man, and we rejoice in the nobility of our ancestry, and this suggests to the mind love for God and for man. We believe in the two great commandments, upon which hang all the law and the prophets:
"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind," and, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself".
We believe that service is the best manifestation of love, and that the greatest service that can be rendered to man, and to our God, is that of bringing souls unto Him and His kingdom. Hence, we willingly make the sacrifice of preaching the gospel to the world, and in other respects, to serve our God and our fellow man in a religious way. All the work of the Church is of this character. The Lord said to His servant, Moses:
"For behold, this is my work and my glory-to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man". This is the end our Father has had in view from the beginning. All else is but a means to this end. For this purpose the Gospel was instituted from before the foundations of the world. For this purpose the Church of Christ was established, in the various gospel dispensations on the earth, and for this purpose the gospel has been restored anew in these last days, and the responsibility rests upon the Latter-day Saints to preach it to all the world, and to carry forward the work of the Lord in all the earth. What we have done and are doing to discharge ourselves, as a people, and as individual members, of this responsibility, is an evidence of our sincerity, in what we profess. For more than a century we have been preaching the gospel in the nation of the earth and on the islands of the sea, and many thousands of honest-hearted souls have been brought into the fold of the Master. We are organized also, as a Church, to preach the gospel to non-members within the stakes of Zion, and splendid results have attended our efforts in this direction.
MISSIONARY WORK OF GREAT IMPORTANCE
There is one system of missionary work, however, definitely prescribed by revelation, that has not received the attention of members of the Church, that its importance deserves; it is individual missionary work.
Behold, I sent you out to testify and warn the people, and it becometh every man who hath been warned, to warn his neighbor. Therefore, they are left without excuse, and their sins are upon their own heads.
If every man who has received the Gospel were to regard himself as a missionary for the Lord, as the Lord intends he should be, and then discharge himself conscientiously and fully of that responsibility, there would be an accomplishment in missionary work, exceeding anything we have in the Church today. The results of stake missionary work show that people are here to be converted, and what might be accomplished through individual effort.
How sweet 'twill be at evening If you and I can say, Good Master, we've been seeking The lambs that went astray. Heartsore and faint from hunger, We heard them making moan, And lo, we've come at nightfall Bringing them safely home.
When people out in the world become converted and join the Church, they pretty generally use their influence to interest their neighbors and friends in the gospel. I have thought that where we have regular branch organizations in the missions, the Saints do as much toward making converts as do the regular missionaries. But at home we are prone to leave the non-members alone, to their serious loss, and our own condemnation.
At a conference I at one time attended in North Davis Stake, President Henry Blood related an experience had by him, while filling a mission in England, which is a fair example of these two classes-Saints in the mission and Saints in the stakes toward individual effort in missionary work.
President Blood said that in answer to a missionary call, when a young man, he went to England. After being there some time, he was made president of a district, and at the close of one of their conferences a good sister invited him to go with her to dinner, saying that she had invited a gentleman investigator to dinner, and she would like President Blood to meet him. Our missionaries are looking for such opportunities, and President Blood cheerfully accepted the invitation and went with the sister. While she was preparing dinner, President Blood was sitting in the front room looking out onto the street, when a man walked past the window on the sidewalk and entered the gate, whom President Blood recognized as a man who had lived in Kaysville, President Blood's home town, for some years. He had for some reason returned to the land of his nativity, and this lady had made his acquaintance and was teaching him the gospel. President Blood had to go to England to do what might and should have been done at home.
I regard our responsibility as members of the Church, much as that which the Lord placed upon his servant, Ezekiel, in his day:
Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me. When I say unto the wicked, Thou shall surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.
There are souls about us to be saved and in the process, if we do our full duty by them, we deliver our own souls. We who have received the gospel know the great need our non-Mormon friends have for what we have to offer them, and the value it will be to them, when they receive it, which value exceeds the wealth of this world.
In this kind of service both giver and recipient are greatly enriched.
The Lord has indicated the spirit in which this missionary work is to be done.
And no one can assist in this work except he shall be humble and full of love, having faith, hope and charity, being temperate in all things, whatsoever shall be entrusted to his care.
We are rich in a knowledge of the things of the kingdom of God. All about us are men and women who are in abject poverty, pertaining to a knowledge of the gospel.
We do not want to be in the same class with the rich man who, through neglect of his poor neighbor, Lazarus, found himself in hell and torment.
OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO SERVE
As members of the Church we are under obligation to respond to every call that may be made upon us by those who are in authority. The Lord has said, "Whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same". And when we accept a call, we should regard that acceptance as a solemn covenant on our part to magnify that calling.
Should we not be called to any particular office, we will have ample opportunity to labor and do good, and assist in saving souls, the most important work in which a person can be engaged.
For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward. Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness; For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward. But he that doeth not anything until he is commanded, and receiveth a commandment with doubtful heart, and keepeth it with slothfulness, the same is damned.
There is no shelving of a good man in this Church. With the responsibility of individual missionary work, and of genealogical and temple work staring one in the face, he needs have no other calling to occupy his time and his efforts to do good, to please the Lord, and to work out his own salvation.
This suggests service to others and labor for self. But there is no excellence of service without labor.
The man that wants a garden fair, One small or very big, With flowers growing here and there, Must bend his back and dig. The things are very few in life, That wishes can attain. Whatever we want of any worth We've got to work to gain. It matters not what goal we seek, Its secret here reposes, We've got to work from week to week, To get results or roses.
A STRONG TESTIMONY
The knowledge I have of the gospel, and the testimony I have of its truth and saving power, make my appreciation and love for it beyond my power to express. I do know that the work in which we, as Latter-day Saints, are engaged is the work of the Lord, the plan of the Gods for the existence of the earth, and of man upon the earth, for their glory and for man's exaltation, through obedience unto the laws and ordinances of the gospel, and through the atonement of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. His is the only name under heaven by which man may be saved in the kingdom of God. And no man can be saved in the kingdom of God except he believe on the name of Jesus Christ and in the efficacy of His atoning blood.
In a most solemn manner, I bear to you my testimony that God the Eternal Father and His Son Jesus Christ did reveal themselves to Joseph Smith, whom God raised up to be the mighty prophet of the last days. That the Prophet Joseph, as an instrument in the hands of God, accomplished the work of establishing the Church and kingdom of God on earth, and of restoring the gospel in its fulness, and following in the footsteps of the Savior, sealed his testimony with his blood.
That Brigham Young was his legal and lawful successor, as president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And that those who succeeded to the presidency, down to and including the present president-Heber J. Grant-have been men of God led and directed by him in their ministerial labors, so that the work has progressed and prospered, and it will continue so to do until the Savior shall come, and the kingdom of our Lord, and He shall dwell personally upon the earth, and rule as King of Kings and Lord of Lords forever.
This testimony is true and faithful and I bear it to you and to all the world in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Levi Edgar Young
Levi Edgar Young, Conference Report, April 1944, pp. 37-40
May I say by way of introduction to the few words I wish to give this afternoon as a message, that the call of Elder Mark Petersen to be an apostle of our Lord and Savior receives our hearty support and love.
Elder Petersen is a high type of man, a Christian gentleman in every particular. What a fine work he is destined to do as a disciple of our Lord!
COMMENT BY AN EMINENT ARCHITECT ABOUT THE TABERNACLE
On entering these sacred grounds this morning, I saw the dentils that surround the cornice of this building. It is the dentils, and there are hundreds of them, that give beauty to the simple and unadorned cornice of the Tabernacle. You will note them just under the roof if you will look closely. They were recently the inspiration for comment by the great American architect, Thomas E. Tallmadge in his Story of Architecture in America. He had been telling about the influence of Greek ideals on early American architecture and says: "Up and down the Atlantic seaboard, through the Western Reserve, along the Gulf of Mexico, up the Mississippi, and over the plains, the Greek revival spread. I have noticed that the famous tabernacle built in Salt Lake City by that extraordinary man, Brigham Young, has the tell-tale Greek profiles in its mouldings and cornices." Dr. Tallmadge refers to the dentils, which give to this building a beauty relieving the cornice of its extreme unadornment. One famous artist said that the dentils remind him of a beautiful piece of old lace. THE ANGEL ON THE TEMPLE
The angel on the center tower of the temple also looked very beautiful this morning, bathed as it was by the gold light of the morning sun. I almost imagined bearing John the Revelator himself speaking to me his exquisite words as he peered into the future:
And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and, tongue, and people,
Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
THE PURPOSE OF MONUMENTS AND BUILDINGS
Then I passed the gull monument, the creation of our own Mahonri Young. It is in honor of the gulls in their saving the wheat fields in 1848, when they were being destroyed by the locusts. The south bronze of the monument was pronounced by Rodin, the most noted sculptor of France, as one of the outstanding pieces of American sculpture.
I speak of these things because they represent so much in our history. They are the creations of great men-great souls. Only a deeply religious people could create a building like this tabernacle; only a good people could construct a building like yonder temple. A religious leader of India once wrote above the portal of a temple in Kashmir, India, these words: "O God, in every temple, I see people who see Thee." These buildings involved the human constants, common to humanity throughout the ages-hunger and labor, seed-time and harvest, love and death, faith and prayer-all operated to produce the noble things you see on these sacred grounds.
THE STANDARD WORKS OF THE CHURCH
My brethren, I often feel that we fail to see the beauty that lies all about us; we fail to realize that the three great characteristics of creation are truth, beauty, and goodness. God is behind all truth, beauty, and goodness, and there is nothing so noble for the soul, so uplifting as to be able to find beauty in all truth. In fact, it was the poet Keats who said: "Beauty is truth, truth beauty." These statements apply to our Church works: The Holy Bible, the "Holy" Book of Mormon, the "Holy" D&C;, and the "Holy" Pearl of Great Price. I freely use the adjective "Holy," because all these four standard Church works are sacred. The Prophet Joseph Smith's entire life was devoted to discovering and having revealed to him the truths of God. These are the forces that made his life what it was-a life of refinement and appreciation for the beautiful.
I believe, my brethren, that if we as missionaries will present the word of the Lord as contained in the standard works of the Church in a manner that will bring out the beauty of them, people will begin to read them as never before. Take the Holy Bible. When I read the first words as contained in the Book of Genesis:
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void;... And God said, Let there be light; and there was light... So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him.
I feel thankful for prophets and revelators.
These words plant in our hearts the truth of truths. God is there in the heavens as our Father, the creator and ruler of the universe. It causes every soul to reach out to Him and strive for eternity. Could any words be more beautiful? The Holy Bible is the book of God's words and teachings.
As an example of beauty in the Book of Mormon, I commend to you the twenty-ninth chapter of Alma, which reads in part:
O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people!
Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption, that they should repent and come unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth.
The entire chapter is a lyric of great beauty. The Book of Mormon is full of such lyrics. Some day this holy book will be sung into the hearts of humanity.
The one hundred and ninth section of the D&C; is one of my favorite chapters of that divine and holy book. It is the prayer offered at the dedication of the Kirtland Temple on March 27, 1836, in which the Prophet Joseph Smith asks God, "in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of Thy bosom, in whose name alone salvation can be administered to the children of men, we ask thee, O Lord, to accept of this house, the workmanship of the hands of us, thy servants, which thou didst command us to build". And then are uttered words of admonition to train our minds and understanding. Says the Prophet:
Call your solemn assembly... seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith. Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God.
Thoughts are precious seeds of life, and here we are taught to become thinkers. The Prophet Joseph founded a School of the Prophets and encouraged the study of the classical languages including Hebrew. He himself worked hard at the Hebrew language and set us an example of what it means to cultivate the mind, for "a great soul is strong to live as well as strong to think." The Prophet founded schools and the University of Nauvoo.
Then there is the Pearl of Great Price in which you find the beautiful Articles of Faith. Why this book is so neglected, I do not know. It is a perfect reservoir of truth, and in it as in all the others I have mentioned, we can read about God directly, and become deeply moved by His holy words. There is an Arabian proverb which says: "A fig tree, looking upon a fig tree, becometh fruitful." When we recite the Articles of Faith let us speak from the depths of our souls, particularly when we repeat the words: "We believe in God, the Eternal Father; and in His Son, Jesus Christ; and in the Holy Ghost". We go to our holy books for life, for more life and keener life, for life as it crystallizes into higher and deeper significance. They create within us a sense of absolute truth, beauty and goodness. They impart to us the spirit of learning and wisdom and truth. They tell us which way we must go to find our God who leads us by our faith to the unity of the perfect life. May God bless us all and help us daily to understand His great truths, I ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Bishop LeGrand Richards
LeGrand Richards, Conference Report, April 1944, pp. 42-45
Brethren, I feel that this is a wonderful privilege to be associated with you fine men, leaders in Israel, and the better I become acquainted with you, through my visits to the various stakes of Zion, the more I feel the strength of this great Church. As long as I can recall, the Church has meant more to me than anything else in the world. I have always rejoiced in the words of Isaiah when he told of a day when a marvelous work and a wonder should come forth among the children of men, and there has never been a question in my mind but what I have been privileged to live in that day and this is the work to which the prophet referred.
THE SAINTS MANIFESTING FAITH
It seems to me that there has never been a time when the Church was achieving such fine results as at the present time. Recently I heard a statement purported to have been made by one of our worthy patriarchs in his eighties. One of his friends asked him if he would not like to pass on to the other side, calling attention to the fact that his wife had already died and that many of his friends were there, and he replied, "I should say not. I have lived to see the Lord accomplish so much in my lifetime. I would like to remain as long as I can and see what else He is going to do. I have always believed in the words of the prophets, and I believe they will all be fulfilled, literally, as the Savior has indicated, and that we are engaged in the greatest movement this world has known since the days of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."
To me, one of the greatest accomplishments in the Church is the marvelous faith of the Saints as evidenced in the payment of their tithes and their offerings. Sometimes we look upon this as merely a temporal matter but it is a marvelous gauge of faith. In the third chapter of Malachi, the prophet indicates that the Lord would send his messenger to prepare the way for his coming and there is a very peculiar thing: that entire chapter, relating to the preparation of his coming, deals with the calling back of Israel to the remembrance of the Lord in their tithes and their offerings, indicating that the whole house of Israel had departed from him in this great commandment. So far as I know, there was no religious body in the world observing the law of tithing when that great law was revealed again to the Prophet Joseph Smith. In my position I am privileged to know of the faith of the Saints in the payment of their tithes and their offerings, and the great increase evidencing their faith is a marvelous thing to me.
We take the report to our meeting with the First Presidency weekly, and when President Grant is there, and the report is handed to him, he invariably remarks, "Isn't it wonderful!" And it is wonderful because it evidences the faith of the Saints in the work of the Lord who plants in the hearts of His people a love for the work so that it makes it easy for them to pay their tithes and their offerings. I am sure we all rejoiced this morning in the wonderful report read by President Clark, and I find myself trying to look into the future and visualize what may yet be accomplished by the Church through such faithfulness.
RESPONSIBILITY OF LEADERS
About two years after the Church was organized, the Lord gave a revelation to the Prophet Joseph in which He indicated that Zion was to increase in beauty and holiness; that her borders were to be extended; that her stakes were to be strengthened; that Zion was to arise and put on her beautiful garments. In the hands of this body of men rests the responsibility of that great achievement, and I feel that Zion is increasing in beauty and in holiness.
In my work with the young people of the Church, I feel proud of the marvelous things they are doing in the midst of the temptations surrounding them today. I am proud of the work that is being done in the stakes of Zion, in the wards throughout the Church, and I believe that this Church is literally fulfilling its great destiny. We should realize, brethren, that ours is the responsibility to carry on. I think of these words so often, for Zion must increase. It must extend its borders. It must strengthen its stakes. There is no backward trek in this Church, and every man called to responsibility of leadership ought to be sure that the work under his direction is being strengthened, that as the years come and go, each year finds us farther along the way, and that we are not slipping in the great responsibility that is ours. Then I try to visualize the accomplishments of the future made possible through the continued faithfulness of the Saints in the payment of their tithes and their offerings.
INCIDENT REGARDING THE PURCHASE OF A BOOK
My father, Elder George F. Richards, has referred to the great missionary work of the Church. When this great conflict is over and our young people return to us, I hope the Church will be able to carry on a missionary movement such as it has never known and such as the world has never known, because I believe there are many who are honest in heart waiting to know the truth.
When in California recently, I heard of an experience of one of our brethren. He went into a bookstore to purchase The Life and Travels of Parley P. Pratt, one of the early apostles of the Church. He had previously ordered this book and while he was looking at it, a distinguished gentleman, a former vice president of one of the largest banks of Los Angeles, stepped up to him and calling him by name said: "What are you buying?" He replied, "A Church book." "Is it interesting?" "Surely it is interesting." "Well, I believe I will buy a copy." "No," said the good brother, "if you will promise to read it from cover to cover, I will give you a copy." He made the promise-took the book home. That was on a Saturday afternoon. He commenced reading the book that evening, and he couldn't put it down. He stayed up all night and read it through, and Monday morning he was at the brother's office door when he arrived, to tell him that he had been figuring for some time that he ought to do something in a religious way; that he had gone in and out of various churches but seemed to come out as empty as he had gone in and thought it was all his fault. But he said, "I was fascinated by that book. I believe every word that is in it. But why have you kept these things from us? Why haven't you told us of these marvelous things that the Lord has done?"
TESTIMONY OF A CONVERT
We called a prominent attorney, a recent convert to the Church, to speak in one of our conference meetings in Los Angeles when I was serving as president of the stake, and I said to him, "Will you tell this congregation what there was about Mormonism that appealed to you?" And be stood up and in a rich, deep voice said, "If you have hunted for something all your life and you couldn't find it and you therefore decided it did not exist, then you just happen to stumble onto it, you do not need anybody to tell you that you have found it, do you?" He said, "That's what I found when I found Mormonism. The thing about it is that the more I learn, the greater it seems to be."
HELPS IN MISSIONARY WORK
Through the continued faithful payment of tithes by the Saints, it should be possible to provide the branches of the missions with suitable places in which to meet, which will be a great help to the missionaries in their work. Sometimes I feel that the development of the radio is primarily to make possible the preaching of the gospel to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people before the end shall come, as the prophets have declared. I believe the Savior must have visualized this when he declared the message should be proclaimed from the housetops. This is our responsibility, and the Church must not fail.
Then there is the great temple work of the Church. We have, as you know, recently completed a temple in Idaho Falls and have acquired land for two temples in California. While in Europe years ago, I heard President Joseph F. Smith tell the Saints there that the day would come when temples of the living God would dot that whole land of Europe; and I look to see, through the tithes of the faithful Latter-day Saints, temples erected all over this world where the Saints of God are gathered.
Another of the great achievements of the Church, causing it to put on its beautiful garment, is the Welfare program of the Church. We have come a long way in our production program. I dare say much farther than many had anticipated. President Clark made that clear in his report this morning. In a Welfare meeting in one of the stakes recently, the president of the stake turned to me and said, "Bishop, any day you want to treble our assignment, we will accept it and deliver it to you." Such a spirit as this should enable us to care for all our worthy members, and to remove them from all forms of public relief, and thus become a light unto the world and an ensign to the nations. I am sure the Lord will provide the resources to do this through the faith of the Latter-day Saints.
BLESSINGS FOLLOW THE PAYMENT OF TITHING
Now, I would like to add a few thoughts on the practical phases of tithing. I want you to know that I believe the Lord has in mind to reward adequately every Latter-day Saint for his faithfulness. In the third chapter of Malachi the Lord promises to rebuke the devourer and open the windows of heaven. What a marvelous promise! Then in answer to their disputations He tells them He will prepare a book of remembrances and when He comes to claim His jewels "then shall ye return and discern between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not".
When I was in a stake of Zion recently, a good brother asked me a question about paying tithing. He said, "I pay my tithing on that which I draw out of my business to live on. Is that right?" "Well," I said, as I am able to read between the lines, "I would imagine that you have accumulated an estate worth at least a hundred or a hundred fifty thousand dollars." He said, "You are right, Bishop." I said, "And that to date is untithed. If you were to die tonight, would you like to pass that estate on to your wife and children knowing that you had never tithed it?" He said, "I never thought of it quite that way before."
We have many inquiries at our office, constantly, about the matter of deducting taxes, income taxes, etc., before paying tithing, and we are told that in some cases the Saints are advised to do this, by their bishops. I think the bishops are being pretty liberal with the Lord's money. Taxes are no different from what they have always been except in amount and manner of payment. We have never expected to pay our taxes out of the Lord's tenth. That is what we are investing in the future security and freedom and liberty of the great nation in which we are privileged to live while our boys are out on the battlefield.
For some time I have felt that some farmers do not figure their tithing the way I think it should be figured. One good farmer said to me, "Bishop, I know just how to figure my tithing. I have a jar in my kitchen cabinet and every time I sell anything I put a tenth of it in the jar, then I pay it for tithing." I said, "Is that all you pay?" He said, "Yes, isn't that enough?" "Well," I said, "your brother who lives up here a few miles earns a hundred dollars a month and pays ten dollars tithing; he buys his groceries, his milk, his meat, and his eggs with the money he has left after paying his tithing. Should a farmer not figure his tithing on all he consumes and his surplus and the gain of his land?"
I pray God to bless you, brethren. I am proud of your faith. I think it is marvelous in the sight of the Lord, and I leave you my love and blessing and pray that the Lord will bless the good people over whom you preside, for their integrity, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Richard L. Evans
Richard L. Evans, Conference Report, April 1944, pp. 45-48
In following Bishop Richards, I feel very much like a still small voice . Before the days of microphones and public address systems, voices such as mine were not so easily heard by audiences such as this, and I am very grateful for the mechanical help that makes it possible for us to be heard by great numbers and in far places.
A TRIBUTE TO THE LEADING BRETHREN
I can think of no greater privilege in life, brethren, than to find fellowship with such men as you, and I can think of no greater tragedy or source of unhappiness than, having found such fellowship, to be deprived of it. I love my brethren; and I know that I could go to my brethren of the general authorities of the Church, to the last man, in any time of need, and find that I would not depart empty-handed or with empty heart. I hope that the time will come in every priesthood quorum of this Church when every member of every priesthood quorum can feel that same assurance concerning his own needs, spiritual and otherwise. It is a great source of strength and satisfaction and happiness, and assurance in life.
Before I proceed with one other thought that I have, I should like to express my personal regard for Brother Mark Petersen, who this day has been called to a place in the council of the twelve. It has been my privilege and my responsibility for some time to have business with him in the course of both of our official duties, and I have always found satisfaction in my approaches to him, and have always encountered there a quiet confidence and fairness, and safe judgment. And I subscribe to Brother Young's statement concerning him, pertaining to his gentlemanly characteristics on all occasions.
WAR MAKES NO CHANGE IN GOSPEL
There has been a thought running through my mind, one or two phases of which I should like to mention here today.
War, of necessity, changes many things. "Business as usual," is something that cannot be expected. Nor can we expect "life as usual." War may change, necessarily, many of the habits of our living, especially of a material nature.
But I should like to say this here today, with the best language that I can command: that war does not, and must not, and cannot, change fundamentals. For one thing, it does not change our obligation to be bearers of the message of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Brother George F. Richards has already referred to some phases of this, likewise his son, Bishop Richards, at this session.
If I am not mistaken, I think Brother Ivins of the First Council of the Seventy invited our attention some days ago to the fact that since the beginning of the stake missionary movement, within the past seven or eight years, more than 14,000 baptisms have resulted from stake missionary activity. To state it another way, that would add, perhaps, about three fairly good-sized stakes to the total membership of this Church-a tremendous accomplishment in the aggregate, and yet missionary opportunities are very perishable, so far as the individual is concerned.
I am reminded of the great hosts of men and women who have passed through our communities within the past two or three years, many of whom have now left, and I am wondering with what impressions they have left, or if they have any impression of us at all. Some of them who were here last month are gone; some of them who were here last year are gone; some of them who are here now will be gone next month. Missionary opportunities on an individual basis are exceedingly perishable and transitory. War does not change our obligations to be bearers of the message of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, wherever we are and trader whatever circumstances we find ourselves.
RESPONSIBILITIES CONCERNING OUR CHILDREN UNCHANGED
War does not change our obligations and responsibilities concerning our children; it cannot and it must not.
I am reminded of the fact that since the early crisis in the present European theatre of war, five or six years ago now, many young men and young women who were then twelve and fourteen and fifteen years of age, young men particularly, have since passed through perhaps the most critical years of their lives, and are now out fighting, flying bombers, in the armed forces of their respective countries, carrying the brunt, in many instances, of the heaviest battles. Should we have become too busy, because of the actual existence of war, or the imminence thereof, to have given these children of ours the foundation in our homes that we are obligated to give them and that they are entitled to have, thousands of them would now have left those homes without any foundation on which to place their feet.
I do not know how long the war will last, and I do not know anyone who does know. There are predictions extant, from a few weeks to several years. But regardless of its length, I do know that this is one of the responsibilities that war cannot and must not change-our responsibilities to our children-so that when the time comes that they must leave us, for any cause whatsoever, they will have that which will give them a fixed standard in life, a spiritual and moral foundation on which to rest their feet, no matter where they go or in what company they find themselves.
FUNDAMENTALS STILL IN FORCE
Another thing that war does not change is moral law, nor the evils and consequences that follow the disregarding of moral law. There is only one set of rules pertaining to the personal conduct of the children of our Father in heaven. If a thing was not right at home, it is not right away from home. If it was not right where we came from, it isn't right anywhere, in any company.
This spirit of social let-down and personal let-down is as wrong as it ever was or ever will be. War does not change fundamentals, nor the consequences that follow the ignoring of those fundamentals, and it must not be allowed to glorify evils. There is a reward for consistency of living, frequently restated by the prophets of God in a variety of language, over a wide period of time, but it resolves itself to the conclusion in the oft-quoted phrase: "He that shall endure to the end shall be saved".
May we be enabled as a people, and may our children, wherever they are, be enabled to distinguish between those things which war necessarily does not change, and those things which it must not be permitted to change, and to cleave to the fundamentals, both of personal and social conduct, as well as to all our other fixed obligations and duties as Latter-day Saints, and as children of God, our Father in heaven.
That we may have the spirit of discernment to distinguish between these things, and the strength, both those of us who are here and those who are on far fronts, the pattern of whose lives has been upset and broken, to carry forward and live lives of consistency, and endure to the end, is my prayer, to which I add my testimony of the truthfulness and divinity of this work, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Joseph Fielding Smith
Joseph Fielding Smith, Conference Report, April 1944, pp. 48-53
At the session of the conference this morning we were informed that the Church is out of debt, that it owes no man or any institution a dollar. For that I am grateful, as I know you are. But the Church is in debt-fortunately not financially, but it is in debt now, has always been in debt, and will be in debt as long as time endures.
With the help of the Lord, this afternoon I would like to point out some of these obligations resting upon the Church collectively, and upon the Church individually.
OUR INDEBTEDNESS TO THE LORD
James has said that "every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning". Everything that we possess, every blessing that comes is through the mercy and the goodness of our Father in heaven, and his Son Jesus Christ.
We read, in the second chapter of Mosiah, the words of King Benjamin which he was commanded by an angel to preach unto his people. I want to read one or two of these verses:
I say unto you, my brethren, that if you should render all the thanks and praise which your whole soul has power to possess, to that God who has created you, and has kept and preserved you, and has caused that ye should rejoice, and has granted that ye should live in peace one with another-
I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another-I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls, yet ye would be unprofitable servants.
And behold, all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments; and he has promised you that if ye would keep his commandments, ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth vary from that which he hath said; Therefore, if ye do keep his commandments, he doth bless you and prosper you.
And now, in the first place, he hath created you, and granted unto you your lives, for which ye are indebted unto him.
And secondly, he doth require that ye should do as he hath commanded you; for which if ye do, he doth immediately bless you; and therefore he hath paid you. And ye are still indebted unto him, and are, and will be, forever and ever; therefore, of what have ye to boast?.
GOD'S PLAN IS TO BRING SALVATION TO ALL MANKIND
How glorious is the plan of salvation, inaugurated before the foundation of the world for the salvation of men. Adam was sent to start the race, and through doing so, it became necessary for him to transgress a law, to bring death, or mortality, into the world. That made it necessary for the coming of Jesus Christ to redeem us from Adam's transgression, or the mortal death, and through the mercy of our Father in heaven, and His Son Jesus Christ, through that atonement we likewise are granted redemption from our own sins on condition of our repentance.
The resurrection comes to every soul, no matter how he lives, no matter what he believes; it comes to the wicked as well as to the righteous, and every man shall receive his reward according to his works.
Salvation from our individual sins comes through our repentance and cannot come any other way. And that all comes through the mission of Jesus Christ, who, according to the teachings of Paul, bought us with a price, and therefore, we belong to him and we are indebted to him. Never, worlds without end, will we be able to pay that debt. And that being true, we are under obligation to keep His commandments, to walk in the light of truth, to hearken to his precepts, to obey "every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God".
Ingratitude is, I think, the most prevalent of all sins, and one of the greatest, because every soul who refuses to abide in the truth, who will not walk in the light and understanding of the commandments which Jesus Christ has given, is ungrateful. He came and gave His life to redeem us from transgression. He was nailed to a cross and His blood was shed. What for? That we might live, that we might receive the remission of our sins, that we might, through obedience to the principles of the gospel, come back again into the presence of God the Father, and His Son Jesus Christ.
He did not have to die. He did that voluntarily. He tells us plainly that He laid down his life that He might take it again, because that is the commandment which He had received from His Father. "No man taketh it from me," He said, "but I lay it down of myself; I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father".
THE SUFFERINGS OF THE SAVIOR
Can you imagine the suffering, the extent of the anguish of soul that our Savior passed through-He who is the Son of God-in order that we might receive the resurrection, and resurrection, and that we might receive the remission of our sins through obedience to the principles of the Gospel, and an exaltation in the presence of the Father and the Son? Do we realize what all of that means?
I think it is understood by many that the great suffering of Jesus Christ came through the driving of nails in His hands and in His feet, and in being suspended upon a cross, until death mercifully released Him. That is not the case. As excruciating, as severe as was that punishment, coming from the driving of nails through His hands and through His feet, and being suspended, until relieved by death, yet still greater was the suffering which He endured in carrying the burden of the sins of the world-my sins, and your sins, and the sins of every living creature. This suffering came before He ever got to the cross, and it caused the blood to come forth from the pores of his body, so great was that anguish of His soul, the torment of His spirit that He was called upon to undergo.
Are we not indebted? Yes. Are we ungrateful? Yes, unless we are willing to abide by every word that comes from the mouth of God, unless we are obedient, unless our hearts are broken, in the scriptural sense, unless our spirits are contrite, unless within our soul is the spirit of humility and faith and obedience.
OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO PREACH THE GOSPEL
Now there are many debts which we owe to the Lord. There is the debt of preaching this gospel to a wicked and a perverse generation, and those are the words of the Lord, so do not accuse me of calling the world wicked. It is. I can testify to that from what I have seen of it, and I have seen of the wickedness but a small part, I assure you. But the world today is filthy, drunken, saturated and stinking with tobacco. The world is full of immorality. It is a fallen world; it has been a fallen world since Adam was driven from the Garden of Eden, and yet we are in it, and the Lord has given us the mission of assisting Him, of being His agents in this world, to regenerate it, as far as it is possible to bring to pass that regeneration. It will never be fully accomplished, so far as we are concerned; we are not going, by our preaching, to save very many souls.
The Lord has given unto men their agency. They may act for themselves, they can choose to do good, or they can choose to do evil with the rewards which are coming, and most men choose to do evil. The Lord said that men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. Yet our mission, I say, is, so far as it is within our power, to regenerate, to bring to repentance, just as many of the children of our Father in heaven as it is possible for us to do. That is one of our debts; that is an obligation the Lord has placed upon the Church, and more particularly upon the quorums of the priesthood of the Church, and yet this obligation belongs to every soul.
It is the duty of every member of this Church to preach the Gospel by precept and by example. Brother George F. Richards quoted from the scriptures this morning, where the Lord said it is our duty to warn the world, and it is the duty of every person so warned to warn his neighbor, and if he will warn the neighbors, then they are left without excuse, and their blood is upon their own heads. It is our mission to warn. That is one of our obligations, and we owe this debt to the world.
THE OBLIGATION ASSUMED IN PARTAKING THE SACRAMENT
I have already called attention to the fact how we are indebted to the Lord Jesus Christ. I want to say a little more about it. We go, if we are attending to our duties, to the sacrament service every Sunday; we partake of the bread representing the broken body of our Redeemer; we drink the water in remembrance of His blood which was shed; and we take upon ourselves obligations to do certain definite things. We are placed under covenant, to do what? To take upon us the name of Jesus Christ, to always remember Him, to keep His commandments which He has given us. These three things we covenant to do every time we eat that bread, every time we drink that water which has been dedicated, consecrated, to that very purpose.
We are indebted then, or obligated, to take upon us the name of Jesus Christ. This is the Church of Jesus Christ, and in taking upon us His name, we are under obligation to respect Him, and to remember what He has done for us, and we covenant to keep His commandments.
Do we think of it seriously? Can we eat and drink in remembrance of the body and blood of Christ, and then go immediately out to violate His commandments? Do we realize the nature and the importance of that great covenant we take upon us and renew every week of our lives-or at least have the opportunity to do it every week of our lives? We are under obligation to pray. I have been bold enough to say, that we are not a praying people. I shall modify that to this extent, by saying too many of us do not pray. We do not get down on our knees, we do not humble ourselves, we do not go before the Lord with that contrite spirit as He would have us do, and as we have been taught to do.
THE GOOD NAME OF THE CHURCH TO BE GUARDED
There is another obligation, another debt that we owe. We owe it as a Church and as individuals, to keep ourselves clean; our minds pure, our souls clean, uncontaminated by the sins of the world. It is the duty of each one of us individually to keep the good name of this Church unsullied. Now we have been accused of a great many things. There is not a crime in the category that has not been laid to the charge of the members of the Church. And the Lord said it would be so, that wicked men would speak evil of the truth. We should rejoice when they do that, not in the fact that we are so accused by those who bear false witness, but in the fact that we are innocent from all those things. In that we should rejoice.
But it is our duty as a Church, as communities, to keep the good name of this Church above reproach, and it is the duty of each individual member of this Church to keep himself clean, for each one of us carries with him the good name of the Church, and whenever we do anything that is contrary to righteousness, if we are unclean in our lives, if we do not keep the commandments the Lord has given, the whole Church suffers, not merely the guilty individual who sins, and we ought to think of that. If one man sins and his sin is published, the world blames the whole Church. They would not do that with any other organization under the sun.
So it is our obligation, and we owe this debt to each other and to the Church at large to keep ourselves in strict accord with all these laws and commandments, to keep ourselves virtuous and clean, clean in our thoughts, clean in our actions, clean in our words, clean from blasphemy, the taking of the name of the Lord in vain. We are in debt to our Father in heaven in regard to tithing, and we have heard a good deal about that this afternoon.
We are in debt in regard to fasting, and I am afraid there again we have failed. A day has been set apart for fasting in this Church, and I fear we have made it just about as easy for people as we can to disregard this commandment by the way we hold our meetings, and I am not so sure that we are observing that law as strictly as the requirements demand of us.
Let me read a word or two from section 59 of the D&C.;
The Ten Commandments were spoken of this morning. It will not hurt for me to repeat what is written here, beginning with verse 5, in section 59 of the Doctrine and Covenants:
Wherefore, I give unto them-meaning members of the Church-a commandment, saying thus: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy might, mind, and strength; and in the name of Jesus Christ thou shalt serve him.
Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD WITHDRAWN FROM THE WICKED
Here are two great commandments. We are under obligation, we are in debt to love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our might, with all our mind, with all our strength, and do it all in the name of Jesus Christ. We are in debt and under obligation to love our neighbors, and if the world had only loved its neighbors, it would not be torn asunder as it is today. All this that has come upon it is because of its wickedness, and because the people of the earth violated the commandments and lost the Spirit of the Lord, and when I say lost the Spirit of the Lord, I am not speaking of the Holy Ghost. They never had the Holy Ghost. But the Lord has given to every man that comes into this world the guidance of the Spirit of Christ, or light of truth, and many times we speak of it as the Spirit of the Lord, and in many of the revelations it is spoken of as the Spirit of the Lord. This Spirit of Christ is given to every man that comes into the world.
But the Lord has withdrawn this spirit in great measure, because of the wickedness of the world. The Lord has said:
I, the Lord, am angry with the wicked; I am holding my Spirit from the inhabitants of the earth.
This the Lord said a hundred years ago. He is not withholding the Holy Ghost from the world, because they never had it, but this light of truth, this guidance which comes to every man, which would lead men unto the truth if they would only hearken to it, is withdrawn because of their wickedness.
Now I will return to what I started to read:
Thou shalt not steal; neither commit adultery, nor kill, nor do anything like unto it.
Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things.
Thou shalt offer a sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in righteousness, even that of a broken heart and a contrite spirit.
And that thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world, thou shalt go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day.
That is another obligation, and a large percentage of the members of the Church are failing to pay that debt, or keep that obligation.
OUR OBLIGATION TO THOSE WHO HAVE DIED
Now, one more obligation that I wish to speak of, in conclusion. We owe an obligation not only to the living, but we owe an obligation to the dead. The Lord in His mercy and His justice grants to every man the opportunity to repent and to receive His Gospel. Millions have died without that privilege. They have gone into the spirit world not knowing Jesus Christ, without an opportunity to receive the remission of their sins. We owe a debt to them. We should be searching out the records of our dead and be preparing them that we might go into the temples of the Lord and there perform the ordinances for their salvation.
The Prophet Joseph said this is the greatest responsibility the Lord has placed upon us. Now, when he said that he meant, evidently, the greatest responsibility individually.
There is another responsibility just as great which belongs to us collectively, or as quorums of the priesthood and as members of the Church, and that is as I have already stated, to preach this gospel to a perverse and wicked generation.
Now, my dear brethren, the Lord bless you. Let us, as the scriptures say, "gird up our loins", and go out with all our might to accomplish the things the Lord has called upon us to accomplish, keeping His commandments, setting the example before all men, that they might follow, being humble, being true, and I ask it, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Ezra T. Benson
Ezra T. Benson, Conference Report, April 1944, pp. 54-59
I think I know now, brethren, how effectively suspense might be used as a tool of punishment.
I rejoice with you in the opportunity of meeting in this great conference. I was made happy yesterday in the appointment of Brother Mark Petersen to fill the vacancy in the Council of the Twelve, and with all my heart I sustain him and pray our Father to bless him, and bless us all in our respective callings in the priesthood.
INCREASE IN JUVENILE DELINQUENCY
I have been greatly concerned, as I am sure many of you have, over certain trends that are in evidence in this great land of ours, which tend to strike at the very foundation of many of the things we hold dear. I recognize the great promises that have been made to this land of Zion, through the Book of Mormon prophets and through prophets in the latter days. And yet, I wonder sometimes if we, as members of this great land, recognize what is necessary for us to do in order that those promises might be realized.
I am sure we all know that the fulfillment of those great promises is contingent upon our worshiping the God of this land, who is Jesus Christ.
I would like, if the Lord will bless me, to refer to one of the trends which has caused me deep concern since we last met in conference assembly. In riding across the great plains of this country, en route from Washington, D.C., to the conference, I read a letter and report from one of our great friends of youth, law and order and decency, and the American home, Mr. J. Edgar Hoover.
I was astounded to find that the trend of juvenile delinquency in this great land has reached proportions which should shock all of us. I am going to refer, if I may this morning, to some of the figures which were presented in the "Uniform Crime Report for the United States and its Possessions, by the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the U. S. Department of Justice," taken from the Annual Bulletin for 1943.
The increases in crime during the year 1943, as measured by arrests, are as follows:
Boy arrests, under 18 ... 23.4%, Girl arrests, under 21... 47.9%.
For the first time since records have been kept, age seventeen predominated in the frequency of male arrests. For the first time, age 18 predominated in the frequency of female arrests. The seriousness of the situation is more clearly seen when it is remembered that these increases, particularly in female arrests in 1943, are in addition to similar increases in 1942. Compared with 1941, the arrests of girls under 21 years of age has increased 130.4 per cent.
Now, I recognize that these statistics are subject to some interpretation. Because of the lack of time I will not attempt any particular interpretation, but I do feel that they are indicative of a serious trend which should be the concern of every true American, and certainly every member holding the priesthood in this Church. Those offenses might be broken down as follows:
In the case of male arrests under 18, arrests for rape, 39.8 percent increase; robbery, 39 percent increase; burglary, 27.7 percent increase; auto theft, 23.4 percent.
Increase in female arrests under 21: offenses against property, 30.1 percent increase; miscellaneous violations, 53.2 percent; and offenses against common decency, such as drunkenness, vagrancy, disorderly conduct, prostitution, commercial vice, and other sex crimes, such as adultery and fornication, show an increase of 56.9 percent.
Mr. Hoover, in commenting upon this serious and alarming situation, made the following comment:
This country is in deadly peril. We can win this war and still lose freedom for all in America; for the creeping rot of moral disintegration is eating into the nation. I am not easily shocked or easily alarmed, but today, like thousands of others, I am both shocked and alarmed.
The arrests of teen-age boys and girls all over the country are startling. Some of the crimes youngsters are committing are almost unspeakable. Prostitution, murder, rape, these are ugly words, but it is an ugly situation. If we are to correct it we must face it.
A recent survey of Christian ministers in this land indicates that sixty-five percent of the delinquency is due to broken homes. Commenting on this situation, Mr. Hoover continues:
America's youth, indicted by public opinion as reckless and carefree, is blamed for these misdeeds, but the real fault lies elsewhere. Before any youth has broken the law, some adult has committed a more serious crime. Driven by lust for money or enslaved by pleasure, the adult generation forgets that the most solemn obligation any person can assume in the eyes of God and men is to guide and direct the child along proper paths. To place anything ahead of that responsibility is akin to criminal negligence.
And then he comments on what he calls the "crack-pot theory":
This is the kind of "crack-pot theory" which has laid the groundwork for our present surge of teen-age trouble. For years we have listened to some quack theorists and pseudo-psychologists who have preached that discipline and control were bad for children, that they should be left uninhibited to work out their own life's pattern and their own self-discipline. But you never acquire self-discipline if you never learn what discipline is. Neither can life's problems be worked out without experience which can be secured only through hard knocks or by guidance from the experience of others.
Now, we are reaping the harvest. Fathers have gone to war or are working long hours; many mothers, too, are working on day or night shift. Youngsters are left to their own devices, and the tragic fallacy of the theory that self-discipline just grows is being demonstrated day by day.
PLEA OF A YOUNG SOLDIER FOR CHURCH MEMBERSHIP
Following a stake conference a few months ago, a young man in uniform came up to me and asked for an opportunity to talk for awhile. This was his story: He said: "I am a member of a certain camp near Washington, D.C. I have been attending the services held there by the Mormon boys, but," he said, "I haven't been able to participate. I don't hold the priesthood. Isn't there something that can be done so that I can get the priesthood and participate in the administration of the sacrament and the exercises among the Mormon boys?"
As we chatted for awhile, I learned that he had not only been deprived of the priesthood, but had never been baptized. Yet he told me of his home town here in Utah, a Mormon community, of his father and mother both members of the Church, his father inactive, his mother somewhat more active. But they had accepted this "crack-pot philosophy" that they would let the boy grow up and choose for himself. Then he pleaded with me that some means might be provided that he could come into membership in the Church and enjoy the blessings which he saw the other Mormon boys enjoying.
THE RESPONSIBILITY OF PARENTS
I call your attention, my brethren, to the revelations given by the Lord with reference to the responsibility of parents to train their children, to teach them the fundamental principles of the gospel, to teach them to pray and that parents who fail to accept and discharge this obligation will have the sin rest upon them.
Read what the Lord says in the 68th section of the D&C.; In the very early days of the Church, the Lord saw fit to chastise some of the leading brethren of the Church for their failure to train their children, to teach them correct principles, to teach them to pray, and they were admonished to put their own houses in order.
A SURVEY AMONG SEMINARY STUDENTS
I have been very much impressed with a recent survey made by our own Church department of education among the seminary students of this Church, our boys and girls. An attempt was made in this survey to find out what the youth of the Church consider are the important things which contribute to spirituality and a moral life. I am sure it will be a surprise to some to find that among the many things they listed-and apparently they did some very serious thinking on the matter-they listed prayer in the home. That simple thing, family prayers, devotion, which was so common in this great land a generation or so ago, but is found all too infrequently now, even in the homes of the Latter-day Saints.
Brethren, I encourage you, as fathers and as leaders, to see to it that every day we have a period of devotion in the home, if for no other reason than that it might influence the lives of our boys and girls.
They also listed as influences which contribute to spirituality, parents who were spiritual and set proper examples to their children, loyalty of parents to Church leaders, attendance at Church by children with parents, temple marriage-discussion of temple marriage in the home-love and kindness, good wholesome literature.
They were also asked to list the negative influences which tend to tear down spirituality and morality, and they listed, of course, lack of prayer and spirituality in the home, back-biting and criticism of Church leaders, lack of Church attendance by parents, and such anti-spiritual influences as smoking, drinking, card playing, profanity, hate, greed, dishonesty, and so forth.
These are our boys and girls who have thus spoken. They recognize what is necessary in order to provide the environment which will produce strong characters, morally and spiritually. I hope that as leaders in Zion we will do everything within our power to provide that environment for the youth of this great Church. I have confidence in the youth of Zion, I recognize, my brethren, the serious and crucial period through which the youth of Zion are passing, and I sincerely pray that we will throw around them every safeguard that is possible, in order that they can meet the temptations and overcome them.
INTERVIEW WITH A CHIEF EXECUTIVE
While holding a series of meetings in the eastern part of the United States a few weeks ago, I was invited by the chief executive of one of the great states to visit his office. I had no idea what he wanted to discuss, but as we sat there, it soon became clear that he was concerned with the problems of youth, and he wanted to know three things about the Mormon Church: First of all, our program of activity for youth; secondly, our great missionary system. He was not so much concerned about the proselyting program of the Church, but what that missionary system did to build character in young men; and, thirdly, the great Welfare program of the Church, which tends to restore and enjoin thrift, work, and such virtues that have built this great country.
As we sat there discussing these problems, the question of family prayer came up, and he told of his experience as a boy in his own home, where he knelt in devotion each day, and then he told about visiting several of the homes of his friends recently, where there was no devotion in the home. He had great fear for the future of the youth of this great land because of the lack of spirituality in the home.
Then I had the great pleasure of telling him something of our program, and made reference to a Gold and Green ball which had just been held in one of the great hotels in Washington, where six to eight hundred young men and women had enjoyed themselves in an evening of sociability. There were no cigarettes, no liquor, and the party was opened and closed with prayer. I said, "Mr. Governor, would you believe that such a thing could happen?"
He said: "I wish it were more common. It is almost impossible for me to believe it, in view of what I know of conditions that are facing the youth of this land, and what is happening in my own state."
I told him that was only typical of parties held throughout the Church, in 147 stakes.
THE STANDARDS OF THE CHURCH A RECOMMENDATION FOR OUR YOUTH
I am convinced, my brethren of the priesthood, that we bare in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, in the standards of Mormonism, an answer to this upward trend in juvenile delinquency, if we will only make our programs effective, if we will only make them work.
Now, as never before, the youth of this Church need the program of the Church. They cannot afford to be without it. They need the companionship of a good man and a good woman, and I hope, as officers and as fathers, we will provide that companionship, that we will put our arms around them and sustain them, help them and direct them during this very crucial period.
To the youth of the Church I would like to say this: I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that no young man or woman in this Church can afford to disregard the standards and teachings of the Church. Even if they are looking at it only from their personal advancement in the material world, it pays to live the standards of Mormonism. I have seen it demonstrated, time and time again, particularly during the last five years that I have resided in the nation's capital.
I know there is a lot of wickedness in the world, as was pointed out by Elder Joseph Fielding Smith yesterday, but I testify that in spite of that wickedness, the world is yet willing to pay for the services of young men and women who remain true to the standards of this Church.
I could give you illustration after illustration that will demonstrate that fact. Only a few days ago a man called me in the early morning, on the telephone, and asked if I would have lunch with him that day. I accepted, and a few hours later we faced each other across the luncheon table in one of the hotels, and he said: "I presume you are curious to know why I invited you here?" I said: "Yes, I am."
He said: "I represent one of the great hotels of the middle west." It developed that he represented probably the greatest hotel, certainly the largest, in the middle west.
He said: "In a group of friends in Chicago the other day, I was telling them that I had the responsibility of going to Washington to open a Washington office for our organization, and," he said, "I began to outline the kind of man I would like to represent us in the nation's capital."
Then he said: "After I had enumerated his qualifications, one of the men spoke up and said, 'Well, what you want is a Mormon Missionary.'"
And then he said: "When I got in the nation's capital, I inquired who was the representative of your Church here, and someone referred me to you. That is why I have invited you."
Then he began to enumerate the things he wanted in this representative. First of all, he must be morally clean. His integrity must be beyond question. He must not tamper with alcoholic beverages. He would prefer a man who did not even use tobacco. Then he went on and recited, almost entirely, the standards of this people, then asked me if I could suggest a young man that would meet those requirements.
I said: "My good friend, I could give you the names of twenty or thirty that would meet every one of those requirements, so far as I have been able to determine."
Now, I mention this simply to indicate to the youth of Zion that if they are looking only to their material advancement, if they are thinking only of getting ahead in the material world, financially, in the business field, it pays to maintain the standards of Mormonism. And if you look to the Great Beyond, and consider your eternal happiness and exaltation, it pays time and time again to maintain the standards of the Church.
May the Lord bless us. May he bless us as leaders in Zion, that we may be able to inspire the youth of the land to righteous living, that they will recognize the importance of maintaining the standards of the Church, and receive the promised blessings which come from adherence to those standards, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Elder Thomas E. McKay
Thomas E. McKay, Conference Report, April 1944, pp. 60-63
President Grant and brethren: I join with Elder Benson and other brethren who have spoken in expressing appreciation for the selection of Brother Mark Petersen as a member of the Council of the Twelve. Mark is one of the sweetest characters that I have ever met-kind, generous, tolerant, but fearless in the defense of right. I know you brethren who have not met him will love him when you do meet him, and the better acquainted you become the more you will love him.
REPORT OF CONDITIONS IN EUROPE
I am very pleased to have this opportunity of again reporting briefly the conditions in the European missions. Our members, as far as we are able to hear from them, are still carrying on. We continue to receive reports from the Palestine-Assyrian Mission; they are at least four months on the way, but they arrive. The last reports were received last Monday, April 3, and they were mailed November 30, 1943. Their Priesthood and sacrament and Relief Society meetings and also Sunday Schools are held as usual.
We also get reports regularly from the French-Swiss district. On the 20th of each month the books are closed and before the 30th, the reports are made out and mailed. The last report was that of December 1943. It stated that they had just held a district conference in LaChaux-du-Fonds, one of the most successful ever held. They began Saturday night previous to the regular sessions of the conference, with a concert. The hall was too small for the large attendance. After the preliminary part of the program they had refreshments. One of the sentences in that report, about the refreshments is rather revealing; it states, "We were delighted to be served with some real syrup." God bless them! If we only knew the conditions that exist there, brethren, we would be more willing to follow instructions to grow and store more.
The report also shows that three other successful conferences have been held; that one new hall has been rented and some of the others cleaned and remodeled; there have been ten baptisms during the year.
We were also delighted to receive a brief report from our members in Finland. This is the first time for months that we have heard anything from them. It said:
Through the grace of God, our men called to the colors have been protected. In spite of the war, fast meetings have been held regularly, and a small Sunday School is sustained in the Larsmo Branch, which is attended by children, almost entirely, of non-members.
These brethren and sisters are paying their tithing, although they cannot send the money out of Finland; so they have accumulated quite a sum; and it is recommended by the presiding elder that some of the money be used for the purchase of a building lot for a chapel.
We have also heard from the Danish Mission. Two sheets of their publication, Skandinaviens Stjerne, were mailed from Sweden, and I quote as follows:
A bright moment in 1943 was the reopening of the Frederikshavn Branch, where the Saints have exhibited a zeal and joy for the Gospel that is inspirational. This, the most northern branch in Denmark, should have splendid future possibilities for success, and to other branches and members be an excellent example to pattern after. The Saints in that city do not hesitate to walk eight and ten miles to attend a meeting.
During the past year we came in singular manner in contact with a former missionary, Elder Homer P. Anderson, who at present is in German captivity. Many will remember Brother Anderson from his labors in Esbjerg and Copenhagen. He sends his greetings to everyone individually and writes: "I am praying for the Saints." Do not let us forget him, either, in our prayers.
Through the Women's Relief Society, we have rejoiced in being able to assist our Norwegian brethren and sisters who were in need. To judge by the letters we have received, the provisions we have been able to send to them have been the means to relieve them of real want.
All the Saints in Denmark took this merciful act to heart, and had it been, in their power to do so, they would have done it more effectively.
The statistical report, for the year 1943, December not included, shows: baptisms performed, 21; children blessed, 16; members who died, 12; promoted in the Priesthood, 24; marriages, 3.
All the meetings must be held in the daytime, as the people are not permitted to be out after dark.
From the Swedish Mission we get reports regularly as usual, although they, as all other reports, are censored. Quoting from the last letter received March 27, dated January 14:
We celebrated our fifth Christmas with thankful feelings toward God in heaven. Our cities are again immersed in light; provisions and other commodities are exhibited in store windows, and the rationing of commodities has to some extent improved in defiance of the prolongation of the war.
There are at present in this land about 35,000 fugitives of different nationalities, with whom we are sharing our bread, and we know that the Lord blesses our government for our charities which the nation as a whole has contributed. Of course, a certain amount of inflation has been felt, and there are, without doubt, many difficulties for some of our citizens to get debits and credits to balance.
This year we have baptized nineteen people, ordained twenty-five to the Priesthood, and blessed twenty-one children, from all of which we see that the Lord has been good to us. We are so grateful for the peace, love and unity that prevails. We do thank the Lord for the spiritual help which has been manifest in actions. For instance, tithing shows a very substantial increase each year since 1939, and the year 1943 has been especially good.
From the British Mission the last letter, received March 18 and mailed February 24, states:
The Church News and The Improvement Era, and other magazines are coming in fairly regularly, and we thank you for the material we receive. We have a permit now to send some Church literature to our members of the Church who are prisoners of war. The pocket edition of the Book of Mormon and The Principles of the Gospel have been distributed to all service members with whom we can possibly get into contact, that is, those who have not received the books direct from Zion. Altogether about 600 packets have been distributed.
We have held altogether three L.D.S. service men's conferences, one in London, one in Wigan, and the last one in Birmingham, at which there were about 200 service men and approximately that number of our local members, chiefly young people, present. It was a grand affair. We began on Saturday afternoon with a basketball game between two L.D.S. teams from the north of England. It was a lively game, attended by about 300 people. A sociable, get-acquainted hour was the next item on the program. Then a grand concert followed, and the evening concluded with our Gold and Green Ball.
Sunday was devoted to the L.D.S. service men's conference, and the chapel was packed to capacity. We are planning another missionwide service men's conference to be held sometime in May.
In various parts of the country the brethren in the forces are taking advantage of holding services, Mutual classes and religious discussions. There are at least a dozen places where our brethren are doing this very valued work.
ADVICE TO MEMBERS UPON WITHDRAWAL OF MISSIONARIES
After the 699 missionaries had been evacuated from the twelve missions in the European group, shortly after the beginning of this world war, our members naturally were somewhat discouraged, downhearted and blue. We encouraged them as best we could, advised them as we advise our new missionaries, especially those who are somewhat homesick, and perhaps lovesick, that the best tonic, the best remedy for such sickness and for the blues is a gospel conversation. It is also a good remedy for worry. I think it is really as good-and that is saying something for me-as a fishing trip. You can forget your forget your worries through a Gospel conversation.
We also suggested to our members this motto, or slogan, as we called it: "Every member a missionary." From the reports and letters, I am sure that most of our members are living up to that motto. I would suggest, if I may, that slogan to you fine mission presidents who are here representing the seventeen missions in the North American group. You are losing most of your missionaries; they are being "evacuated" or transferred to the service of our country, and I am sure that the members, if they would follow this motto, could carry on the work. "Every member a missionary."
I know every service man is a missionary. God bless them. I was delighted with President Grant's message to our service men. They are preaching the Gospel, and in the most effective way, as President Grant stated, by their example. People generally, and especially young people, would rather at any time see a sermon than hear one.
EXAMPLE BETTER THAN PREACHING
May I suggest, too, brethren, that we have an opportunity here at home, by our example, to preach the Gospel. There are thousands of strangers in our midst, and if we would keep in mind always the first part of the thirteenth Article of Faith: "We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men", and to so live that it could be said of all of us who are here this morning, and the Latter-day Saints generally, not that we believe only, but that we are honest, we are true, we are chaste, we are benevolent, we are virtuous and we are doing good to all men, it would not matter so much then if we did not have so many missionaries in the field, such an example would be much more effective than all our preaching.
May our Father in Heaven give us the desire, the will-power, the courage and the faith to so live and to follow His slogan, His admonition: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven", I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Antoine R. Ivins
Antoine R. Ivins, Conference Report, April 1944, pp. 66-68
I am very happy to be with you here today, my brethren, and bring you the good news that President Hardy of our Council is better today and continually improving, and to elicit upon his behalf faith and prayers that his recovery may be rapid and complete.
As I came into the building, I met a very dear brother who has feted something similarly to him, for a number of years, who now that he has been completely healed through the blessings of the Lord. We know that it is possible, and if we unite our prayers in behalf President Hardy we feel sure that he can come back to service and our companionship.
One feels a sense of responsibility in occupying the time of group of men, and I pray that God may give me His spirit, the few moments that I stand here, that I may say something that may possibly helpful to a few of us. Before I start out, however, I want to my very great pleasure at the presence on the stand of the President the Church, my venerable uncle, and tell him that our constant prayer in our family is for his well-being.
OUR DAILY CONDUCT
We are a missionary group, the First Council of the as we go forth, we constantly have in mind the dissemination of God, the bearing of testimony as to the restoration of the Gospel in the latter dispensation. We study the D&C; for themes to use in approaching the people. I remember that when some of the brethren in early days asked the Prophet to ask the Lord what they best do for their own welfare, the Lord told them, through the Prophet Joseph Smith, that they could do nothing better than to call the world to repentance; and as I came to the stand, President Young suggested that I talk about this subject.
I have come to the conclusion that there is never a day in my life when it is not essential to my well-being. I think sometimes some of us think of repentance in a rather narrow way, but I am coming to feel that it applies to everything we do in life, whether its purpose be temporal or spiritual. The Lord has told us that there is nothing purely temporal, that in all we do there is a spiritual aspect. I believe that is true, that every activity, every honest and honorable activity of life should be directed toward the well-being of the sons and daughters of God; and if it is, it is spiritual in its nature.
As we meet each other in our daily walks, we strive to help each other to live better, more successfully, that we may prosper. Some of us are not particularly careful in our dealings with each other, to be honest, and to give all a fair chance. I believe that in all of our dealings there is something to be gained, that a fair exchange is justified; for a fair exchange is no robbery, and that men can deal honestly and honorably with each other, so that there may be profits on both sides of the deal. I believe that we should strive to that end and purpose in all our labors.
I believe that all of us, when we view our own conduct, and can see that we have taken undue advantage of another, have reason to repent. I believe that all of us who, when we think of our sons and our daughters, feel that we have not given them the type of teaching and leadership that they should have had, have reason to repent. There is nothing on earth that is of greater value to us than our children, and there is little that has less care at certain times from certain people. We travel around from place to place, we see frequently children who are allowed just to grow up; they have no leadership in their homes, they have no guidance, and they have no care. Fortunately, that is a condition which is not prevalent in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
REPENTANCE A PRINCIPLE OF GROWTH
I do feel, however, that there are occasions and instances in which even our children do not have the type of leadership that they should have, and the prominence of certain sins among us indicates that very thing.
I think that when we go to our rest at night, we should thank God for any success we have had during the day, and ask Him for faith in guiding our children. We should do the same thing when we start upon the duties of the day in the morning. We should ask God for faith in caring for them. Now, if we have not done so, we have reason for repentance.
If we have misrepresented any act, anything in our business activities of the day, we have reason for repentance.
We are constantly repenting of the practical things that we do in life. Whenever a man comes to us and tells us that we can grow more wheat by changing our system, we repent, although we do not call it that. We abandon an old practice that was not good, and take on a new one which is better, but we are not so prone to adopt the suggestions of people who are inspired of the Lord when they come to us and tell us how we can better our spiritual lives. We ought to pay attention to those suggestions because they are prompted by the Spirit of God.
Now, we are daily confronted with the task of deciding what we would like to do, and what we can best do, from the many things we would like to do. None of us can do everything we would like; we have to make that decision. We have to decide what is the worthwhile thing, and what is not. If we have been in the habit of doing things that our better judgment tells us are not quite the best thing that we might do for our good and the good of those depending upon us, we have there a chance for repentance.
Let us inspect our lives and see if we do not, all of us, have room to change our way of living. I feel that many of us do. We, who are here, are the priesthood of God. We are the leaders of the people; we have a charge; we have a duty; and if we can feel that we have fully acquitted ourselves of that duty and responsibility, all is well and good.
Perhaps, as leaders of wards and branches and priesthood quorums, we have need to repent, because we have not fully done our duty. I feel sure that many of us have not. If we all had, perhaps our quorums would be in better condition than they are.
RESPONSIBILITY OF LEADERSHIP
When we accept these offices, we accept a definite responsibility, very, very definite, one to lead. Now, people like leadership when it is good and just, and they approve of it. They follow it. But it is not a common thing for a man to be able to guide a community according to a program that he himself will not subscribe to. Perhaps some of us need to repent of some of our priesthood leadership practices, so that we may be able to say: "Come, let us go in this direction."
I think that is one of our greatest responsibilities as leaders of this Church, that we should be honest and true, absolutely honest and true to the standards of the Church and the obligations of leadership which we assume.
There is no place in all our activities for us to forget this responsibility, and to forget that from day to day we should better our way of living. We should increase our power of leadership; we should be more eager to serve and better qualified to serve. If we cannot gain through the experience of today more power for tomorrow, we are unfortunate. If we should see in the work we do today wherein we have failed, we, as leaders of the priesthood, have reason to repent, to abandon the bad of today, and to replace it with a better system for tomorrow.
Brethren, do not get the idea that repentance is something that is only for the man who does not belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, because it is a thing that applies to us every hour, and every day, and every year of our lives. We will never be perfect, and the last act of our lives may be one of repentance. We should remember it, and apply it.
I pray that God will bless us, that He will make us strong, that we, the leaders of Israel, will have the inspiration of His holy spirit in leading this people, that they can honestly support us and follow us in the things we ask them to do. God bless you. Amen.
Elder Joseph F. Smith
Joseph F. Smith, Conference Report, April 1944, pp. 77-79
My dear brethren, and my brethren and sisters who have joined this conference by radio, it is a great honor and a grave responsibility to bear one's testimony to this congregation. Yesterday morning, just before coming over to conference, a man walked into my office whom I had not seen for a number of years. I think I shall name him: President Edward L. Clissold from the Hawaiian Islands. We were boyhood chums together; went through grade school together; were on missions together; and as I shook his hand and felt the strength of those long years of friendship and common ideals, I was singularly impressed with the power of unity; and during the morning session yesterday, as we listened to the message of the living prophet of Almighty God, I was impressed again with his iteration of the need for unity.
UNITY AN ESSENTIAL PRINCIPLE
We are gathered here together at a particularly significant season, even though it be more or less paganistically celebrated by the Christian world; a season whose significance is genuinely appreciated only by Latter-day Saints. The Savior not long before he went to His crucifixion admonished the Twelve and then He prayed to His Father in Heaven, and among other things He said these words:
Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one as we are;... and for their sakes I sanctify myself that they might also be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which believe on me through their word, that they may all be one, as thou, Father, art in me and I in thee, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.
Disunity is forever a destructive force whether it be war among nations; whether it be civil strife within the state; whether it be schism within the Church, discord within the family, or even turmoil and conflict within the soul of the individual person; for a man divided against himself can no more stand than a divided house. A society cannot be unified except as its members are one together and except as individually they are one with themselves. The matter of wholeness is essential.
CAUSES FOR DELINQUENCY
Modern psychologists have said much in recent years about the integrated personality, and our hospitals for mental defectives are full of persons suffering from conflicts within themselves. They are not whole. It is profoundly significant that this word "whole" is used frequently as a synonym for "health." You remember when the Pharisees saw the Savior sitting at meat with Publicans, sinners, and so on, they found fault with Him, and He told them that the whole have no need of a physician. It is the basic business of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to bring about a oneness, a wholeness in the individual, a wholeness collectively among the children of God. I should like to leave this one idea this afternoon in the matter of helping the individual to be whole.
We have heard a good deal about juvenile delinquency, a grave problem; and one of the alarming, particularly alarming, aspects of our present juvenile delinquency is that not so great a percentage of it any longer comes from the broken home. While the broken home is still a tremendous contributing factor, we are alarmed to find out that among the so-called "best families" many young persons are running amuck, I am of the opinion that much of this delinquency is the result of conflicts within the individual souls of the young people. What of parents who actually foster and abet internal conflict in their children? I am speaking of Latter-day Saints, or at least members of the Church, who, through certain Church loyalty, send their children to their Church meetings, their Primary and their M.I.A. and their Sunday School; who have their sons go to Priesthood meetings and in due course encourage them to receive the Priesthood and yet who, in their own homes, do not set worthy examples. In such case, the youngster goes to Sunday School and is taught that he should be loyal to the Church; he is taught the principles of the Gospel. He comes home only to find those principles disobeyed in his home. Moreover, the Church teaches him the words of the Savior "Honor thy father and thy mother!". Here he is faced with a divided loyalty. If he is loyal to his parents, how can he be loyal to the Church which teaches doctrines and advocates conduct which his parents by their very lives reject?
Many parents, in so simple a thing as keeping the Word of Wisdom excuse themselves sometimes on the basis of social exigency, sometimes on the basis of business exigency. There is only one basis for it and that is either a lack of belief or moral cowardice. No parent would deliberately subject his child to physical suffering. Any parent who would do that we would say is cruel, and yet it is just as much an act of cruelty and ultimately more damaging, to impale the child on the horns of a dilemma of conflicting loyalties. He cannot be fully loyal to a Church which teaches one doctrine and fully loyal to parents who decline to observe that doctrine. That conflict will be resolved either by the destruction of one or other or both of those loyalties. We need oneness.
The Doctrine and Covenants has explained what the human soul is; what the soul of man is. The body and the spirit are the soul of man, and the purpose of our mortal sojourn is to bring about a complete fusion, to bring about an indissoluble oneness, of spirit and body. If parents will live according to the Gospel, will send their children to be taught in Church organizations and indeed will augment that teaching with teaching and example in the home, then two great forces, the family and the Church, will converge upon the individual youngster to bring about a wholeness, a spiritual health, a oneness without which neither happiness nor salvation can be obtained.
HUNGER FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS TO BE CULTIVATED
We have a grave responsibility to establish in our young people righteous hunger. Everyone of us knows that he has hungers for particular foods. Even now, when I'm very hungry the first thing I think of is a big bowl of beans and a piece of new bread and butter. Why? Because as a youngster, every Monday afternoon that is what I got, and now when I am hungry nothing else tastes so good. We hunger for those things we are used to. When we are hungry, we don't think of a bowl of bird-nest soup, though thousands of Chinese do. These boys who have gone out into the service of their country and get away from home and look about them for a Church to go to, hunt up other boys who are members of the Church and get together to meet. Why do they do it? Because they have a hunger in them established for it. "Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness". That is no mere figure of speech. Those words were wisely chosen. If we deliberately implant righteous hungers in our children, then when they are from under our roof trees they will bend their dearest efforts to satisfy the healthful appetite wise parentage has helped to cultivate. One can hunger for righteousness just as one can develop evil appetites.
It is my prayer that we shall have the wisdom and the courage so to live that our very lives will be dynamically persuasive examples to our young people of what the Church teaches, so that we may not be guilty of inflicting upon them the agonies of conflicting loyalties, and I ask it in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Joseph L. Wirthlin
Joseph L. Wirthlin, Conference Report, April 1944, pp. 79-84
I sincerely trust, my brethren, that I might enjoy the spirit of the Lord for the moment or two that I stand before you. It is now six years since the present Presiding Bishopric was sustained in its present position. I should like to say that this period of our lives has been a period of inspiration because of the fact that we have had the privilege of being so closely associated with the living prophets of God, these men who receive the mind and will of our Heavenly Father to guide and direct the destiny of this great Church. I am deeply grateful for the association that I have with you, for the privilege of visiting your stakes and wards and observing the high degree of loyalty and devotion to the cause of the Lord Jesus Christ manifested by you.
GRATEFUL FOR LABORS AMONG YOUTH
The Presiding Bishopric is most grateful for the high privilege we enjoy in laboring with the youth of Zion. Of our several responsibilities and duties, we are agreed that the most important is our participation with you in directing and guiding the destiny of the Aaronic Priesthood of the Church. I want to say to you that laboring with boys and young men, securing their confidence and trust, is the sweetest experience that can come into the life of any man. When one speaks of boys, the memory of the Boy of Nazareth always comes to mind, particularly that period of His life when He was twelve years of age. It was the custom of the Jewish people, when a boy attained the age of twelve, to make him a member of his home community. At this age, a boy was expected to have selected his life's vocation. He was given higher assignments in the study of the law, and, if he qualified, he was recognized by the religious leader, the priest, as a son of the law. The Jewish boy at the age of twelve was extended the privilege of attending the Feast of the Passover, which was held in Jerusalem. Christ at the age of twelve accompanied His father and mother to attend this great Jewish celebration, which lasted for a week. Thereafter, His parents, Joseph and Mary, started their homeward journey, and at the end of the first day of travel, they discovered Jesus was not with them. They immediately retraced their steps to the city, and, after searching diligently, they found Jesus in the temple, discussing with the scribes and wise men the problems of the day, propounding and answering questions to the amazement of these men of learning. Mary reproached her son in the following words: "Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. And He said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?".
Jesus Christ, at the age of twelve, was aware of His great mission in the world, and in this day, twenty centuries since the Boy of Nazareth lived, it is most inspiring to know that young men at the age of twelve are given definite Priesthood responsibilities. The Boy of Nazareth received His training and assignments under the old Mosaic law. The young servants of God today receive their assignments and Priesthood training under the law of the divine direction of Jesus Christ, who has set in motion the great training program for the young men of the Church. The Priesthood extended to young men is the Aaronic Priesthood, after the order of Aaron, the heritage of which belongs to the descendants of Aaron and Levi; but until such time as these descendants claim their Priesthood inheritance of necessity the work is being carried on by the heirs of Ephraim and Manasseh, whose heritage is the Melchizedek Priesthood. However, the Aaronic Priesthood for these young men becomes a great school of preparation for the higher order of the Priesthood, the Melchizedek Priesthood.
THE AARONIC PRIESTHOOD AND ITS FUNCTIONS
The Lord, in making known to the Prophet Joseph the powers and the rights of the Priesthood, indicated in the 107th section of the Doctrine and Covenants: "Why it is called the lesser Priesthood is because it is an appendage to the greater, or the Melchizedek Priesthood, and has power in administering outward ordinances". This statement of the Lord to the Prophet Joseph has provoked some thinking on my part, particularly as the Priesthood is related to Latter-day Saint homes. If every Latter-day Saint home were in order as it should be, the head of that home would be one holding the Melchizedek Priesthood, the Priesthood after the order of the Son of God, and all the sons in that home of the age of twelve and over would hold the Aaronic Priesthood, an appendage to the higher Priesthood.
It occurs to me that after all, a son is an appendage to his father. He is a part of his father, and how glorious it is to contemplate the relationship of father and son in connection with the holy Priesthood of the Lord Jesus Christ. As the Aaronic Priesthood is an appendage to the Melchizedek Priesthood, the son is an appendage to his father, and hence they become one in the work of the Boy of Nazareth.
One of the evidences of the divine origin of the Priesthood is in its organization. Standing at the head of the Aaronic Priesthood in every ward as the presidency are three high priests, constituting the bishopric of the ward. The young men of the Church come in contact with and immediately under the direction of these common judges in Israel, these men who are endowed with inspiration from on high to guide and direct the destiny of these young servants of the Lord Jesus Christ. The bishop, according to divine revelation, stands at the head of the priests' quorum, the Lord making it known to Joseph Smith: "Also the duty of the president over the Priesthood of Aaron is to preside over forty-eight priests, and sit in council with them, to teach them the duties of their office, as is given in the covenants-This president is to be a bishop; for this is one of the duties of this Priesthood". This is as it should be, for as a boy passes from adolescence to young manhood, the Lord's servant, the bishop, becomes his counselor, becomes the president of the priests' quorum to which he belongs, preparing him to function in the office of a priest as did John the Baptist of old, and eventually so qualifying him that he may receive the Melchizedek Priesthood.
As with a bishop, so with his first and second counselors. These men constitute a part of the presidency of the Aaronic Priesthood of a ward. Therefore, the first counselor should be intensely interested in the welfare of teachers or deacons and the same applies to the second counselor, affording a training for the twelve-year-old and the fifteen-year-old boy which will qualify them to receive higher offices in the Aaronic Priesthood.
DUTIES OF BISHOP IN RELATION TO THE AARONIC PRIESTHOOD
The bishopric of the ward participates in all of the steps which mark a young man's spiritual progress. First, in fast meeting, under the direction of the bishopric, the infant boy is presented to the Lord to receive a father's blessing and a name. Second, the bishopric directs his baptism, and in fast meeting assembled, directs his confirmation. Third, the Priesthood is conferred upon him under the hands of the bishopric, as Aaron conferred it upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. Fourth, the bishopric recommends him for advancement to the Melchizedek Priesthood. Fifth, the bishopric recommends him to the First Presidency for missionary service. Sixth, the bishop of the ward issues a certificate of worthiness in evidence of clean, sweet living, which permits the young man to enter the house of the Lord to receive his endowments and be sealed to Iris life's mate for time and eternity.
As we contemplate the relationship established by the divine Priesthood of the Lord Jesus Christ between young men and the bishopric of the Church, it should be a great source of inspiration and motivation, not only to youth but to parents and the men who preside over the Aaronic Priesthood, parents and members of bishoprics cooperating together to the end that these young men may become more than the Jewish boy at twelve, a son of the law, but instead well-trained, devoted, faithful servants of the Lord Jesus Christ.
No young man can render service in the Aaronic Priesthood sincerely without feeling the influence of the Boy of Nazareth. For example, the deacon who participates in the administration of the sacrament must think of the fact that Jesus Christ was the first to pass the sacrament to the congregation. It should have a beautiful and sacred influence upon the mind and heart of every deacon.
The ordained teacher, whose right and duty it is, as the Lord indicates in the 20th section of the Doctrine & Covenants, verse 53, "to watch over the Church always, and be with and strengthen them", is afforded a magnificent opportunity in connection with their Melchizedek Priesthood companions in watching over the flock and particularly in training young men in the great art of teaching the divine laws of the gospel. He learns to express himself freely, and in preparing a message for the people, he unconsciously converts himself to the great truths of the restored Gospel. Again this duty of teaching the people follows the example of the Boy of Nazareth, for he was the Great Teacher.
The office of a priest is one of the most inspirational offices of the entire Priesthood because of the duties involved. To kneel at the sacrament table and utter the revealed blessings on the bread and water as Christ repeated them before His assembled apostles should inspire a young man to the most high and noble motives and impress upon him the necessity of living a sweet, clean life. The privilege of performing the ordinance of baptism is one which must impress upon the young priest the reality of the Priesthood and the authority that it carries, for no young man could utter the revealed baptismal prayer without feeling that he has indeed been commissioned of Jesus Christ. With uplifted hand, he declares to the candidate and to the world, "Having been commissioned of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen". The utterance of the prayer gives him the assurance, the testimony, that his authority is valid, that the visitation of John the Baptist was a reality, and that the priesthood he holds was handed down from John the Baptist through Joseph Smith.
OPPORTUNITY FOR SERVICE
The Aaronic Priesthood affords the privilege of service, and with that service there comes a fundamental training in Priesthood work to the end that some day these young servants of the Lord will receive their Priesthood inheritance, namely the Melchizedek Priesthood, which Priesthood is after the order of the Son of God. In the minds of the Presiding Bishopric, there is no question but what this sacred privilege of Priesthood service will inculcate into the hearts of these youthful servants a testimony of the restored Gospel, and they will become thoroughly familiar with the fundamental principles of the plan of life and salvation. They are taught to be clean in body and mind by observing God's law of health and to observe the law of dependability, for an assignment to pass the sacrament, to teach the people, to bless the sacrament, or to baptize someone is equivalent to keeping an appointment with Jesus Christ. The lesson of rendering service unto others exemplifies the second part of the first great commandment, "Love thy neighbor as thyself". The payment of tithing is a manifestation of their desire to return to the Lord His portion for the building up and sustaining of His kingdom here upon the earth. Participation in the welfare program affords a training and experience that will qualify them fully for the carrying on of this most important work when they obtain a place in the Melchizedek Priesthood.
TESTIMONY OF A YOUNG MAN
A great deal is said about the problem of juvenile delinquency, but how often do we consider that in our hands rests the solutions and the implements whereby the youth of Israel can be so trained that they will accept the declaration of the Boy of Nazareth, "Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?". Any young man trained properly and fully in the Aaronic Priesthood will so live that his parents will never be plagued with any kind of problem in juvenile delinquency. An illustration of what Priesthood training will do for a young man supported by excellent parents came to my attention in a recent conference wherein a young man was invited to speak. He said:
Brethren and sisters, in two days I will be eighteen years of age, and you know what that means to me. I expect to be inducted into the armed services of my country. To many this seems a hard thing for one as young as I, but it is easy, for there burns in my heart a testimony of the divinity of this great work, and because of that testimony, my heart is filled to overflowing with gratitude for the many blessings the Lord has so generously bestowed upon me. I'm grateful for my beloved parents, grateful for the Priesthood I bear, and grateful for the knowledge that should my life be taken in battle, I shall return to Him who gave me life. I'm grateful for the opportunity of mortality, and the spirit of testimony which whispers to me that I shall again have my father and mother and that the privilege of serving the Lord on the other side shall be made available to me.
The attitude of this young man, his testimony, his cleanliness, his implicit faith are all the results of a splendid home and his loyal devoted service in the cause of the Boy of Nazareth.
ADULTS HOLDING AARONIC PRIESTHOOD
Bishops preside over young men from twelve to twenty-one years of age, but there is another great army of 36,880 men over the age of twenty-one in the wards and stakes of the Church, still holding the Aaronic Priesthood. It is needless to point out to you that they, too, are your responsibility and mine, and these souls are precious in the sight of the Good Shepherd. There devolves upon us the responsibility to so motivate them and inspire them to the end that they will qualify and make themselves worthy to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood and all of its attendant blessings.
The future of the Church depends upon the youth of today. Their leadership will be no more effective nor efficient than that for which you and I qualify and train them.
May we inspire every boy and young man who comes under our direction to so live the gospel and feel the importance of the priesthood that the young sisters, the companions of these boys and young men, will also be influenced to live righteously. Then, at some future date, because of their virtuous lives, these young men and women will enjoy the blessings of the Priesthood together with their life's companions. May the Lord bless us to the end that our efforts in behalf of these young servants of the Boy of Nazareth may bring into fruition his statement, "Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?" which I humbly pray will be the blessing not only of the Aaronic Priesthood but of the Melchizedek Priesthood and every mother and every daughter in Israel.
Elder Harold B. Lee
Harold B. Lee, Conference Report, April 1944, pp. 84-89
As an example of the doubts and the vain philosophies in the minds of some of our young people I want to read you a few statements contained in an article that appeared in a publication from our own state university during the last few weeks:
A YOUNG STUDENT'S IDEA
Heaven is for children. To the child's mind it is real. For the adult it belongs to the world of fantasy and make-believe. If we have become adults we have left the idea of heaven behind. Perhaps the only mature individual who finds the everyday exhilarating and promising is the one who has supplanted his childhood beliefs in another worldly heaven with confidence in a heaven on earth... The modern world is concerned chiefly with ethics rather than with theology, with better living than with the methodical analysis of the hereafter.
I suspect that that young student was thinking of the kind of heaven that too frequently is pictured, which requires much hymn singing and ever so much praying with rows and rows of saints kneeling in perpetual adoration as a continuous occupation; and perhaps his idea of God and the Creator is similar to that which has been expressed by one writer who spoke of God as "a sleepless active energy that actuates all things, so small and yet so complex as to dwell in the wonderful energies of life and sound and electricity, in the vital processes of human and animal form, in the motivating influences of the human heart," and so on. Such a one, who believes thus, would have no faith in the teachings of the scriptures or an understanding of their import. To one such the Church of Jesus Christ would be relegated to a mere organization of man, lacking either the reason for or the authority to administer the ordinances of salvation.
HEAVEN A REALITY
Heaven, as we have usually conceived it, is the dwelling place of the righteous, after they have left this earth life, and the place where God and Christ dwell. Of this happy state the Apostle Paul said, "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him". The location of the place was made clear by the revelations of the Lord to us in this day when he said that the earth was to be the abiding place of those who were to inherit the celestial glory and that it would be cleansed from impurity in order to become that holy place. How the earth was to be prepared for that condition is indicated in brief Visions recorded by a prophet who said he "saw a new heaven and a new earth". Another said "and the end shall come and the heaven and the earth shall be consumed and pass away, and there shall be a new heaven and a new earth".
The Prophet Joseph, speaking of the condition in which the earth would then be, after that cleansing and that purification, in its immortal state, declared that the earth would be as a crystal and a Urim and Thummim unto those who would dwell upon it. The interim dwelling place of the spirits, while this great change is taking place, is indicated in the revelation where the Prophet speaks of "a place of happiness called paradise, a state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care and sorrow". This rest spoken of was not to be a condition of inactivity but rather was to be what the Lord called it, a place where men and women were to enjoy the "fullness of his glory". To say that there would be no such a place as the state where one could have rewards or punishments for the things done in the flesh, would be to say that there would be no such a thing as a judgment; and to say that there would be no judgment would be to deny that there was atonement for the sins of mankind or that Jesus Christ was the author of salvation, the plan by which man could be sanctified for that holy state. To say that there was no such a thing as the atonement would be to define sin merely as a philosophical formula. If one were to doubt in a life after death or in a resurrection from the dead, as such a belief would imply, then man would be of all men most miserable, because he lacks faith in that which would follow after her life here upon this earth.
I have tried to think how a man would guide his life if he had this sort of feeling and this disbelief in heavenly things. Life, with its fleeting opportunities, it seems to me, would be a mad scramble for the satisfying of one's selfish ambitions and the seeking of worldly gain. Against that the Master declared himself in a parable where He spoke of the man of affluence who was seeking about for a place wherewith to bestow his goods:
And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
FAITH IN HEAVENLY THINGS AN ANCHOR
Without the discipline of the rewards and punishment that are spoken of in the plan of life and salvation, passions and appetites would go on unbridled; vice and crime would go on unchecked and wickedness would stalk our days. If the Church is but man-conceived, then our care of the needy would not be for the spiritual and temporal welfare of those who are to be assisted, but our care would be extended, as is the case with so many public institutions, merely with the political or the social or the economic welfare of the state or of the individuals who administer it as the chief consideration.
I have a feeling that whenever we have among our leaders those who would say that the care of the needy should be left to public institutions and not to the Church, there we have men who lack the spiritual insight into the spiritual values involved in caring for the unfortunate.
In the parable of the Savior at the close of the great Sermon on the Mount He taught very plainly the doctrine that the storms of life would descend upon the wise as well as the foolish and by inference, upon the good as well as the bad, upon the rich and the poor, and that only those would survive, when those tests and trials should come, who had built their house upon the rock, because they had listened to the things which the Lord had taught them concerning the Gospel plan.
In battle those with faith in heavenly things forbid a dangerous fatalism that ofttimes induces carelessness and recklessness in combat as well as in private conduct. The kind of difficulty in which our young men today find themselves, the terrible struggles through which they are passing in battle, is revealed in an interesting bulletin we have just received from one of our chaplains down in the Italian area. He starts this bulletin by quoting from President Grant's great blessing to the boys in the military service some time ago. As I heard President Grant declare again a blessing upon our boys, I thought how well it would be if the bishops of wards and the presidents of stakes who have chaplains or our Coordinators from their stakes now serving with the armed forces would write out that message and ask that they include it in their publications so that every boy in the service might have the chance to have the words and the power of that blessing.
EXPERIENCES OF BOYS IN THE ARMY
Here was the description of some of the conditions of four hundred fifty of our boys who were in that African and Italian area:
Two of our brethren in the infantry were killed during the month on the beachhead. The base censor has informed us that their names may not yet be divulged. I recall the last time I saw them. It was at a sacrament service in a make-shift medical dispensary in a town taken a short time previously. One of them administered the sacrament. Our pioneer forefathers used to sing, "And should we die before our journey's through, happy day, all is well. We then are free from toil and sorrow, too, with the just we shall dwell." Those appropriate words, "Come, Come Ye Saints," seem to particularly apply to our day. It probably will be welcome news that *** who was formerly reported missing in action is now definitely known as a prisoner of war in Germany *** is in the hospital convalescing from a shell fragment wound in his leg. Lieutenant *** who was referred to last month as being grateful for escaping with his life when a German one hundred fifty millimeter shell struck his truck and failed to explode, is this month spending time in a hospital recuperating from the after-effects of the thunderous jolt. *** has been released for duty again after recovering from an encounter with a shell fragment. *** is still having his injured foot looked after by the medics but expects to be returned to duty shortly. *** had a brief career on white sheets while getting over the effects of a mortar shell piece that crashed through his helmet and grazed his scalp. *** fell down an eight-foot well shaft one dark night recently while under the range of enemy guns. *** is being treated for shrapnel under the arm. *** is being treated for frozen feet. Three other L.D.S. men have been hospitalized for minor illness and so on.
Then he quotes two brief statements from two of our boys who have written from distant stations:
An artillery shell landed where I had most recently been. I don't know whether it was luck or inspiration that caused me to move, but whatever it was I am mighty thankful.
And another said this:
I have one of those pocket editions of the Book of Mormon. I have just completed reading it and let me say it is the best book I have ever read. I was astounded at the wonderful prophecies it contained. My testimony has certainly been increased since I read the Book of Mormon. I can sincerely say the Gospel means more to me than anything else in all the world.
When I see the faith that such of our young men are exhibiting I say likewise, thank the Lord for the power of the Gospel that they have had to guide them and keep them safe. I contrast the words written into this statement of the young student, in expressing a disbelief in a heavenly reward, with the picture of a young man who stood on the prow of the vessel going over toward the invasion coast. As the ship neared the coast within two hours' distance the men were becoming very nervous. The commanding officer was anxious as to the results of the mental strain upon the men. This young man stepped forward and said,
"Would you mind if I talk to the boys a few minutes?" And one who heard his voice wrote home to his father, a business man in the east, not a member of the Church and said, "Father, that boy talked to us for two hours, just a young man. He told us that even if our lives were taken and we had lived good clean lives, we need not be concerned, because God had a reward for the faithful, and we weren't dead actually, but we lived again and our spirits were more active than they could be here in mortality." He said, "Father, when I inquired of that young man as to who he was, I found that he was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."
In my home the other night, I had a young man who spent eleven months in the Aleutian Islands, discharged because of shell-shock and injuries, recently baptized a member of the Church. He told of having met some of our boys up in the Aleutians, who invited him to come to their Sunday School. He said to me:
Brother Lee, the nearest thing I can describe in comparison to my feelings as I stood with those boys and worshipped with them, was a feeling I used to have as a little child when I clung to the knees of my mother so that I wouldn't fall. Now the Gospel has meant just that to me. I cling to it as I used to cling to my mother, so I will not fall.
As I saw this young man shattered somewhat and in a highly nervous state, because of the recent shell-shock, and in his physical disability I thought of the many thousands of our boys who may come home to us, some of them maimed and wounded as he, many of them wounded in their hearts, hurt in their thinking, and all of them needing sympathetic understanding and direction. I am asking this body of Priesthood-are we recognizing our responsibility as Priesthood quorums of the Church to be the stay and the guide of these boys as they are now in service and to be that agency that will welcome them back into the fraternity of civilian life?
A PLEA FOR MORE SPIRITUAL FOOD
As I thought of my own childhood experience and that which induced faith within me, I remember that in our sacrament meetings we didn't expect those from outside the ward to come and speak to us except on special assignment. Every man was expected to prepare himself so that when called he could stand up, as they said, "and give a reason for the hope that was within him", and I remember their testimonies. I remember their doctrinal discourses. I remember how I as a boy, grew upon that kind of spiritual food. I am asking today, are we partaking of a modern trend that makes of our sacrament meetings little else sometimes than a place for political discussions or for concerts? This is a place and a time when we ought to do more to teach the plain simple doctrines of the Gospel than we have ever done before. Our ward teachers should be prepared to go out into the homes of those who have not been privileged to come to sacrament meetings. So in all our activities may we be faithful. May we be as the teachers of Zion. May we be as the Apostle Paul said to the Corinthians:
And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.
For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.
And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.
And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
As the leaders of Israel, may we so study and prepare ourselves that we, like the Apostle Paul, may preach the doctrines not of the world but the doctrines of the Lord Jesus Christ, that the faith of Israel might not be builded on the wisdom of man but on the power of the Lord Jesus Christ, I humbly pray in His name. Amen.
Elder John A. Widtsoe
John A. Widtsoe, Conference Report, April 1944, pp. 93-97
My dear brethren and fellow workers, this has been a very enjoyable conference to me, and I know to all of us. A spirit of peace has been here, and that is as it should be, for the head of this Church is the Prince of Peace.
That which has been said during these two days has been interesting, instructive and impressive. I have been built up in my testimony, as well as in my knowledge of the Gospel. I have felt to thank the Lord, time and again, as I have looked into the faces of you, my fellow workers, for the faith and devotion to truth and to the cause of the Lord, His truth, which I know abide in you.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THE CHURCH REFLECT FAITH
I am certain all of us were, shall I say, astonished, when we heard the report of the year's activities of the Church. Most of us had no idea, living in our little corners, doing our duty well in them, how great is the accumulation of service the Church is rendering. The twig planted by the Prophet Joseph Smith, under God's direction, on April 6, 1830, has grown into a mighty tree, bearing bountiful and good fruit.
The thing that impressed me, I think more than anything else, when the report was read, was that every dollar mentioned, every can of fruit reported, represented a spiritual value, greater than the dollars, better than the can itself or the fruit within it. The dollars and the cans reflected faith, faith in our hearts and in our actions. It reflected the nearness that the Church of God is building toward the Father of us all.
When I heard President Grant's eloquent, impressive address-and he gave us the spirit of the conference-it was evident again that this Church is built upon eternal realities. I thought as I heard the reading of his address of a statement frequently made in sacred writ, that "the course of God is one eternal round". The Gospel does not vary nor depart from truth. In every age, in every dispensation, in every day and in every hour, all that we can do is to live righteously before the Lord, and to make use of the eternal principles which have been handed down to us from the day we lived in the heavens, and which will continue to the very end.
My heart has been filled with gladness during this conference. I am grateful for the calling into the service of Brother Mark E. Petersen, as I am for the other brethren who have come into the Council of the Twelve recently, and of course for all who have served longer. I have known Brother Petersen for some time. He is one of us, a faithful Latter-day Saint. We can trust him.
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PROPHET JOSEPH SMITH
In preparation for this conference, I have thought about the present perplexed and pitiful conditions of the world. I was led to turn back the pages of history. It is said that "history repeats itself," and so I thought that perhaps I might discover some solution for our present-day problems by reading history.
I turned, as I often do, to the Prophet Joseph Smith. I came into this Church from another Church, a man-made Church, one that is without the substance of truth, though filled with good people, deceived in their belief. When I found in this Church the true Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, I fell in love with Joseph Smith. I have been in love with him ever since.
So I turned back to see if I might discover something that he had said that might help me in clearing my own thinking. If you are willing, let me take you back a hundred years.
A hundred years ago the Prophet Joseph Smith was living out the last twelve months of his life on earth. It must have been a terrible year for him. Enemies, and bitterness of feeling sprang up on every hand against the people and leaders of the Church. Lawsuits followed lawsuit. There was no peace, especially for Joseph and his brother, Hyrum. It would seem, as one reads the story of that year, that the events that transpired during those twelve months were too trying to be endured by ordinary mortal man.
Therefore, I was thrilled when I found the Prophet's own words as to how he felt in the midst of tribulation and persecution, when facing death, for he no doubt knew that eventually his enemies would destroy his life. He expressed a great calm of spirit. In the midst of the storm and stress of the day he was calm. There was a majesty of calmness about him as he said:
The Great Jehovah has ever been with me. The wisdom of God will direct me in the seventh hour. I feel in closer communion and better standing with God than I ever felt before.
In substance, that message has been given over and over again in this conference, for it is another way of stating the results of obedience to the great eternal, everlasting truths of the gospel. Would we not all like to be able to say that the great Jehovah has ever been with us, that the wisdom of God directs us in the seventh hour; and that we feel in closer communion and better standing with God than we had ever felt before?
As I read that message, I began to understand how he could walk as a king, in the midst of circumstances of distress and persecution which marked the last year of his life, though not peculiar to that year, for he was ever persecuted, even feeling the attempts of the Evil One to destroy him and his work.
EXPERIENCES OF THE PROPHET'S LAST YEAR
The experiences of his last year came to a culmination in the great April conference of 1844. It began on Saturday, the 6th of April. It continued through until Tuesday-four days. The weather was good, almost perfect. More people attended that conference than had ever gathered before at any Latter-day Saint conference.
The Prophet was not feeling his best physically. He said on the first day that his lungs troubled him, and the sermon, which he had promised to deliver, he would give the next day. On Sunday he did give it. It is one of the most marvelous messages ever given to humanity, spoken by human lips.
That conference was remarkable in many ways. The Prophet's mind seemed to sweep, as it were, the horizons of eternity. He touched upon the things that are far beyond things of eternity. This sermon is known in our history as the "King Follett Sermon," a most remarkable document. I am glad that Elder Joseph Fielding Smith included it in his Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith.
He taught revealing doctrines never clearly told before, since Christ, or perhaps since Adam, of the nature of God, our Heavenly Father, and of the destiny of man. The doctrine as there taught has become incorporated into our thinking and writing, in our books and sermons, without knowing exactly when or how it was first stated.
It was at that conference that the land of Zion was defined. The people who had joined the Church-ordinary people like ourselves-had perhaps thought of Kirtland or Missouri, as Missouri, as the land of Zion. But at this conference the Prophet said that the land of Zion is all of America-North America and South America. As we read this account, our minds go back to the days soon after Christ, when Peter himself was inclined to believe that the gospel was for a limited few, in a limited place, until God himself, by revelation, taught Peter that God's work is for all the world and all who dwell upon it, who have dwelt upon it, and who shall dwell upon it.
It was at this conference that the Prophet--bore down on the people to finish the temple, and to secure their endowments, as among the most important things for them to do.
At this conference, missionary work was also stressed. Brigham Young and Hyrum Smith both discoursed earnestly on missionary work.
As I read the minutes of the conference, I said to myself: "These teachings are like those of 1944-the same subjects, objectives, and requirements, and the same obligations, and the same eternal truths to guide us in our work."
It was in this conference that the revelation came relative to stakes. Stakes of Zion had been organized before, but the Prophet said on this occasion:
"I have received instructions from the Lord that henceforth where-ever the elders of Israel shall build up Churches and branches unto the Lord throughout the states, there shall be a stake of Zion organized."
He mentioned specifically that in course of time stakes should be organized in New York City and in Boston. Part of that prediction is already fulfilled, for we have a stake in New York.
It was a great conference. But, the Latter-day Saints have ever been willing to apply eternal truths to everyday needs. You recall that Elder Lee said that we are a practical people. We believe that the great things of life begin here, today, and that we have the right to enjoyment and happiness, today, as in the great day to come.
So, the Prophet, during his last year, spoke frequently upon practical matters. I have not the time to discuss his views relative to the building of a commonwealth, the relationship between industry, agriculture, and manufacturing. That which he said is good reading today, and might be read with profit by the empire-makers of today.
One thing which he said, as he looked into the future, refers to us, I believe. He said:
"I prophesy, in the name of the God of Israel, anguish, and wrath, and desolation, and the withdrawing of the spirit of God await this generation until they are visited with utter desolation."
THE PROPHET'S SOLUTION OF PRESENT TROUBLES
Can you pick up a paper today, reporting great cities destroyed, countrysides laid barren, without feeling that the Prophet spoke as a prophet? He not only looked into the next day, but into the years to come, and into the ages that lie before.
But in the spirit of the gospel, he set about at once to find a solution, for coming distress. This is what I found. I found three principles that appeared to be a solution of the world's troubles, but specifically and particularly pertaining to the United States. He was thinking about the United States-they were living in the United States at that time; they had problems within the States.
First, the Prophet laid down certain foundation principles.
"It is our purpose to build up and establish the principles of righteousness, and not to break down or destroy." That had a tremendous meaning. We seek to establish righteousness-yes; but we are not destroyers; we are builders. We accept all good that has come down through the years.
And he continues:
"And I proclaim, in the name of the Lord God Almighty, that I will fellowship nothing in this Church but virtue, integrity, and uprightness."
To a man seeking for Mormonism in a nutshell, perhaps these two statements would be a good offering. Upon such a platform the Prophet, in the midst of persecution, could be calm, unruffled, and could carry forward steadily the work of the Lord.
Second, he declared the necessity for full conformity with the Constitution of the United States. If we desire prosperity, we of this land must conform to the principles that lie imbedded in the Constitution of the United States. For, he said, through such conformity we shall win liberty of conscience, and protection for the weak and for the oppressed. Without the preservation of this right and protection, there is no true freedom. The Church has ever fought for the untrammeled conscience. The great welfare program is but the working out of the principle inherent in the Gospel; that the weak and the oppressed shall be protected. These principles embody the very spirit of the Church.
Third, he laid down a principle which comes home to us this year. Brother Kirkham barely mentioned it. It so happened that in 1844 there would be a presidential election the following fall, and the Prophet and others spoke about the problems of that election. Hyrum Smith, the fellow-martyr of the Prophet, delivered an impassioned sermon, giving no quarter whatever. I shall read a passage or two:
We engage in the election, the same as any other principle; you are to vote for good men, and if you do not do this, it is a sin: to vote for wicked men would be a sin. Choose the good and refuse the evil. Men of false principles have preyed upon us like wolves upon helpless lambs. Damn the rod of tyranny; curse it. Let every man use his liberties according to the Constitution;... we want a president of the United States, not a party president, but a president of the whole people, for a party president disfranchises the opposite party. Have a president who will maintain every man in his rights.
Elder Nicholas G. Smith
Nicholas G. Smith, Conference Report, April 1944, pp. 98-101
My brethren, this is an inspiring sight. With you I have rejoiced in the proceedings of the conference thus far; President Grant's great message to us, and then the word that came that Brother Mark Petersen is to be the new Apostle.
Some twenty years ago a young couple moved into the ward where I presided as bishop, and as I approached them and shook hands with them the young man said, "This is my wife, Marr, and I am Mark Petersen," and I said, "I hope you won't mar this Mark," and she said, "I won't," and you can well know that she hasn't, for truly she has been an inspiration and a blessing to this fine young man who is worthy in every way to hold the position to which he has been called.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF A YOUNG LATTER-DAY SAINT
I want to congratulate the Presiding Bishopric in the job they are doing for the youth of this Church. A few weeks ago I was in Lyman Stake, and a young man by the name of Amber C. Davidson, a seventeen-year-old youngster was there taking part in the exercises at stake conference. Recently he was awarded a twenty-four-hundred-dollar scholarship by the Westinghouse people as showing the most scientific aptitude of any young man in America. Fifteen thousand seniors from high schools had entered the contest, and this young Mormon lad won the scholarship. I am sure that the Presiding Bishopric had something to do with this. The house was well filled with lesser Priesthood at that conference. These boys gain inspiration in all the things they have to do from the things that the Presiding Bishopric are doing for them. They learn to know responsibility, and I am grateful for the program that is being put into effect throughout the Church. After this afternoon's session I met a lady from Los Angeles who was telling me that recently at one of her guilds a prominent lawyer was talking about the problems of youth. Much has been said about youth here today. I remarked that Brother Oscar Kirkham had said he didn't think it was a matter of the youth being delinquent, but it was a matter of parents who were delinquent, and she said: "Do you know, this lawyer said to us that in the community where he was, whenever a child committed a crime and there was a sentence imposed, the sentence was imposed upon the parents and they had to serve the time in jail, and that had reduced crime in their community down to two percent of what it had been." I think parents have something to think about.
DELINQUENCY OF PARENTS
Recently, I received a letter from a mother saying, "Dear Brother Smith, would you mind looking up my daughter and getting her into some good home? Some weeks ago she wanted to go to Salt Lake. She is fifteen years of age. She really needs her father, but he is too busy with the sheep to give her much attention, but I raked up ten dollars and sent her to Salt Lake City"-to start out life at fifteen years of age. I began to check and the scent led me to the juvenile court; and there I discovered that they had found her and had her located and in their possession. When I asked what the difficulty was, they said she registered at a hotel which cost two and a half dollars a day, and the second day she appeared with a soldier and continued on with that friendship and the hotel people permitted her to stay there until the hotel bill was seventeen fifty and finally they put her out, and she and this soldier registered in a Chinese place here in the city as man and wife; the father was too busy with his sheep to give any attention to his daughter. Truly, parents are sometimes delinquent.
CONVERSION OF A YOUNG WOMAN
I thought, as Brother Joseph Fielding Smith was speaking about family prayer, of a little lady who, returning from her mission field, came to report to me; and I said, "That name sounds Italian." She said: "It is." I said, "Are your parents members of the Church?" "Oh, no," she said. "Well," I said, "how is it possible for you to be a Latter-day Saint?" "Well," she said, "I went to work for a Mormon family, and the first evening I was there the father called the family in to prayer, and he asked one of the little youngsters to pray for the whole family, and do you know, Brother Smith, that little boy prayed for what he wanted, and I had never heard of such a thing as asking the Lord for what I wanted. I thought it was such good sense that I began to go to the Mormon Sunday School and finally became baptized. My parents objected rather strenuously, but finally gave consent, and then the good family with whom I lived offered to finance my mission, and I filled my mission and I have returned home and am going back to New Mexico to see what I can do with my parents." Truly, there are some who have family prayer, and isn't it a wonderful thing that such a result could come from the prayer of an eight-year-old child to cause one to join this Church?
IMPORTANCE OF TEMPLE WORK STRESSED
We should be more exemplary, all of us. On this block there stands a temple dedicated many years ago; an institution that should attract all the members of the Latter-day Saint Church. The Prophet Joseph Smith was very explicit in his instructions in regard to temple work. Brigham Young declared it would be the greatest work performed by man on this earth. Each of the presidents of the Church has been just as emphatic in the importance of temple work. Wilford Woodruff, to whom I listened as he offered the dedicatory prayer in the Salt Lake Temple, thus expressed himself:
We want the Latter-day Saints from this time to trace their genealogies as far as they can and be sealed to their fathers and mothers; have children sealed to parents and run this chain through as far as you can get it. This is the will of the Lord to his people. I pray God that as a people our eyes may be opened to see, our ears to hear and our hearts to understand the great and mighty work that rests upon our shoulders and that the God of heaven requires at our hands.
Lorenzo Snow and Joseph F. Smith have been just as emphatic. President Grant, who has been as fully awake to this responsibility as any of the others has said, "I do not ask anybody who is as busy as I am to go to the temple any more than I do. If you can get it into your hearts and soul that this is one of the most important things you Latter-day Saints can do, you will find a way to do it. That is the one lesson above all others that I would like to impress upon you."
Notwithstanding these solemn admonitions by the presidents of the Church, our people have not taken very much to temple work. I picked up an old report, 1940, I think it was, which showed that three hundred eleven thousand members had taken out their own endowments since the first endowments were given. The Church now has, as you heard today, nine hundred thirty-seven thousand people in it-nearly a million-and less than one third of the membership who now live have taken out their own endowments since the beginning of the Church; and yet we have temples built and building. They used to have seven sessions running in the Salt Lake Temple; now they have four, and many of them are not very crowded. Once in a while you will find a crowded session.
I wonder if it wouldn't be a good thing if the Priesthood, the shepherds of the flock, would put into the hearts and the minds of the people and the membership of the Church the thoughts expressed by the prophets of God, for you remember that the Lord was so concerned about this work that one night he sent an angel here to earth to talk to a boy. Three times that night he gave the selfsame message. "Behold," said he to this boy, three times that night and then again the next morning:
Behold, I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the Prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers. If it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at His coming.
What a dramatic statement. Now, mind you, up to this time nothing had been said about baptism for the living. It seemed our Heavenly Father was so concerned about our fathers, our ancestors, that this was the message that seemed to be of the greatest import, that the Priesthood was to be revealed and that the children's hearts should be turned to their parents or that the whole earth should be wasted at His coming. Brethren, let us think about these words that come direct from our Heavenly Father through his prophets. We are admonished to be awake to our responsibilities.
God bless us and help us to be wise, big and broad, that we won't get absorbed in just temple work or in any other one work, but that we may be interested in the things that the Lord wants us to do and put forth our every effort to see that our example shall be one that will be worthwhile to the flock over whom we preside, and as we do our part we will not need to worry about the children. God bless and inspire us and direct us in His Priesthood to live as He would have us live is my prayer in Jesus' name. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, April 1944, pp. 107-110
In the words of Peter on the Mount of Transfiguration, "it is good to be here". That exclamation expresses the feeling of Latter-day Saints whenever they meet in sincerity of purpose to worship the Lord.
Our souls are enriched, not only by what is said but by what is felt in just being together. I pray that I may be guided by that same spirit during the few moments that I stand before you.
One of the paramount duties, I might say the paramount duty of parents is to win and merit the confidence and respect of their children. Equally paramount in the life of a bishopric of a ward is to win and merit the confidence of the people of their ward. Too few parents have the confidence of their children. There are too few officers in the Church who have the confidence of the members, particularly of the young people of wards and stakes.
I feel impressed to say a word about something which destroys that confidence. The Savior on one occasion said:
Judge not, that ye be not judged.
For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
Then in strong condemnatory terms He said:
Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.
The context of that scripture plainly indicates that the sin the Savior is condemning is the disposition to look unfavorably on the character and actions of others, which leads almost invariably to the pronouncing of rash, unjust, unlovely judgments upon them. Very often these judgments are formed on insufficient evidence, and after superficial observations, and people who form them and express them in the presence of children put poison into those children's minds. Parents who speak at the table against the bishopric, against a teacher, stake president, or any other officer of the Church are, unwittingly, perhaps, but most assuredly lessening in their children's minds the respect and confidence in Church authorities.
SLANDER-A DEADLY WEAPON
One of the most deadly weapons of warfare is the poison gas. Slander is to a child's confidence in Church authorities in undermining character what poison gas is to the physical body. Now, that is putting it strongly, but I believe it is true. We should avoid as poison "Slander whose whisper over the world's diameter, as level as the cannon to its flank, transports its poison shot."
Here is a letter that illustrates what I mean, about people's forming hasty judgment, judging without sufficient evidence. I hesitate to refer to it because in a way it is complimentary and also the writer has done what the Savior has asked us to do; viz., "If you have aught against your brother, go to him. Between thee and him alone, adjust your difficulty". But there are other elements in the letter which prompt me to read it to you as illustrative of this theme. I hope the writer will either hear or read what I am saying. Then, too, there may be others who may be thinking along the same lines as this letter.
To quote:
I am writing you in reference to the Church statistics that are read from the stand in the April conferences every year and which are later published in Salt Lake newspapers. Some of my friends and myself have been rather puzzled by the figures as they are given out each year. We couldn't understand the tremendous growth in Church membership since 1938 as compared to previous years. We have all kept the statistics since they were first published. One of my friends is a certified accountant. He was as puzzled as the rest of us until he discovered that although the number of children baptized in the stakes and missions and converts baptized in the stakes and missions had been added to the Church membership, there had been no deductions on account of deaths in our Church membership throughout the world.
Then follows this insinuation or accusation:
Of course we are all aware that this method is used by the Roman Catholic Church, but is it honest? According to figures recently released by the state board of health there were five thousand two hundred ninety-two deaths in Utah during 1943. Those figures are incomplete. We know we have a large Church membership in Utah, also in Idaho and Canada and other parts of the United States. I think a conservative figure for the number of deaths in our Church each year would be about five thousand. Whatever the actual figure, would it not be more honest to deduct the figures from our Church membership instead of keeping dead men on our list? I am as anxious as anyone in our Church today to see our membership grow, but I want to see it grow by fair means.
Then there is the venom, I don't know against whom:
Of course we can guess the name of the man who is responsible for the fantastic way of bookkeeping, but the less said about him the better.
GIVES ANSWER
It is that accusation and that indication of venom which prompts me to say what I am going to say.
I said to him:
In your concluding paragraph you say you are as anxious as anyone in our Church today to see our membership grow, but you want to see it grow by fair means. The implication in that statement, of course, is an insult to the Church Authorities, and the thought behind it is unworthy of any faithful Latter-day Saint. For your information I am pleased to give you the following regarding the gathering of statistics which may or may not be entirely accurate, but at any rate it is honest. I called up the Presiding Bishopric to ascertain the method of gathering the statistics. Each ward is supplied with what is known as Form E, which is a transcript of the record of ward members covering marriages, divorces, births, blessings, confirmations, ordinations, deaths and excommunications. At the beginning of every year the ward membership is broken down with regard to the Priesthood members; high priests, seventies, elders, priests, teachers, and deacons, number of male members, number of female members, number of male children and the number of female children; and then right after that there are columns covering increases, those baptized, converts and children, those received from other wards, from missions, children blessed. Then follows decreases: Removed to other wards, removed to missions, deaths and removed from the record, children over nine not baptized. They are not counted as members. These are decreases. The total decreases. The total decreases are then subtracted from the membership as of January 1st, plus the increases of the year, the result of which is the exact membership of the ward as of December 31st of each year.
In the above paragraph you will see that every death is reported in the ward and deducted from the ward membership.
CONDEMNS ATTITUDE
Now, we commend this writer for his interest in the Church, and his associates, and the expert accountant, but we condemn the hasty conclusions of error and their conclusions that some men in the Church have not been fair in giving out statistics. As I visualize the little group working and working, testing these figures I fancy I can hear unlovely remarks made. We are justified in that conclusion from that venomous statement about some man who, he implies, is not just strictly honest.
I don't know how many young people have heard that; but those who have, had poison put into their lives and the seeds of distrust sown in their thoughts toward Church Authorities. I know of nothing in our home life which will tend to influence young people to stray from the duties in the Church or the path of virtue in the Church so quickly and effectively as will fault-finding by parents; even talking carelessly about the weakness of bishops; even making slighting remarks about the Relief Society teachers who come, or laughing at the ward teachers, or saying that the ward teachers' visit are not effective. These things in the presence of children are like termites eating the foundation of your house, crawling up into the woodwork.
Parents, you may not see the evil effect of it all at once, but some time later in life when you find the character undermined, you may wonder what is wrong. Then, too late, you may discover that termites have undermined the faith-the termites of slander, of fault-finding.
The Lord has warned us against fault-finding from the beginning. He said it is the teacher's duty to see that there is no backbiting or evil speaking.
A WONDERFUL ORGANIZATION
What a wonderful organization the Church is, and how in every detail the Lord seems to have marked out the danger signs, as well as He has shown the paved road to happiness and success.
I said the prime duty of parents is to win and to merit the confidence, the trust-the trust of their children. If you haven't it, you had better worry, you had better pray. You may lose them. One-third of the Lord's children turned away. They had their free agency. But let us pray to God to give us power to win the confidence of our children.
And bishoprics, you fathers of the wards-pray that you may have the confidence and trust of the people. And if you have aught against any, go to them.
There is a story told that a company of botanists seeking some special flowers up in the Canadian Rockies, came one day to a very rare flower down on the side of a cliff. To reach it they would have to retrace their steps and go back ten miles to come up from the valley below. Someone suggested that if they had a rope they could let a boy down to pick the specimens. That suggestion was prompted by the fact that a little boy had been following them for about an hour, watching them silently.
They got the rope and said:
Here, lad, we'll give you $5 if you will put this rope around you and permit us to let you down to get those flowers.
Without saying a word the lad scampered off. They thought they had frightened him. He went to a house nearby and soon came back with a man by his side. Then the little fellow answered:
You may put that rope around me, and I'll get the flower, if you'll let my dad hold the rope.
God help us as parents and officers in the Church to merit such trust of our boys and girls, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President J. Reuben Clark, Jr.
J. Reuben Clark, Jr., Conference Report, April 1944, pp. 110-116
This hour, sooner or later, comes to all of us here on the stand.
I have enjoyed this conference very much. We have had a spirit running through it that seems to me unique in our conferences. There has been a peace, and a quiet; there has been a comfort and a consolation that I know have reached the hearts of all of us. I humbly pray, and ask an interest in your faith and prayers to the same end, that what I may say tonight will not detract from that spirit, but, if possible, add a little something to it.
I should like, brethren, so far as I am able, to talk with you, not at you. I should like to speak, so far as I may, as if I were talking with you personally, each individual, that I might bring home to you the suggestions which are running in my mind.
I do not need to tell you that times are dark, nor that hate well nigh rules the world, that men have lost their reason, that they are guided in too large part by the basest motives which we have, and that as we stand today we are almost back to the beginning of civilization. I sometimes think it is hard for us to get to the Lord, and for the Lord to get through to us, through this pall of hate and murder which seems to envelop the earth.
I want to thank you brethren, the Priesthood leadership of the Church, for your great service as manifested in the work of the people. You are faithful, by and large; you do love the truth; you do love the work; and your highest interest is in furthering it in every way in which you can. We of the General Authorities appreciate this service; we thank you for it more than we can express.
But our task is so great, and by ourselves we are so weak, that I wanted to say just a few words tonight on one or two points that might be helpful.
EVERYTHING OR NOTHING
We, of the Latter-day Saints, have everything, or we have nothing; there is no middle ground. We know, those of us who have the testimony-and all here have it, I am sure-that the Gospel was restored; we know that Joseph was a prophet of God. We know that the Father and the Son came to him. We know we have the Priesthood. We know that our Church organization is divinely built.
WHAT IS SCRIPTURE?
We have gained that knowledge by working for it just as we have had to work for every other kind of knowledge, for spiritual knowledge does not come without labor and faith, repentance, baptism, confirmation, the reception of the Holy Ghost. There are certain things which follow from that knowledge. Knowing these things, our responsibilities are almost beyond our bearing, except for the spirit of the Lord and the sustaining power of the Holy Ghost.
The Lord said to the brethren, Orson Hyde, the two Johnsons and M'Lellin,:
And this is the ensample unto them, that they shall speak as they are moved upon by the Holy Ghost.
And whatsoever they shall speak when moved upon by the Holy Ghost shall be scripture, shall be the will of the Lord, shall be the mind of the Lord, shall be the word of the Lord, shall be the voice of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation.
Behold, this is the promise of the Lord unto you, O ye my servants. Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you; and ye shall bear record of me, even Jesus Christ, that I am the Son of the living God, that I was, that I am, and that I am to come.
This is the word of the Lord unto you, my servant Orson Hyde, and also unto my servant Luke Johnson, and unto my servant Lyman Johnson, and unto my servant William E. M'Lellin, and unto all the faithful elders of my Church.
With our knowledge of the restoration of the Priesthood and of the Church organization, are we prepared to go forward under this principle which the Lord lays down? I call your attention to the fact that there is no limitation as to the matters to be covered by that scripture of which the Lord speaks. Having in mind that this Church of ours is a practical Church, that it deals with temporal as well as with spiritual affairs, I submit that whatever comes from the voices of those who hold that authority is scripture, no matter of what they may speak. That conclusion to me is inevitable.
Anything and everything that affects the well-being of us Latter- day Saints or that has to do with our religion, may become part of that scripture; and when the servants of God speak to us about such things, speaking under the inspiration of the Lord, then their words become scripture.
How shall we know when they speak under the inspiration of the Lord?
I cannot tell you how to know, but I can tell you that every man holding the Priesthood, who is obeying the commandments of the Lord and is living righteously, he will know without doubt when God's servants speak under inspiration. The spirit will bear true witness.
THE DOCTRINE OF ONENESS
With the foregoing in mind, I recall to your minds that the Lord has said: "Except ye are one, ye are not mine". We cannot be one unless we are one in spirit, in belief, in knowledge, and in action. There is no other way. You bishops, bishoprics, you have had experience in your wards. There is nearly always somebody in your ward who is out of harmony with you, who wants to do things some other way than the way in which you want them done. There may be groups in the ward who think that what you do in the Welfare, and in the auxiliary organizations is not right, and they want to do it some other way. I do not need to tell you how much of a handicap that is to you in your work; you know it better than I.
You presidents of stakes know how difficult it is to guide and direct your stakes as you would like to do, when you have some bishop that draws off to the side; your stake suffers.
We of the general authorities know how difficult it is when presidents of stakes draw away, when they try to explain away instructions, when they seem to try, not to find out what the President of the Church wants done, but "how can we interpret this instruction so as to do what we want to do, and yet come within the words of the instruction."
Among the general authorities ourselves, are we prepared to accept just what the prophet of God says and do it, rather than try to construe it to suit ourselves, to suit our own views?
ORDER IN THE CHURCH
There is an order in the Church, and you know that order as well as I.
I am much impressed always, as we all are, with the great book, the Pearl of Great Price. I want to refer to the third chapter of that book, where it talks about the different times, but that there is one time which rules all the others, and that is the Lord's time; where it talks about the different magnitudes of planets and heavenly bodies, and tells us that there is one heavenly body which rules the rest.
So we build up from the individual, from the lowest, up until the highest. The record then begins to talk about spirits. The Lord said to Abraham:
Howbeit that he made the greater star; as, also, if there be two spirits, and one shall be more intelligent than the other, yet these two spirits, notwithstanding one is more intelligent than the other, have no beginning; they existed before, they shall have no end, they shall exist after, for they are gnolaum, or eternal.
And the Lord said unto me: These two facts do exist, that there are two spirits, one being more intelligent than the other; there shall be another more intelligent than they; I am the Lord thy God, I am more intelligent than they all....
I dwell in the midst of them all; I now, therefore, have come down unto thee to deliver unto thee the works which my hands have made, wherein my wisdom excelleth them all, for I rule in the heavens above, and in the earth beneath, in all wisdom and prudence, over all the intelligences thine eyes have seen from the beginning; I came down in the beginning in the midst of all the intelligences thou hast seen.
Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones;
And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born.
The principles that I wish to get out of this scripture, brethren, are these: We were not all equal in creation; we are not all equal in authority here; we are not all equal in intelligence. But unless we are one, we are not the Lord's.
But how then can we be one?
We cannot be one with some bishop who has some plan of his own which he wishes to govern the whole Church. A bishop, great and important as is his office and calling, is in authority a shorter time, a lesser light, an inferior planet, a secondary intelligence, as it were. True, every man, every officer in the Church has the right to inspiration and revelation as to how he should conduct himself and how he should carry on his office and his duties. But when that inspiration and revelation come, they will never be out of harmony with Church discipline, nor with the revelations of the mind and will of God made known to His prophet on earth. The president of the Church, not a bishop of a ward, nor the president of a stake, lays down the rule for the Church. Whenever any Church officer gets any other impression than to follow the president of the Church, that impression is not coming from the right source.
The oneness must come, brethren, through being one with him who stands at the head of the Church. And it is the duty and obligation of every officer of the Church to square himself fully, wholly, unreservedly, without deception, without equivocation, to the mind and will of the Lord as revealed to our prophet, seer, and revelator. I say again, this principle relates to all the things that affect the well-being of the Church.
THE WELFARE PLAN
I want to say a word about the Welfare. We have been urging the bishops to take off government relief, as rapidly as they could, the worthy poor of the wards. This is the counsel of the President of the Church. There has been some complaint about this counsel. Sometimes it has seemed as if perhaps we were not wholly one in that plan. Some bishops and presidents of stakes seem not to feel that this should be done. Yet there will come a time, I feel very sure, when for those worthy poor it will be the Church or nothing.
Already, since 1938, the federal government has reduced its appropriation for public relief by two-thirds. It seems inevitable that that reduction must continue. In urging the bishops to take off relief the worthy poor, we have asked them to go first to the children of the poor, to see if they cannot care for their parents, and we have said that if they cannot carry the burden, then the Church is to help, either partly or in full.
Now, we cannot give to the worthy poor of the Church all the luxuries that the rich enjoy. That cannot be done by any agency, either governmental or Church; but the Church can provide the worthy poor with the necessities of life.
We have heard of a few cases-I hope we have heard of all of them-where children have children have induced their parents to deed to them the parents' property, and then have put their parents on relief. We heard of a case the other day that was tragic beyond measure. The mother, a widow, had deeded her property to her children; she had secured a gratuity from the state; and then the children sent her away from her home, away from the children, away from her friends, down to one of those boarding here in this city, where they "take care" of old people-I put "take care" in quotes-for a consideration.
This poor old soul had been brought down here, torn away from the moorings of a lifetime, her friends, away from her children, to live in squalor, the charity ward of the state, while her children had her property.
When I think of your mother and my mother, who bore us, who went down into the valley of the shadow for us; when I think of how they nursed us, blood of their blood before our births, and fed us from their bodies after our birth, when I think of their caring for us through all the sickness of childhood-I can remember five of us in one room sick with diphtheria, with no nurse but Mother; when I think of all the anxieties that they passed through over our upbringing, all the trials to keep us in the straight path, when I think of how they toiled for us far, far beyond their strength, cooking, washing, sewing, mending; when I think of all this, it seems a terrible thing to me that I would ask my mother to deed over to me the little property she had, and that then I should turn her over as a public charity charge on the state, while I ate up the little property I had basely induced her to give to me.
The Lord Himself condemned such conduct in the Pharisees. He told the Jews that when they were seeking to avoid the responsibilities of the old commandment, "Honor thy father and thy mother" by bringing about some kind of legal situation where they no longer were responsible for the keeping of their father and mother, that they were violating the absolute commandment of God.
It seems to me, brethren, that there is a way to lead every child to "honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee".
Brethren: I would rather live humbly in a log hut, surrounded by my children, near my old home, among my old friends, than to live, torn away from all these, the charity inmate of a state palace.
THE CONSTITUTION
I want to say just one word about a subject that was touched today by Brother Widtsoe. I mean the Constitution of the United States.
I have expressed myself so often to this body of Priesthood that I need go in no details about this. But I believe the Constitution was inspired. The Lord said so. The Prophet said so; and the prophets since Joseph have said so; and I am not prepared to consider the Constitution in any other light.
I believe God inspired the Constitution because He knew that without the guarantees which that Constitution carries as to personal liberty, His work could not be established on the earth. We sometimes hear: "Well, the Lord can inspire rulers to change the Constitution. He inspired the first Constitution, he can inspire changes."
I should like to point out to you that in that inspired document, the Constitution, the Lord prescribed the way, the procedure by which the inspired framework of that Constitution could be changed. Whenever the Constitution is amended in that way, it will be an amendment that the Lord will approve; but whenever it is amended in any other way than He prescribed, we are not following the commandment of the Lord and must expect to lose our liberties and freedom.
The Constitution was framed in order to protect minorities. That is the purpose of written constitutions. In order that minorities might be protected in the matter of amendments under our Constitution, the Lord required that the amendments should be made only through the operation of very large majorities-two-thirds for action in the Senate, and three-fourths as among the states. This is the inspired, prescribed order.
But if we are to have an amendment by the will of one man, or of a small group of men, if they can amend the Constitution, then we shall lose the Constitution; because each succeeding person or group who come into a position of place and power where they can "amend" the charter, will want to amend it again, and so on until no vestige of our liberties shall remain. Thus it comes that an amendment of our Constitution by one person or by a group is a violation of the revealed will of the Lord to the Church, as that will is embodied in that inspired Constitution.
Brethren, let us think about that, because I say unto you with all the soberness I can, that we stand in danger of losing our liberties, and that once lost, only blood will bring them back; and once lost, we of this Church will, in order to keep the Church going forward, have more sacrifices to make and more persecutions to endure than we have yet known, heavy as our sacrifices and grievous as our persecutions of the past have been.
May the Lord give us a desire to serve Him. May He give us a spirit of oneness, between the ward bishoprics and their members, between the presidents of stakes and their bishops, between the presidents of stakes and the general authorities, and between the general authorities and the president of the Church, the prophet of God, His prophet, seer, and revelator, and so sustained by us, who are the Priesthood leadership of the Church in conference assembled. This oneness must be on the revealed will of the Lord to the president of the Church, as proclaimed by him. No other oneness can bring us safety and security, and in no other oneness can we go forward building the Church and bringing salvation to mankind.
God bless us all, give us His spirit and help us so to live that the Holy Ghost may be our constant companion, help us always to walk down the straight and narrow way, give us always the knowledge of the truthfulness of the Gospel and a reverence for our prophet, seer and revelator, I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, April 1944, pp. 119-125
My brethren and sisters: I am glad to worship with you and with the Tabernacle Choir on this the Lord's day, so designated by the early apostles in commemoration and in testimony of the resurrection of our Lord.
However, as I fill this assignment to speak to you I am deeply conscious of the fact that I am feeling more the significance of the resurrection than I am able to express. I pray, therefore, that the Spirit of the Lord may enlighten our minds to see and touch our hearts to feel more than my mere words will denote.
For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:
And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:
Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.
He who can thus testify of the living Redeemer has his soul anchored in eternal truth.
The latest and greatest confirmation that Jesus rose from the grave is the appearance Of the Father and the Son to the Prophet Joseph Smith, nineteen hundred years after the event that today Christendom is celebrating. It is highly appropriate, therefore, that the Church should join in the annual festival commemorating the resurrection of Christ, the most significant, the most memorable event in the history of mankind.
This miracle of life is significant not only in itself, but in its connotation of all the basic principles of true Christianity.
DISBELIEF ALL TOO GENERAL
Judging from the war now raging it is quite evident that leaders of some of the governments of the world do not believe in the actuality of the resurrection. At least the beginning of this deadly conflict indicates that they not only do not accept it as a fact, but reject it as a myth or superstition. At any rate, we know that the leaders of the nation directly responsible for starting this worldwide holocaust have openly repudiated Jesus Christ and his teachings.
Too many today are like the men on Mars' Hill two thousand years ago who erected an altar to "The Unknown God," but who knew little or nothing about him. We read that on his way to the Areopagus, Paul had beheld magnificent statues erected to various gods which the Greeks worshipped-to Mars, the god of war; Aphrodite, the goddess of love; Bacchus, the god of wine, and towering above them all, the Pallas-Athene, the goddess of wisdom, the protectress of Athens-and many others.
Here frequently gathered philosophers and judges, the ablest thinkers, the wisest sages of the ancient world, considering and discoursing on the mysteries of life and the destiny of the human race.
In the midst of all this worldly wisdom there stood a lonely little brown-eyed man who challenged much of their philosophy as false and their worship of images as gross error-the only man in that great city of intellectuals who knew by actual experience that a man may pass through the portals of death and live-the only man in Athens who could clearly sense the difference between the formality of idolatry, and the heartfelt worship of the only true and living God. By the Epicureans and Stoics with whom he had conversed and argued, Paul had been called a babbler, a setter-forth of strange gods: So they took him, and brought him unto Aeropagus, saying, 'May we know what this strange doctrine whereof thou speakest is?'"
"Ye men of Athens," said Paul, "I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.
"For, as I passed by, and beheld your devotion, I found an altar with this inscription. 'To the Unknown God.' Whom, therefore, ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you."
As Paul discoursed eloquently on the personality of God, the philosophers listened curiously though attentively until he testified that God had raised Jesus from the dead.
When they heard of the resurrection, some mocked and all but a few turned away, leaving him who had declared the truth even more lonely than ever.
Today, as on Mars' Hill, when we speak of the resurrection of the dead, there are some who mock and others who doubt and turn away. Today, as then, too many men and women have other gods to which they give more thought than to the resurrected Lord-the god of pleasure, the god of wealth, the god of indulgence, the god of political power, the god of popularity, the god of race superiority-as varied and numerous as were the gods in ancient Athens and Rome.
Thoughts that most frequently occupy the mind determine a man's course of action. As one writer aptly says: "The ever pressing pursuit of secular aims-natural science, commerce, luxury-any form of earthly ambition or absorption, makes the mind incapable of receiving, understanding, or even entertaining the idea of any Being higher than man, or any state of existence higher than the present." It is therefore a blessing to the world that there are occasions such as Easter which, as warning semaphores, say to mankind: In your mad rush for pleasure, wealth, and fame, pause, and think what is of most value in life.
When men heed this warning, and search the innermost recesses of their hearts, they find that the most important question of their lives relates to the subject of immortality. A leading railroad man, as quoted in Young Man and the World, expressed the thought of many when he said:
I would rather be sure that when a man dies he will live again with his conscious identity, than to have all the wealth of the United States, or to occupy any position of honor or power the world could possibly give.
A young student recently expressed the thought that belief in Christ as the Redeemer, as God made manifest, is waning; that professing Christians no longer believe that Jesus is the Only Begotten of the Father in the flesh; that in some miraculous manner his death made expiation for sin; or that after His crucifixion Christ rose from the dead.
With a view of getting a cross-section of current opinion on this matter the following question was put directly to a number of leading citizens here in our city:
"Do you accept as a fact the actual resurrection of Christ from the grave?"
Among the twenty-six men contacted were ministers, doctors of medicine, lawyers, and leading business men. A majority answered yes, some equivocated, eight answered no.
ACCEPTED AS FACT BY EARLY APOSTLES
Establish it as a fact that Christ did take up His body and appeared as a glorified, resurrected Being, and you answer the question of the ages-"If a man dies, shall he live again?".
That the literal resurrection from the grave was a reality to the disciples who knew Christ intimately is a certainty. In their minds there was absolutely no doubt. They were witnesses of the fact. They knew because their eyes beheld, their ears heard, their hands felt the corporal presence of the risen Redeemer.
VALUE OF THEIR TESTIMONY
The deep significance of their testimony may be better understood when we realize that with Jesus' death the apostles were stricken with gloom. When He was crucified, their hopes all but died. That His death was a reality to the disciples is shown in their intense grief, in the statement of Thomas, in the moral perplexity of Peter when he said, "I go a fishing", and, in the evident preparation for a permanent burial of their Master. Notwithstanding the often-repeated assurance of Jesus that He would return to them after death, the apostles seemed not to have accepted or at least not comprehended Christ's statement as a literal fact. At the crucifixion they were frightened and discouraged. For two and a half years they had been upheld and inspired by Christ's presence. But now He was gone. They were left alone, and they seemed confused, helpless, and panic-stricken. Only John stood by the cross. Not with timidity, not with feelings of doubt, gloom, and discouragement is a skeptical world made to believe. Such wavering, despairing minds as the apostles possessed on the day of crucifixion could never have stirred people to accept an unpopular belief, and to die martyrs to the cause.
What was it that suddenly changed these disciples to confident, fearless, heroic preachers of the Gospel?
It was the revelation that Christ had risen from the grave.
I think it was Spurgeon who said:
His promises had been kept, his Messianic mission fulfilled. The final and absolute seal of genuineness had been put on all his claims, and the indelible stamp of a divine authority upon all his teachings. The gloom of death had been banished by the glorious light of the presence of their risen, glorified Lord and Savior.
On the evidence of these unprejudiced, unexpectant, incredulous witnesses, faith in the resurrection has its impregnable foundation.
PRINCIPLES CONNOTED
The event we celebrate today connotes the fundamental principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In general these are:
I. The Fatherhood of God
No man can accept the resurrection and be consistent in his belief without accepting also the existence of a personal God. Through the resurrection Christ conquered death, and became an immortal soul. "My Lord and my God" was not merely an idle exclamation of Thomas when he beheld his risen Lord. The Being before him was his God. Once we accept Christ as divine it is easy to visualize his Father as being just as personal as he; for, said Jesus, "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father".
Inseparable with the idea of a Divine Personal Being is the acceptance of Him as the Creator of the world. True Christianity does not look upon the universe as the result of mere interaction of matter and motion, of law and force, but, on the contrary, it regards all creation as the product of a Divine Intelligence "who made the world and all things therein". As one writer puts it: "This is what Christianity means by a personal God. It believes that all existence has its roots in a conscious and intelligent purpose and that this purpose is good."
II. Sonship of Jesus Christ
The Gospel teaches that Christ is the Son of God, the Redeemer of the world. No true follower is satisfied to accept him merely as a great Reformer, the ideal Teacher, or even as the One Perfect Man. The man of Galilee is, not figuratively, but literally, the Son of the living God.
III. The Immortality of the Human Soul
Belief in the resurrection connotes also the immortality of man. Jesus passed through all the experiences of mortality just as you and I. He knew happiness, he experienced pain. He rejoiced as well as sorrowed with others. He knew friendship. He experienced also the sadness that comes through traitors and false accusers. He died a mortal death even as every other mortal. Since His spirit lived after death, so shall yours and mine. So shall your soldier boy who gives his life on the battlefield.
IV. The Brotherhood of Man
One of the two great, general principles to which all other principles are subsidiary is this: "Love your neighbor as yourself", and correlated with it the promise: "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me".
The Gospel, "bids the strong bear the burdens of the weak, and to use the advantages given them by their larger opportunities in the interest of the common good, that the whole level of humanity may be lifted and the path of spiritual attainment be opened to the weakest and most ignorant," as well as to the strong and intelligent.
V. The Standards of Life
Finally, since Jesus was the one perfect man who ever lived, as He, in rising from the dead, conquered death, and is now Lord of the earth, how utterly weak, how extremely foolish is he who would wilfully reject Christ's way of life, especially in the light of the fact that such rejection leads only to unhappiness, misery, and even to death.
What a more delightful world this would be if, for example, men earnestly strove to apply Christ's advice: "If ye have aught against a brother, go to him". Or, again, His admonition: "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness", which means, simply, be not so anxious about worldly things as to make them of superior worth to spiritual attainment.
The Savior condemned hypocrisy and praised sincerity of purpose. Keep your heart pure and your actions will be in accord therewith. Social sins-lying, stealing, dishonest dealing, fornication, and the like are first committed in thought.
Jesus taught that an unsullied character is the noblest aim of life. As John W. Powell aptly says:
Not possessions, nor fame, nor honor: not success nor prosperity; not physical pleasure and ease.... None of these can completely satisfy the human spirit; nor fulfill the highest demand of life.
No man has attained who has not become a good man, pure and loyal and true of soul; whose character, though bought at the cost of all the common aims of existence, will stand the test of every temptation and bring him into communion with the divine.
Herein, brethren, lies the true source of the testimony: "I know that my Redeemer lives". No man can sincerely resolve to apply in his daily life the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth without sensing a change in his nature. The phrase "born again" has a deeper significance than what many people attach to it. This changed feeling may be indescribable, but it is real.
Happy the person who has truly sensed the uplifting transforming power that comes from this nearness to the Savior, this kinship to the living Christ. I am thankful that I know that Christ is my Redeemer.
Easter is a sacred day, a day of thanksgiving and divine worship. It is not a day just for rejoicing because of the opening of springtime, not merely an opportunity to display beautiful hats and fine clothing-it is an occasion for the expression of gratitude to God for having sent His Only Begotten Son into the world, to be "the way, the truth, the life", to declare the eternal truth that "Whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life".
When Christians throughout the world have this faith coursing in their blood, when they feel a loyalty in their hearts to the resurrected Christ, and to the principles connoted thereby, mankind will have taken the first great step toward the perpetual peace for which we daily are praying: Reject Him and the world will be filled with hatred, and drenched in blood by recurring wars.
MODERN REVELATION
Confirming the irrefutable testimony of Christ's early apostles, the Church of Jesus Christ proclaims the glorious vision of the Prophet Joseph Smith as follows:
And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!
For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father-
That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God.****
And this is the Gospel, the glad tidings, which the voice out of the heavens bore record unto us-
That he came into the world, even Jesus, to be crucified for the world, and to bear the sins of the world, and to sanctify the world, and to cleanse it from all unrighteousness;
That through him all might be saved whom the Father had put into his power and made by him.
CONCLUSION
Brethren and sisters: As Christ lived after death so shall all men, each taking his place in the next world for which he has best fitted himself. The message of the resurrection, therefore, is the most comforting, the most glorious ever given to man, for when death takes a loved one from us, our sorrowing hearts are assuaged by the hope and the divine assurance expressed in the words:
"He is not here: he is risen". Because our Redeemer lives so shall we. I bear you witness that He does live. I know it, as I hope you know that divine truth.
May all mankind some day have that faith, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Albert E. Bowen
Albert E. Bowen, Conference Report, April 1944, pp. 126-131
THE SORROW OF MOTHERS
Perhaps no day now goes by that some home is not made desolate by receipt of a message from the war or navy department beginning: "We regret to inform you... " Then a few phrases about courage, devotion to duty, dying gloriously, and some mother knows the dull heavy thud of a heartbreak signaling blasted hopes for her boy that will not come home again. No one may know what reveries troop through her mind as she sits alone, disconsolate... The boy that lay nestled under her heart, the boy she nourished from her own body during his helpless infancy, the boy for whose future she had dreamed dreams into which were woven the praises of men's tongues as they extolled his achievements and whose children should one day sit upon her knee as she told them the story of his rise to fame.... Now all seems ended, the promise of life cut off, made fruitless, all sacrifices and strivings vain. Her boy is dead, victim of blundering human stupidity in a recreant, wilfully-disobedient world.
Then, perhaps, as she sits with her musings, companioned by despair, she sees a vision of hope born of the story of that other mother, who with a few women and one tone disciple, watched so long ago at the foot of the cross as her first born, nailed high upon it, died in agony between malefactors, 'mid the jeers and taunts of a ribald soldiery and the gloatings of apparently victorious, bigoted and vengeful adversaries. His birth had been heaven-proclaimed, for the angel of God came to that mother at Nazareth and said:
Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
... thou shalt conceive... and bring forth a son, and shall call his name Jesus.
He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
Then the bereft mother of today may catch an understanding glimpse of the conflicting emotions which must have tugged and pulled at the heart of Mary as, after seeing him laid in the tomb, she reviewed the checkered and mysterious life of this heaven-heralded Son.
REVIEWING EVENTS IN THE SAVIOR'S LIFE
Etched ineffaceably upon her memory must have been that angelic salutation: "Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women". And again her heart must have throbbed as she recalled the prediction of eternal kingship for her promised Child. As memory's scroll unrolled, she would live again those thirty years of filial obedience until he went to be baptized of that strange man, John. She would relive that long vigil in the wilderness, where he scorned the temptation to prostitute his power or to barter his soul for all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. Tracing his steps back to his native province she would recall how he "went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the Gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.
And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments... and he healed them.
And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judea, and from beyond Jordan.
She would probably see herself seated as a member of that congregation at Nazareth when he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day whence, because he said that the scriptures were fulfilled in him, his own townspeople drove him out and through the city to the edge of the escapement with evident intent to cast him headlong into the abyss below. But apparently for once exercising his power in his own behalf he passed through them and went his way. There would pass in review before her mind his triumphal entry into Jerusalem when the people thronged to meet Him and strewed the way with their garments and with palm branches and shouted: "Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord".
Again she would hear His penetrating words from the side of the mountain by the seashore as in that most wonderful of all sermons ever uttered by the lips of man He called blessed the poor in spirit, the meek, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, they who hunger and thirst after righteousness and those who are reviled and persecuted and evil spoken of for His name's sake, and would witness again in retrospect His compassionate feeding of the multitude and see them attempt forcibly to crown Him king only to turn back and "walk no more with him" when he explained that his doctrines laid heavy exactions upon those who followed him in the matter of the purity and fidelity of their personal lives.
Looking back she would recall how He had astonished the learned by the depth of His understanding, and confounded hypocritical questioners by the power of His unfailing wisdom; how He showed mercy to the sinner, brought comfort to the disconsolate, hope to the oppressed, cheer to the heavy laden, and healing to the broken hearted.
All these triumphs Mary must have witnessed or heard report of. And then last of all would come the sickening vision of His being tried before Herod and Pilate, meekly submitting to be dressed in a purple robe, with a crown of thorns crushed upon His brow, and mocked and scourged. And finally there would haunt her the sight of His staggering under the weight of His own cross and dying in agony upon it.
What was to be made of it all? This ignominious death seemed to spell the failure of His life, the frustration of His mission and the thwarting of the promise of perpetual reign over the kingdom which should be without end.
THE WONDER OF THE RESURRECTION
But Mary had not long to wrestle with these perplexities for: "In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week..." came the women to the sepulchre to perform certain unfinished offices for the dead. Their wonder grew as an angel who was seated upon the stone which had been rolled back from the door of the tomb said:
Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said... And go quickly and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead.
Such is the glorious message of that great triumphal morning. It bore to Mary the answer to her bewilderment. Now she could know the promises for her Son made at the annunciation had not failed, that his life of anxiety and care and suffering and sorrow had not been in vain. So in like manner may every brooding mother who has received a "We regret to inform you" letter draw strength from the assurance that the life of her loved one has not failed. Perhaps, within his finite limitations, in a weak similitude of the great vicarious offering of the Lord for the redemption of the race, her boy, too, has given his life, a vicarious offering. For in this world he himself will never reap the fruits of his own sacrifice.
As such mother sits alone with her anguish and reviews the events of the life of her martyred son there may unfold before her vision the scroll upon which are written the experiences of Mary, the mother of the Son of God, and from the final triumph of His life she may draw the sustaining power of hope and faith; for the resurrection is as universal as the race.
Its bringing about was the great crowning achievement of Christ's life. To that consummation its whole course had been directed. As He approached the time of His agony, He said, "but for this cause came I unto this hour".
"And I, if I be lifted up from the earth," said He again, "will draw all men unto me".
Further He told His disciples: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit".
So His death and burial and resurrection from the dead bears fruit in the raising of all who die. That was the whole burden of the message of the disciples.
PAUL'S TESTIMONY BEFORE AGRIPPA
Paul, standing in bonds before Agrippa, said:
At midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me.
And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.
These are not the words of an unlettered man, nor of one infatuated by living under the spell of the powerful personality of Jesus, or deluded by the stories told of Him by His admirers. For by his own confession Paul had lived a Pharisee, the strictest sect of his religion, they who had been the subjects of the Lord's severest chastisements.
He hated the Christians with a bitter hate. He had testified against them when they were condemned to death; had hounded them from city to city, thrown them into prison, compelled them to blaspheme, and had vilely persecuted them. He was on such mission to Damascus when the light appeared before him in the way and he heard the risen Lord's voice. The reality of his experience-the sincerity of his conversion-is attested by the devotion of his subsequent life, enduring shipwreck, privation, persecution, chains, and finally death for his testimony of the reality of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus. With faultless logic he wrote to the Corinthians:
Now if Christ be preached that he arose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?
But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:
And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain....
But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
That doctrine is the center and pivot of Christian theology, the foundation of the Christian religion, the very basis of Christian hope. Strip that dogma from your creed, and you destroy Christianity. Take it away, and you devitalize your New Testament, for it is the fundamental fact of that whole record.
MR. MOODY'S ADVICE TO A YOUNG PREACHER
It is related that in Europe, the great evangelist, Mr. Moody, was asked by a young minister, "What makes the difference between the success of your preaching and mine; one of us is wrong?"
Moody said: "You have heard me preach and I haven't heard you, you tell me the difference." The minister answered: "You make a good deal out of the death of Christ... I don't think that has anything to do with it. I preach life."
Then Mr. Moody quoted him several scriptures declaring the atonement and asked the young preacher with respect to each, "What do you do with that?" He said in each instance, "I never preached that," and finally asserted: "I think the whole thing is a sham." Then said Mr. Moody:
"I advise you to get out of the ministry very quickly. I would not preach a sham. If the Bible is untrue, let us stop preaching, and come out like men and fight against it if it is a sham and untrue; but if these things are true, and Jesus Christ left heaven and came into this world to shed His blood and save sinners, then let us lay hold of it and preach it in season and out of season."
That is one of the things that admit of no compromise. It is of the "all or none" variety. The same record which recounts the miracle of the resurrection contains all we know about the moral teachings of Jesus. You can't very well repudiate it as to the one and enlist enthusiastic allegiance for it in respect of the other. Today is kept a memorial by all Christendom. The very commemoration of the day assumes the reality of the occurrence it signalizes, for you cannot commemorate an event that never happened.
THE RESURRECTION THE FOUNDATION OF FAITH AND HOPE
The great stumbling block to acceptance of the crucifixion and the resurrection, seems to be that they are thought opposed to natural law. But what is natural law? Who established it? It is conceded on almost all sides that there is a supernatural law operative in this universe. Who is to say that in effecting the purposes of God it may not transcend natural law? If you grant God at all, does it seem consistent to suppose that He set laws in motion which froze Him outside of them and rendered Him impotent before the works of His own hands?
We know so little about this wondrous world in which increasing knowledge only reveals vistas stretching further and further into the realm of the unknown that he must be a reckless man indeed who would dare affirm of his own finite wisdom what is and what is not possible with God.
In far too great degree the professedly Christian world has to its own obvious harm become apostate to the reality of the announcement, "He is risen from the dead". Take away belief in that reality and you make rubble of the foundations of faith and rob the disconsolate of their fairest hope.
The record tells of an occurrence when Jesus with His disciples and "much people" was entering the city called Nain. They were met by a funeral procession taking to his burial the only son of a widow. Having compassion upon that mother, Jesus bade her cease weeping and bidding the young man to arise from the bier He delivered him alive to her. As He stopped that funeral procession and restored the dead to life so by His death and resurrection He has stopped forever the triumph of death for all men.
To every weeping mother the empty tomb proclaims aloud the glad tidings that whether the bones of her child lie bleaching on Africa's hot sands, or find their rest in the bottom of the sea, or his body is lowered into the grave he shall be raised up again and live.
Elder Charles A. Callis
Charles A. Callis, Conference Report, April 1944, pp. 131-134
I humbly pray God for the guidance of His teaching spirit.
There is a continuous freshness in the fundamental principles of the Gospel. They never grow out of date. Fortunate is the man who translates them into his life.
FAITH A MOTIVATING POWER
In his masterly presentation of faith and his great appeal for faith, the apostle Paul citing the examples of the heroes of faith of the Old Testament said:
Now, faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
We know, as though we had seen them, the creation of the earth, the deluge, the birth, crucifixion, and resurrection of our dear Lord Jesus Christ. We hope for the millennium, when swords shall be beaten into plowshares, and spears into pruninghooks. We hope for the glorious resurrection of the Saints of God and the re-appearance of Jesus Christ in the splendor and glory of immortality.
"Through faith," Paul said, "we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God". I am one who fondly hopes and believes that in the spirit world, our pre-existent state, through the faith we exercised and prayers we offered before the throne of God, that this earth was created, to which we might come, and by taking mortality upon ourselves, go on to eternal perfection and immortality.
The Apostle Paul continues:
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Thus we are taught that faith is one of the powers upon which eternal life is based.
At the dose of this war we are going to witness a remarkable and mighty miracle of faith. We shall be under the necessity of remaking a world, of building up a new world. God grant that we may build it up unto Him. A poetess has said:
I never understood how man could dare To watch a city shaken to the ground, To feel the tremors, hear the tragic sound Of houses twisting, crashing everywhere And not be conquered by a sick despair. Although his building crumbles to a mound Of worthless ruin, man has always found The urge to build a stronger city there.
Within my soul I made my towers high. They lie in ruins, yet I have begun To build again, now planning to restore What life has shaken to the earth; And I, in faith, shall build my towers toward the sun A stronger city than was there before. -GERTRUDE RYDER BENNETT*
GOD'S PURPOSE BEING FULFILLED
Henry Grady, the great southern orator, declared, after the Civil War: "Fields that were red with human blood, are green with the harvests of June. The reins have not slipped from God's hands."
His purposes will be fulfilled, and this old world is not going to burst asunder, and civilization shall never perish from the earth while the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is taught, while the Priesthood of God still remains upon the earth.
I am not vain nor egotistical when I say that I believe with all my heart that the Priesthood of God, this great Church, because of the great mission to be performed, is holding this old world together, and the missionary work to be accomplished after this war is going to make our hearts overflow with joy.
The servants of our Father shall go out, and where they are baptizing one today, they shall baptize a score, or hundreds, yea a thousand, for every knee shall bend and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ.
I believe, I have faith, that this terrible war, with all its death and ravages, is bringing men nearer to God. That has been the rule in the centuries that are passed. An ancient prophet said: "When I was afflicted, I learned thy statutes".
But in dissipation, in idleness, in immorality, in wickedness, we never learn much about God. It is only when God touches our heart and makes us all mourn, because of the grief in the world, that we feel after Him. For a touch of trouble makes us all akin, and we look unto the Lord. Affliction and sorrow have brought more souls to God than all the joy of the world.
THE DESTINY OF AMERICA
We read of a great postwar program. Is it not pathetic that in all these postwar declarations the name of God is seldom, if ever, mentioned? The best postwar program is found in the Book of Mormon. May I read the words of the Lord:
Behold, this land, said God, shall be a land of thine inheritance, and the Gentiles shall be blessed upon the land.
And this land shall be a land of liberty unto the Gentiles, and there shall be no kings upon the land, who shall raise up unto the Gentiles....
And, now, listen:
And I will fortify this land against all other nations.
And he that fighteth against Zion shall perish, saith God.
For he that raiseth up a king against me shall perish, for I the Lord, the king of heaven, will be their king, and I will be a light unto them forever, that hear my words.
Here is a divine pledge of the perpetuity of our glorious republic, conditioned upon our obedience unto God, conditioned upon our effort, our determination, and our labors to cleanse the land of the accursed thing, which is sin; and you know the form in which sin lurks and is often disguised. I hope and pray that this nation, after this war, and during the war shall fortify this land to such an extent, and place it in such a condition of invulnerability that the nations of the earth, as God says in the D&C;, shall say: "Let us not go up to battle against Zion for the inhabitants of Zion are terrible". America is Zion, from north to south, from east to west.
I pray that after the war our government will furnish employment for every inactive laborer, in fortifying this country, that it will teach men to be mechanics, to be useful, for a nation that harbors idleness is doomed to decay and, finally destruction. One of the saddest hours of a young man's life is when he sits down and seeks to devise ways and means for earning a living without work. It is the wise nation that keeps its people at work. The men who want that bold independence that only labor can buy are the strength of the nation. Work helps a people to be strong in the worship of that God, who, from the days of Adam, has condemned slothfulness. He has always urged men and women to work.
Furthermore, I hope that our nation, now and forever, so long as the Star Spangled Banner shall float in the breezes of heaven, will remember the words of Washington, that "to be prepared for war is the most effectual means of preserving peace." Also," 'Tis our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world." God destined this nation to be a light to the world, to be a herald unto every nation, and nobly we will fill that mission if we serve the God of this land and abstain from all uncleanness.
THE WORK TO BE ACCOMPLISHED BY THE PRIESTHOOD
The Savior, just before His ascension, said to His apostles:
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
In pursuance of that glorious promise, Peter, James and John did come, as heavenly beings, unto America, to the uttermost part of the earth, to the uttermost bounds of the everlasting hills, as Jacob said, when he blessed the tribe of Joseph; and there, declaring that they held the keys of the kingdom of God, and the keys of this last dispensation, they did lay their hands upon the head of Joseph Smith, and ordained him to the Melchizedek Priesthood, fulfilling the promise of our Lord Jesus Christ.
This priesthood today is being magnified in a mighty work. By the power of this priesthood temples are built, and work for the living and the dead has been inaugurated, the Gospel is being preached, and true to its mission, by the power of the holy Priesthood, this Church is preaching the Gospel to every nation and kindred and tongue and people to prepare the way for the glorious second coming of the Son of God.
This I testify to, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder John H. Taylor
John H. Taylor, Conference Report, April 1944, pp. 135-138
I feel very grateful to President Clark for the kindly innovation that we have had in this Conference, so that we who are going to speak have a few minutes to offer up another prayer to our Heavenly Father that He will not leave us alone as we stand before the people.
I have listened with interest to the many splendid and inspirational remarks that have been given during this Conference. I am quite certain that the inspiration that has come to us will be helpful in our lives, and that we will be able to do finer and better things than we have ever done before.
THE PREACHING OF THE GOSPEL OBLIGATORY
The Church of God has always been a missionary church. Whenever the Gospel has been introduced upon the earth, ways and means have been provided for the children of men to have the same opportunity for hearing and understanding the Gospel, and of finding the peace and happiness that others have found because of their membership in the Church. Seemingly the Lord has not been content to give the Gospel to any few people, but has always made it obligatory upon those who have received it to give it to others. We only find happiness for the blessings that we have received by seeing that other people have the same opportunity.
When Christ was on the earth, He organized His Church, chose His apostles, and commenced His ministry among the people. He also chose a group of men called seventies, to assist in bringing the glad tidings of great joy to the people and give them an opportunity of receiving salvation in the kingdom of God.
The last words that the Savior uttered as He finished His mission upon the earth were that His disciples should go into all the world and preach the Gospel. When He was upon the cross, and was about to give up His life that men and women might live again in the presence of God, He said unto the thief who hung at His side: "Today shalt thou be with me in paradise". Seemingly, as soon as His spirit left His body, He then commenced a great missionary work among the spirits in prison. He went to open the doors not only to the people who had not lived according to the laws of the Lord, but to all good men and women who had lived the laws of the Lord, according to their best information and ability.
He made it possible for those on the earth to have comfort in the thought of salvation and forgiveness for their loved ones who had gone to the other side without a knowledge of the Gospel. He brought the message to those in the spirit world that they should also have the opportunity of repenting of their sins and finding happiness, in the presence of our Heavenly Father.
We believe that as men and women go on the other side, they find opportunity and are assigned to proclaim this Gospel of Jesus Christ, that men might not be found wanting as they stand before the judgment seat of God, even though they be in the spirit world.
THE MISSIONARY SPIRIT IN TEMPLE WORK
We are trying to do all we can in using our temples to see that men and women find this comfort and blessing. You remember we received a letter not long ago stating that there were 100,000 names of men whose temple work had not been finished, and that they could not have all the blessings they might have if their work had been done. So the plea has been made that in this great missionary spirit of ours the men shall do the work for these one hundred thousand whose names are already prepared and ready, that those on the other side might find the added blessings and the joys because of the temple work having been done for them.
I sincerely trust that our men will not be found wanting in this great missionary service.
THE GOSPEL BEING PREACHED AT HOME AND ABROAD
There is another agency that has always been used in missionary work, and that is the foreign missions. We are doing all that we can with the few missionaries who are available. Our ranks are practically depleted as far as the foreign missionaries are concerned. In mission offices we are having lady missionaries to take care of the business part of the work, but in a few months the boys will be back home and taken into the army.
It has been very fortunate that older men, sometimes with their wives, have seen the necessity, or at least they are taking bold of the opportunity that is presenting itself of going out into the world for six months, or even on a regular mission. These older missionaries fill a great need caused by the exodus of our missionaries into the armed forces.
I am in hopes, and I am sure as a Church we are all in hopes-that all the people will realize that the time is short and the harvest is still plentiful, and that we who hold the Priesthood of the Lord ought to find opportunity, if there is any way possible, of going out and performing this work.
Another great missionary agency is carried on by the home missionaries in our stakes and in the mission fields. Men and women who are very anxious to bring the word of the Lord unto the people are giving good service. As was said the other day, we are finding very many people here in our home towns who are anxious and willing to hear the word of the Lord. I trust that we may be able to increase the number laboring in home missions.
I remember while I was in Nottingham on my first mission that we would go to Sunday School in the forenoon and Saints would take us home in the afternoon for our lunch, and then when lunch was over, all of us, missionaries and Saints, old and young, used to take our tracts, and go out for two or three hours and preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
I am wondering whether we have taken advantage of every opportunity of preaching the word of the Lord. While we are busy and have many things to do, I am quite sure if we would only think about this matter more seriously, we would find times when this great body of Priesthood could go out for at least a few hours and preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I think it was in Washington Stake where the seventies' quorum had decided that on Sunday, after the morning services, they would go out and tract among the people. So they went in their automobiles and reached some of the outside places, and there they would spend two or three hours in preaching the Gospel.
When I go among our seventies and see the great body of men who have been in the mission field and are trained and experienced, wondering what they can do in their seventies' quorum, I ask why do they not develop ways and means of doing missionary work; why shouldn't all of us use part of the week or part of the month, in doing missionary work, to the blessing and salvation of our neighbors and friends.
MISSIONARY WORK BY OUR ARMED SERVICE MEN
I am thinking also of another great agency that is at work at the present time, and that is our boys, and young women, in the service of our country-boys who have been taken out of the mission field and sent in to do their part for their country. I have often thought, brethren, that if the government was only as wise as they thought they were they would rather insist that all the Mormon boys have an opportunity of doing missionary work before going into the armed services, because every returned missionary who goes into the armed forces brings with him a testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He brings with him the thought of cleanliness and splendidness of life. He brings with him everything that ought to be in the hearts of men and women as they labor in the cause of their country. Our boys and girls are surely doing a wonderful and a splendid work as they associate with their companions in service.
They are clean fellows. Just recently, I met one of them at a bus stop in Wendover. I had gone into the eating place in the station. The place was crowded, and everybody, it seemed to me, was smoking or drinking, or gambling. As I went toward the door a young fellow in uniform came up to me, and said: "Brother Taylor, I am surely glad to see you. You ordained me a Seventy when I went into the mission field." Just a young boy, yet the influence he had in that building and on the busses and on the trains was teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the people in the most splendid way.
May the Lord bless us, brethren and sisters, may the Lord help us, that we may feel the obligation in some way or somehow of bringing a knowledge of the Gospel to the people who have not yet heard the Gospel. If we will meet this requirement, great shall be our reward for helping others to understand the beauty of the way of life and salvation.
May this be our part, I pray, in Jesus' name. Amen.
Elder Marion G. Romney
Marion G. Romney, Conference Report, April 1944, pp. 138-141
My beloved brethren and sisters: I have repeatedly and earnestly sought the Lord that His spirit would be with me while I occupy a few minutes of these precious moments, and I ask you if you will please join your prayers with mine, that this time may be profitable to us all.
I believe the phrase most frequently spoken in this Conference has been "the spirit of the Lord." Nearly every speaker who has addressed us has expressed his wish, his prayer, that the spirit of the Lord would direct what he said. Nearly every man who has offered a prayer, either an opening prayer or a closing prayer, has prayed for the same thing. I am persuaded that in these Conference sessions we have had a rich outpouring of the spirit of the Lord.
SPEAKING BY THE POWER OF THE HOLY GHOST
The other day Brother Joseph Fielding Smith spoke of the spirit of the Lord that enlightens every man who comes into this world. I think the spirit of the Lord which we seek in administering the affairs of the Church is more than that spirit. When I pray for the spirit of the Lord to direct me in this talk, I pray for the spirit of revelation, the help of the Holy Ghost. You know, the Lord said that we should have this spirit by the prayer of faith, and He said further if we did not have the spirit, we should not teach.
Nephi said on one occasion that "when a man speaketh by the power of the Holy Ghost, the power of the Holy Ghost carrieth it unto the hearts of the children of men". I am persuaded that one of the deepest truths, the most glorious principles, revealed to the world through the restoration, by the Lord, through the Prophet Joseph Smith, was the doctrine that every man and every woman and every boy and every girl who has reached the age of accountability and has joined the Church may have the spirit of the Lord, that is, the gift of the Holy Ghost, to guide him through his life. I mean by this direct communication with, revelation from, God our eternal Father.
The Prophet Joseph Smith taught this in a wonderful way. In the last chapter, quoting Moroni, he told us how to get a testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. We are not left to take the word and testimony of the Prophet and of the three and eight witnesses only, but he there told us that when we read the book, if we will ask God the eternal Father in faith, He will manifest the truth of it unto us, individually, I take it, by the power of the Holy Ghost, and that by the power of the Holy Ghost we may know the truth of all things.
THE EXERCISE OF FAITH NECESSARY
You remember the occasion when Brother Newell K. Whitney was called to be a bishop in Kirtland. Brother Partridge was over in Zion at that time, as I recall. Brother Whitney was a great man, measured by the standards of the world, but when the Prophet told him that he was to be a bishop, he said that he could not see the qualifications of a bishop in himself. The Prophet said: "You need not take my word alone. Go and ask Father for yourself." At that slight rebuke, Brother Whitney went and asked the Lord. He heard a voice speak to him saying: "Thy strength is in me." This was a revelation to him, and "he straightway sought the Prophet, told him he was satisfied, and was willing to accept the office to which he had been called."
Then you remember when the Prophet was asking for volunteers to come out to this western country to make a survey looking for a place where the Saints might come, he described what kind of men he wanted. He described what their equipment must be, and then he said: "I want every man that goes to be a king and a priest. When he gets on the mountain, he may want to talk with his God."
The Prophet Joseph Smith knew this doctrine was true; he knew from experience. He knew because he had had the experience of talking with God, our eternal Father. This great latter-day work, the restoration, opened up with a grand vision, referred to by President David O. McKay this morning, in which the Father and the Son came and appeared to the boy prophet, Joseph Smith. It came as a result of his prayer and his faith.
About a year and a half ago, I was given an assignment in the Welfare work to travel around the Church into all the stakes. I took with me the first volume of the Documentary History of the Church. As I read, I observed that when questions came to the mind of the Prophet Joseph, he straightway went and in mighty prayer asked the Lord for an answer to the questions. Then he would come back with an answer from the Lord in direct quotations. These quotations were the revelations which came during the restoration of the Gospel. EXPERIENCES OF WILFORD WOODRUFF AND BRIGHAM YOUNG
Now, it is very important, my brethren, that we each live so that we can have this spirit of the Lord. Its importance did not cease with the death of the Prophet Joseph Smith. In 1879, two years after the Prophet Brigham Young had died, President Wilford Woodruff was down in the mountains of Arizona traveling with Lot Smith. On one occasion, he had a vision or a dream in which he saw Brigham Young and Orson Hyde, and he asked Brigham Young if he would not come with him to Arizona and speak to the people. Brigham Young answered that he had done his talking in the flesh and that work was now left for Elder Woodruff and others to do. In his diary, President Woodruff quotes President Young as saying: "Tell the people to get the spirit of the Lord and keep it with them."
Brigham Young had a similar experience in his lifetime. In February, 1847, he had a dream in which the Prophet Joseph Smith appeared to him. It was a glorious dream. You will find it in the history of the Church written by Brother Cannon. Brigham Young expressed his sorrow that he was separated from the companionship of President Smith, the Prophet, and asked him why he could not come with him. The Prophet told him he would have to wait awhile.
Then Brigham Young asked him if he had a message for them, and the Prophet stepped toward him, looking very earnestly, yet patiently, and said:
Tell the brethren to be humble and faithful and be sure to keep the Spirit of the Lord, that it will lead them aright. Be careful and not turn away the still, small voice; it will teach them what to do and where to go; it will yield the fruits of the kingdom. Tell the brethren to keep their hearts open to conviction, so that when the Holy Ghost comes to them, their hearts will be ready to receive it.
That is one way, brethren, to get the spirit of the Lord, and it is one absolute requirement to keep our hearts open to conviction, so that we can hear the word of God and receive the Holy Ghost's promptings when they come. It is a terrible calamity for men or nations to become laws unto themselves. You know, the Lord said: "That which seeketh to become a law unto itself... cannot be sanctified by law, neither by mercy, justice, nor judgment, therefore they must remain filthy still".
The Prophet, in this statement to Brigham Young, continues:
They can tell the Spirit of the Lord from all other spirits will whisper peace and joy to their souls; it will take malice, hatred, strife and all evil from their hearts, and their whole desire will be to do good, bring forth righteousness, and build up the kingdom of God.
THE PRAYER OF ENOS
When I read that, I thought of the experience of Enos, the son of Jacob, as related in the Book of Mormon. He went into the forest and prayed with all the energy of his soul that he might have a knowledge of the goodness of the Lord about whom his father, Jacob, had told him, and the Lord spoke to him and said: "Enos, thy sins are forgiven thee." And Enos then asked how it could be, and the Lord told him because of his faith on Jesus Christ whom he had never before seen nor heard. Then there came over Enos the feeling for his brethren, and he prayed with all the energy of his soul for them, first for the Nephites and then for the Lamanites. I thought how true this is, that when a man has the spirit of the Lord, his whole desire is for righteousness and to build up the kingdom of God.
The Prophet Joseph continued:
Tell the brethren if they will follow the Spirit of the Lord, they will go right. Be sure to tell the brethren to keep the Spirit of the Lord; and if they will, they will find themselves just as they were organized by our Father in Heaven before they came into the world. Our Father in Heaven organized the human family, but they are all disorganized and in great confusion.
Now, I skip a part and close with this statement: "Joseph again said to him, 'Tell the people to be sure to keep the Spirit of the Lord and follow it and it will lead them just right.'"
Brethren, if we are to be led just right, through these perilous times in which we live, we must keep our minds open and have the spirit of the Lord. The gift of the Holy Ghost must be operative in us. God bless us to this end, I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Spencer W. Kimball
Spencer W. Kimball, Conference Report, April 1944, pp. 141-146
My brethren and sisters: I am deeply grateful for the privilege of bearing testimony to you in this General Conference.
It has been a source of joy to me to see how universally happy the people are in the selection of Brother Mark E. Petersen to work with us in the Council of the Twelve. It is going to be a great joy to me to be associated with him.
IMPRESSED BY THE SINGING AT CONFERENCE
This Conference has been a most inspirational one. The spirit of the Lord seems to have been here in rich abundance. I have been much impressed by the singing. Many people who heard the Conference sessions over the radio said to me that the songs sounded as if they came from a great trained male chorus. Every song seemed most appropriate and fit perfectly into the theme of the Conference as it unfolded. I think I have never heard the song, "I Need Thee Every Hour," sung with such power and beauty and harmony as it was sung in this Conference by these thousands of men. Perhaps my appreciation of the song came from my feeling of need of the help of the Lord.
I am not unmindful of the grave responsibility that is mine in occupying this position, and I earnestly pray for the blessings of the Lord while I stand before you.
I was impressed by the song which you sang so well:
Zion stands with hills surrounded, Zion kept by power divine. Happy Zion, happy Zion, What a favored lot is thine!
And the thought came to me: What a favored lot is ours to be able to assemble in General Conference and to bear testimony to each other, and for the other numerous blessings we enjoy.
ENJOYMENT IN FELLOWSHIP
I thought as I saw you brethren sitting in this large group, what a marvelous opportunity for fellowship we have in this Church, men from all parts of North America. I was wondering how many of you are acquainted with the brother on either side of you. I used to enjoy coming to Conference a little early and sitting down there with you, reaching out my hand and saying: "I am Spencer W. Kimball, from Safford, Arizona." Then my brethren on either side would tell me whence they came-from California, from Canada, from Oregon, or somewhere else in the Church. Then we talked just a little bit while we were waiting for the meeting, about the wheat in Canada, or the salmon in Portland, or the cotton raising in Arizona, and about our Church work, and then we did really enjoy the Conference, as we knew each other and sat enjoying the spirit of the Lord together.
I want to assure you that on either side of each of you is one of the finest men in this whole world, who belongs to the greatest fraternity holding the holy Priesthood, in a high and responsible position, a man that you will want to know.
Among the greatest thrills of my life are these conferences with the Priesthood leaders of the Church, men tried and true, when we gather together in this historic building in General Conference; I am grateful for this privilege of meeting with you. I stand before you in humility, and I love you for your faith and your integrity and your devotion to the work of the Lord.
Six months ago I was first sustained by you in this position of responsibility; it was six months ago, day before yesterday, when I knelt at the feet of President Heber J. Grant, our Prophet, Seer and Revelator, and his hands, together with the hands of the members of the Quorum of the Twelve and the Patriarch, were placed on my head and I was ordained an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ.
A half year has passed, and I have enjoyed my work immensely. I have been from southern Arizona on the south, to northern Idaho on the north, and from Los Angeles on the west to New York on the east, and everywhere I have gone I have been accepted with courtesy and consideration, and I have learned to love the people all over the Church.
THE GOSPEL SOLVES MANY PROBLEMS
In the past few sessions of the Conference we have heard much of juvenile and adult delinquency. I am sure that the living of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in our homes will solve most of these problems. I am sure that if we have prayer in our homes, around the table, with our families, and as we retire for the night that our families will be closely knit together, and will grow in spirituality. If we shall have home evenings and gather our broods about us, we shall be able to teach them obedience, and discipline. They will come to love the home and the family, and will be protected from many of the vicious influences which are increasing delinquency. If we will take them with us to sacrament meetings and teach them their privileges and responsibilities in the Church, we shall thus be able to lead them into paths of righteousness. If we can make the home the center of the universe for our children much of the sin of the world can be by-passed.
Our Savior said: "If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments". From observation it seems to me that one of the commandments which we wantonly break is that command to observe the sacredness of the Sabbath day. We were quoted during this Conference the word of the Lord:
Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work. But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates.
SABBATH-BREAKING DECRIED
While attending one of the Conferences last fall, one of my first down state, I was housed in a hotel, and early Sunday morning I was awakened by considerable noise in the halls and the lobby of the hotel, and when I came down I found that the lobby and the care near it were filled with men with colored shirts and caps and with hunting regalia. Their guns were clean and shining. They were all en route to the mountains and the canyons to get their deer. When the Conference day was ended and evening found us on our way home, many were the cars that we passed with a deer on the running board or on the bumper. Another Sabbath I drove through an agricultural area, and was distressed to find there were mowing machines and balers and perspiring men engaged in harvesting the crops.
Still another Sabbath I drove through Main Street of one of our larger towns, and I was dismayed to find lines of people standing and waiting their turns to get into the picture shows.
Still another time when large numbers of people with hiking breeches and slacks were driving to mountain retreats with picnic lunches to enjoy the beauteous Sabbath in the canyons.
And the word of the Lord continued to resound in my consciousness: "In the days of their peace they esteemed lightly my counsel; but in the day of their trouble, of necessity they feel after me".
I wondered if we must be brought low with adversity before we will serve the Lord.
There came ringing again in my ears the solemn command brought down from the thundering of Mount Sinai: "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy". So far as I know, that commandment has never been rescinded nor modified. To hunt and fish on the Lord's day is not keeping it holy. To plant or cultivate or harvest crops on the Sabbath is not keeping holy the Lord's day. To go into the canyons for picnics, to attend games or rodeos, or races or shows, or other amusements on that day is not to keep it in holy remembrance.
Our Savior said:
Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall he called the least in the kingdom of heaven.
Strange as it may seem, some of our brethren, faithful in all other respects, seem to justify themselves in missing their sacrament meetings, and their stake conferences, in order to beat all the other hunters into the wild life area when the season opens. The Church favors legitimate recreation, and urges its people to organize picnic parties and to enjoy the great outdoors for the fellowship that it offers, but with six other days in the week, the Sabbath certainly need not be desecrated.
Good clean plays and pictures are certainly not objectionable, but on the other hand they add to our education and to our entertainment in a wholesome way, but certainly our people can ill afford to spend funds and time to go to more of such activities than can be attended on the other six days of the week.
THE WORD OF THE LORD
There is a time and a place for all worth-while things. Are we giving up and making a sacrifice? Is it self-denial? I think it isn't so much a matter of giving up things; it is a matter of shifting times and choosing seasons.
The word of the Lord is very definite and final, and comes with tremendous force when He says:
And that thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world, thou shalt go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day.
This is a day when our every lapse is blamed on the war. Perhaps there are times and conditions when we must work seven days of the week, when industry or the exigencies of war require it, but are we sure that we do not sometimes work on the Sabbath when not necessary, for the "time and a half" that is given, for the additional funds it provides?
Remember the Lord said: "Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work". You note here the command is two-fold; it is definite that you shall labor the six days-no place here for the idler or for loitering on the job or for absenteeism. And equally strong is the command that on the Sabbath "thou shalt not do any work." Even in modern times the command has come again through a modern prophet:
And on this day thou shalt do none other thing, only let thy food be prepared with singleness of heart.
It is not enough to refrain from doing the things which would keep the day from being kept holy, but there are some very definite things that we should do to honor the Sabbath. We are required to go to the house of prayer, we are to offer up our sacraments unto the Most High; we are to fast and pray at the proper times; and we are to stand in holy places; we are to rest and to worship.
By resting is not meant the indolent lounging about the home all day or puttering around in the garden, but a consistent attendance at meetings for the worship of the Lord, drinking at the fountain of knowledge and instruction, enjoying the family and finding uplift in music and song. One good but mistaken man I knew claimed that he could get much more out of a good book on Sunday than he could get in attending a sacrament meeting, saying that the sermons were hardly up to his standards.
But I say we do not go to Sabbath meetings to be entertained or amused; we go there to worship the Lord. It is an individual responsibility, and regardless of what is said from the pulpit, if one wishes to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth, he may do so by attending his meetings, partaking of the sacrament, and contemplating the beauties of the Gospel. If the sacrament meeting is a failure to you, you are the one that has failed. No one can worship for you, you must do your own serving of the Lord.
WEEK-DAY SPORTS AND PICNICS TO BE ENCOURAGED
Now that spring is here and summer will soon follow, our presiding brethren throughout the Church might anticipate the problems of Sabbath desecration and encourage a program of substitution.
Encouragement could be given to week-day sports and picnics and shows, and the brethren could be urged to plan their hunting and fishing trips during the week days, avoiding the Sabbath, instead of including it in their itinerary.
A seminary group once planned a service in the tops of the mountains, and they felt wholly justified for the excursion since they had planned a testimony meeting to be held as a part of it. They did have their meeting and a spiritual hour was enjoyed, but after the hour, the picnic was eaten, the young people in their rough mountain clothes and slacks hiked and climbed, and turned the balance of the day into one of the usual fun and frolic. Certainly, it was not a holy day, the one hour of devotion did not keep it from becoming a holiday.
A Scout council was wont to arrange their summer camp so that the Scouts were moving to the camp on one Sabbath and from it on the next. Our Latter-day Saint boys were deprived of their Priesthood activities for two Sundays, and still were getting no scouting on those days. A friendly suggestion to the council authorities brought about a change, so that the camp period ran from week day to week day, and the one Sunday in between was devoted to a spiritual service for the boys who were in the camp.
Much can be done to substitute week-day activities for Sunday ones. Great good can be done by an educational program anticipating and preceding the period of likely breaking of the Sabbath.
Let us follow the Prophet Joshua-it is one of my favorite passages of scripture-he said:
Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth... choose you this day whom ye will serve... but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
That we may live the commandments of God and teach men so, that we may pay our devotion to the Most High and keep the Sabbath day holy, I pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Alma Sonne
Alma Sonne, Conference Report, April 1944, pp. 147-149
My brethren: I pray for the good spirit spoken about by Elder Romney. It is a great privilege and a blessing, and certainly a great inspiration, to be in attendance at a session of the Conference. This opportunity is becoming increasingly more precious.
I rejoice in the fact that the messages of this Conference have gone out to the nation, and have reached the homes and the firesides of the families in this Intermountain region. The reports given and the remarks made indicate that the Church moves on. It is solid, sound, and progressive. It will continue to move on, and go forward to meet the demands and the requirements made upon it.
The coming forth of Mormonism is the greatest event of modern times, and it will be so regarded in the future by the unprejudiced writers of history. It has survived every storm of opposition; it has never gone backwards; it has never retreated from its high aims and purposes.
We have been urged by previous speakers to adhere to fundamentals. Such admonition, it seems to me, is timely in a day of war and upheaval. It is so easy for a people to side-step fundamentals. This is especially true in times of stress when they become impatient and lose their powers of endurance. What could be more fundamental than the doctrine of the resurrection, discussed with such force and eloquence this morning? What could be more fundamental than the Ten Commandments mentioned by President George Albert Smith, and by Elder Spencer W. Kimball this afternoon? The violation of these commandments has brought destruction and sorrow, not only to men, but nations. What could be more practical and fundamental than the Sermon on the Mount, quoted in part by President McKay the other evening?
Judge not, that ye be not judged.
For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
It is a sound doctrine, brethren; it is fair and just.
What could be more basic to human welfare than Joseph Smith's declaration, in the Articles of Faith, that men will be punished for their own sins and not for Adam's transgression. It places upon men the responsibility for their soul's salvation. Such a teaching is productive of good works, and conducive to right living. The responsibility resting upon the Church has never been greater. It rests heavily upon the ministry of the Church. It calls for a great service, an unswerving devotion, and a supreme faith.
The wayward and the careless must be warned and admonished in the spirit of kindness and brotherly love. Some of them are our neighbors and friends. Our love for them demands that they be brought back into the fold of Christ. Their faith must be revived, nourished and strengthened.
Without that simple, trusting and abiding faith, characteristic of a true Saint, no one can know God or comprehend the Gospel; and there is no substitute for the Gospel. All the theories, sophistries, and plans of men devised to the contrary have failed, and will continue to fail.
PRESENT CONDITIONS DEPLORED
As a result the world stands today on the brink of despair and destruction. Characteristic of our day and time is the weakening of the moral fiber of men and women, referred to many times by the speakers: a departure from long and well-established standards of conduct, a disregard for the old-fashioned virtues, despite the fact that they are sacred and binding upon humanity, and have been itemized and set up by holy prophets for the guidance of God's children.
There has been a breaking away from Church and religion; skepticism, unbelief, and fidelity have become the boast of the learned and the sophisticated. What does it mean, my brethren? Does it mean that the pillars of civilization are crumbling?
I read recently a book written by Dr. Frank Munk called The Legacy of Naziism. In it he makes this statement, which is the concluding paragraph in the book:
A world is adrift-Europe has completely lost its moorings. Economically, socially, spiritually, only the grass-root things remain. We must begin anew. A new civilization is being born in blood and unspeakable suffering. Ultimate and eternal values alone will survive the carnage.
He concludes his book by quoting a verse from the famous speech of Paul to the Athenians when he said:
He giveth to all life, and breath, and all things. And has made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the earth.
In his book he also speaks of a chance, with the inference that it is to be a slight chance, that the accumulations of centuries in art, literature, culture, and in human progress can be saved.
"Things are not altogether well with us," said the Archbishop of Canterbury recently, when speaking to the British nation. "The decline in honesty has been very sharp and steep," he said, "and our standard of conduct in matters of sex is very lax. These things," he points out, "will bring terrible consequences, if we will not change our outlook, or in the old phrase, repent." Old England with its culture, with its power and wealth, mighty in achievement, along with an unparalleled history, like other nations, must repent or perish.
A short time ago I read a book written by Beverly Nichols, in which he discussed organized vice, the curse of drink and the widespread outbreak of criminality in England and America. The author said: "The facts as I have stated them are true, and the reason they are true is because the parents in question have failed most criminally to set before their children the picture of Christ." He then calls attention to the fact that once that picture hung on the wall, but the repercussions of war blew it off.
"The time has come," he concluded, "to hang that picture once more on the wall, to see if we can learn any message from the eternal eyes." Surely a great inspiration will come from a picture so beautiful and so stainless. There is nothing left, my brethren, to direct and sustain humanity except the perfect life of Jesus, His Gospel of peace and love, and his matchless and powerful leadership.
I quote in closing the words of scripture from the book of Revelation:
Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
May we do so, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Joseph F. Merrill
Joseph F. Merrill, Conference Report, April 1944, pp. 149-153
Brethren, and radio listeners: And I am very glad to be able to say "Radio listeners," for of all the Conferences I have attended during my life-and they began when I was ten years of age-I have attended none that I have enjoyed to a greater degree than I have this one, up to the present moment of time.
It is my wish, brethren and sisters, to speak for a few minutes on and call attention, to some of our fundamental principles and their application to our daily lives. In doing this I desire to speak truthfully, wisely, and helpfully.
MAN INHERITS ATTRIBUTES OF GOD HIS FATHER
"We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost" -three separate, distinct persons, who are united as one in purpose and attunement. Since in the world of life, like besets like, it must follow that in bodily form we are like our Father in heaven. Hence, it cannot be true that we are brutes or descendants of beasts; we are of the race of the Gods. It therefore follows that man did not, as the atheist asserts, create God in his own image. As a spirit child of our Father in heaven, man not only inherited His divine form, but also the divine attributes, even though it may be in minute quantities only.
Among these are intelligence, will-power, thinking-power, love, charity, mercy, patience, sense of justice, fairness, and right, etc. We believe in the wonderful doctrine of eternal progression, in accordance with which these inherited attributes and powers may be enlarged through effort and righteous living, until ultimately they may reach, in the hereafter, God-like proportions.
Is such a doctrine true, or is it fanciful, based upon eternal truth? In accordance with this belief, life in mortality has a purpose. We know the doctrine is true.
It is fitting here to mention another divine gift to all born into mortality-that of free agency.
Know this, that every soul is free To choose his life and what he'll be, For this eternal truth is given, That God will force no man to heaven.
He'll call, persuade, direct aright, And bless with wisdom, love and light, In nameless ways be good and kind, But never force the human mind.
FAITH A NECESSARY GUIDE
To achieve fully the purpose of mortal life, man must pursue the way of life which the Lord Himself has given, but the Lord will force no man to do this. As a result but relatively few mortal men make earnest attempts to follow the Lord's way of life. Why? There are many reasons, one of which is the lack of sufficient faith in the existence of a living personal God, who is really our Father in heaven, and functions as a loving, merciful, though just God.
We, that is multitudes of Latter-day Saints, not only believe that God lives, but we testify that we know He lives, and in doing so, we are in accord with Biblical teachings. We are reminded that on one occasion, Jesus, receiving various answers from His disciples to His questions, turned to Peter and asked: "Whom say ye that I am?" The ready answer was: "Thou art the Christ, the son of the living God." Then the Master replied: "Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven".
On another occasion He said: "My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself".
And the apostle James, in harmony with the teachings of the Master, wrote: "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." But there was a condition named"-But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think he shall receive any thing of the Lord".
So this afternoon we have heard Brother Romney speak of the Book of Mormon, and of how we may know, if we fulfill the conditions that the prophet Moroni names in the last chapter in the book, of the genuineness of that book through the power of the Holy Ghost. It is through the power of the Holy Ghost that we are able to testify that we do know. It is not a matter of belief only, it is a matter of assurance that comes to us, enabling us to say as certainly as we live that we do know.
Brethren, and radio listeners, I myself can testify likewise that I know. But how do I know?
A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE IN ANSWER TO PRAYER
Now, may I say that I am too old, perhaps, to be too diffident to relate a little experience, and I believe that experiences are helpful. I shall here relate one.
Family prayer has been spoken of during these sessions by more than one of the speakers. I was reared in a family where prayer, night and morning was always the order. I have seen my father sometimes too busy to stop to eat his breakfast, but never too busy to kneel with his family in prayer before he left, to thank the Lord for the prospects of the day, for the rest of the night, and to ask his direction and help in the labors of the day. I was taught to pray at my mother's knee, and when I could say my own little prayers, I was taught that it was my prayer; it should be said in secret, or at least to myself.
So I knelt on one side of the bed, brother on the other side, every night. He never knew what I prayed for; certainly I did not know what he prayed for. But when I was about ten years of age, I began to pray for a special blessing. But I did not get an answer. Why? Father had taught us that there are three factors that must characterize every prayer that the Lord will answer: We must pray for real needs-and even grown-ups, he said, sometimes ask the Lord for things they do not get, because they ask foolishly-we must pray worthily, and we must pray with faith.
In answer to my first prayer, no answer came. The faith was there, I felt, to the extent that I could exert it. The need was there, I felt certainly no doubt about that, but was the worthiness? I could always think of something, as I prayed night after night without an answer, that I had done that I should not have done, and so I continued to pray, feeling that when I could make myself worthy of an answer, I would get it.
It was after I had been praying nightly for five years that the whole family went, one Wednesday evening, in the month of February, into town and attended a Sunday School entertainment. My class rendered its number, followed by another that sang, and I remember some of the words of that song: "Keep on asking, God will answer by and by." To me that was a revelation. I kept on praying.
Some four years later, in the latter part of the month of August, 1887, in my nineteenth year, after I had been praying nightly for nine long years with all the earnestness of my soul for this special blessing, I was alone in the bedroom, and I said, half aloud, "O Father, wilt thou not hear me?" I was beginning to get discouraged.
Then, brethren, something happened. The most glorious experience that I have received, came. In answer to my question I heard as distinctly as anything I ever heard in my life the short, simple word: "Yes." Simultaneously my whole being, from the crown of my head to the soles of my feet, was filled with the most joyous feeling of elation, of peace and certainty that I could imagine a human being could experience. I sprang from my knees, and jumped as high as I could, and shouted: "O Father, I thank thee." At last an answer had come. I knew it.
Why did it not come before? I have thanked the Lord many times since that He withheld the answer. A few days after that, father said to me: "Would you like to go to Salt Lake City and attend the University of Deseret?"-a secret wish of which I had said nothing. I had finished, the spring before, what is equivalent in this day to a junior high school course, nothing more in the town. I wanted to go on and now I could. And as it turned out, after graduating at the University of Deseret, I went east and completed nine years of work in the field of science in four of America's leading universities.
Had I gone without an answer to my prayers at that critical moment in my life I might have forgotten to pray. But I think that I am here today-I think that I have been preserved in the Church, perhaps, because the answer to my prayer came at that critical moment, since which time never has a day passed that I have forgotten to pray. And as long as memory lasts I cannot forget the thrilling experience of that night.
Now, brethren and sisters, that answer to my prayer was a revelation. What did I want to know? I had learned that Joseph Smith, a fourteen-year-old boy, went into the woods to pray. Fulfilling the conditions necessary to get an answer, he had received the most glorious vision that records give us any knowledge of. He knew that God lives; he saw Him; he heard him. He knew that Christ, whose resurrection the Christian world celebrates today, also lives. He saw the Christ, his Redeemer; he heard His voice. There was certainty in his soul.
I wanted to know, too, of my own self whether God lives. I believed
He would give me a testimony. I have had many testimonies since. Brethren, I do know.
RESPONSIBILITY FOLLOWS A TESTIMONY
Now, brethren, all of you who are here, doubtless could relate experiences similar to what I have related. You know, all of you. You are the key men in the Church of God. You come from all over America, you are the leaders. Every one of you knows, and you can testify. That is one characteristic of the membership of this Church-we know we know! And therein lies the strength of the Church.
But because we know, brethren, we are bound. There are obligations imposed by our certain knowledge that we cannot logically escape. Obligations to do what? Keep the Lord's commandments is the answer. We have heard it said in this conference of the leadership in the Church that the Lord's way of life, if followed by the people, will bring peace to the earth. Wars will cease, and contention will end; but when are we willing to follow the Lord's way of life? Until we do, we shall not have peace; because the evil one is here, and he has under his power the great majority of our Father's children, and through the exercise of that power he is leading them away.
We have heard about some of the delinquencies of youth; and we have also heard it stated here, a correct statement, that youth is delinquent, boys and girls are delinquent, because grown-ups are delinquent. Boys and girls see what their elders do, and naturally they follow in their footsteps. We have heard references, here, in this session, to the violation of the sanctity of the Sabbath day. What must we do in these modern times to keep holy the Sabbath day? The law of the Sabbath was given to ancient Israel, when conditions were vastly different. What does it mean to keep holy the Sabbath day in our times? Well, we may not only read the answer in the Doctrine and Covenants, but a century later than this revelation we may also read a signed statement by the presidency of this Church in the editorial columns of The Deseret News of a few years ago what it means to keep holy the Sabbath day in our times. We grant to the First Presidency the right and duty to interpret our doctrines and indicate what our practices should be in harmony with them. According to that declaration, we may not go to movies, or any other kind of commercial entertainments on Sunday; we may not go hunting, we may not go fishing, we may not do multitudes of things that even our people do. And why do they do them? Let each individual ask himself that question.
How can one who knows that God lives and can testify that he knows, think of getting his gun and hunting trappings and go out on the Sabbath day into the mountains to hunt deer, or out into the fields to shoot pheasants? How can he think of getting the fishing tackle ready and go out onto the streams and spend the day of the Lord in fishing and in pleasure?
Well, we do many things, brethren, violative of divine commandments. Why do we do them? In the light of our testimony we cannot do them guiltlessly, can we? Are we not obligated by those testimonies to live the Lord's way of life? What shall we do?
Love the Lord our God with all our might, mind, and strength. But can we do this really without striving to the extent of the will power that the Lord has given to us to keep His commandments?
And the second great commandment is like unto the first: we must love our neighbors as ourselves; which, as we know, rightly interpreted means our fellow men. But if we are going to love our neighbors as ourselves, we must treat our neighbors as we would like to be treated were the circumstances reversed. In other words, we must live the Golden Rule. And until men are willing to live the Golden Rule far more completely than they are living now, we shall not have peace in our nation or in the world.
Yet we talk of winning peace after we have won this global war. We won the first World War, but we did not win the peace, it is said. We may win the second World War, but we will win the peace only when we are willing at least measurably, to live the Lord's way of life. The Lord help us that we may be able to do that, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, April 1944, pp. 154-156
At the conclusion of this Conference I think it is fitting, first, to express appreciation of the services rendered by our wives,' mothers and sisters, who have remained at home to take care of household duties, and to carry on other responsibilities of farms and businesses while we have been here receiving instructions regarding our spiritual work.
I speak for myself when I say that too seldom we stop to tell our wives how much we think of their help and support. We feel it, but in the busy work-a-day life, we do not stop to say how much we love them. We can now, here in Priesthood meeting assembled, speak to those who are listening at least, and tell them we are not unmindful of their inspiration and help.
I hope each one of them deserves the tribute paid to his wife by a Scotchman who, in a dilatory way, had waited until she was gone before he expressed just how much he appreciated her. His tribute lies more in the implication than in the expression: "She was... Words cannot tell what she was-Think what a good wife should be. She was that." No matter what virtues or how many you might apply to womanhood, you would be but enumerating the virtues of his wife.
We owe much to our wives-
Helping and loving and guiding, Urging when that were best, Watching and guarding, whispering still, Win you can-and you must, you will!
God bless them, keep them strong in the faith, and give them power to train our children in the ways of righteousness; for, after all, "the mother makes us most."
Brethren, we have listened to many glorious instructions. It is now for us to remember that better than to know what is good to do, is to do it. Shakespeare says:
I can easier teach twenty what were good to be done than to be one of the twenty to follow mine own teaching.
PARABLE OF THE SOWER
With the idea of application in mind, it is well to remember the parable of the sower. Some seeds, Jesus tells us, fell by the wayside, and were trampled under foot or devoured by fowls. Other seeds fell on the rock, sprang up, but, having no root, died. Other seeds fell among thorns and thistles, which choked out the seed. But some seeds fell on good soil and brought forth an hundred fold.
The disciples asked the Savior what he meant by that parable, and that is one that Jesus explained, saying: The seed is the word of God. Those by the wayside are those that hear, but then Satan comes along and deceives and misleads them. They on the rock are persons who receive the word gladly, but who have no root, and when temptation comes, fall away. The seed that fell among thorns and thistles is the seed that falls in the hearts of men, who, when they have heard, permit it to be choked by the cares, and the riches and pleasures of life.
But the seed that fell in good soil was the seed that fell in honest and good hearts who, having heard the word, keep it and bring forth fruit with patience.
We trust those who have been assembled here, and those who have listened, fall into the fourth class, who receive the word of God gladly, and will cultivate it to bring forth abundantly.
To the officers of the Church, the best way to achieve this is to discharge at least three great responsibilities which are ours. The first is the responsibility to set a proper example. Example is the best and most effective way of teaching. Let us be exemplary in our speech. No true leader of the Church will ever profane the name of Jesus, especially in the presence of his sons or the presence of any other young people. Profanity is a vice. I know of no country in the world where that vice is so prevalent as here in the United States. The Latter-day Saints are not free from it. Our duty is to set a proper example in reverence.
SETTING WORTHY EXAMPLES
We can set a proper example by speaking well of others. The Lord has admonished us not to engage in backbiting. I commend that simple little hymn, too seldom sung, "Nay, Speak No Ill."
Nay, speak no ill, a kindly word Can never leave a sting behind; And oh, to breathe each tale we've heard, Is far beneath a noble mind. Full oft a better seed is sown By choosing thus the kinder plan, For, if but little good is known, Still let us speak the best we can.
* * * *
Then speak no ill, but lenient be To others' failings as your own; If you're the first a fault to see, Be not the first to make it known. For life is but a passing day, No lip may tell how brief its span; Then, O the little time we stay, Let's speak of all the best we can.
Another worthy example is exercising self-control-controlling our temper by not speaking angrily in the home. Let calmness be characteristic of our home life. If we do this, we shall be setting a proper example to the world.
Second, then there is the responsibility of guardianship, of being shepherds. That is what the Priesthood means. Guard well those who have been put in your keeping. "Feed my sheep," said the Savior to Peter. "Feed my lambs," He repeated. "Feed my sheep".
And the third obligation, so to live that we may merit the companionship and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Such guidance is at reality. Every officer in the Priesthood is entitled to it if he lives to merit it. That is a great, sublime privilege of membership in the Church of Christ. We sometimes have it, but we do not heed it. I am speaking to myself when I say that, for I nearly lost my life by not heeding it. I once received a warning just as distinct as anything that has ever come into my life. "Go up to the bridge and back." When I reached the bridge, I thought we should go farther; I let my own judgment supersede inspiration; and if it had not been for the blessings of the Lord following the accident, I should not be here today.
God help us, brethren and sisters-those who are listening in-to be true to the responsibilities that membership and position in the Church of Christ entail. I pray that the spirit of unity, the spirit of peace, the spirit of mutual Confidence that has pervaded the sessions of this, the one hundred fourteenth annual conference, will go with us to our homes, to our wards, throughout the stakes and the missions of the Church, and that God's blessings will attend Israel everywhere, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President J. Reuben Clark, Jr.
J. Reuben Clark, Jr., Conference Report, April 1944, pp. 156-157
Brethren: We come to the conclusion of a great Conference. Certainly I, in my lifetime, have not attended a greater, and in some respects I think this is the finest of any at which I have ever been present.
I just want to say one word: I think the quotation I shall use will typify the spirit of this Conference. On the evening of the meal of the Passover chamber, after the apostles had assembled, after they quarreled a bit among themselves about precedence, after the Savior had washed their feet, after they had eaten the Paschal Supper, after Judas had gone to work out the betrayal, after the Savior had instituted the sacrament, he then preached some great discourses. The last one before they left the chamber related to the Comforter, the Holy Ghost, and I am reading from John 14:26-27:
But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
The Holy Ghost has been with us during this Conference, and also the gifts of the Holy Ghost, and may that Being continue with us, that to us also He may bring all things to our remembrance, whatsoever we have heard here at this conference.
Then the Lord continues:
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
May that peace and that comfort and that consolation go with us to our homes and be with us until we meet again, I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President Heber J. Grant
Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1944, pp. 6-13
Again, my brethren, I am privileged to be with you in another general conference of the Church, and I bear testimony that I know it is by the healing and sustaining power of God that I am here. In another six or seven weeks, the Lord being willing, I shall begin the eighty-ninth year of my life; and shall have completed sixty-two years since I became one of the apostles; and shall have served twenty-six years as President of the Church. In all this, and in much else, the Lord has blessed me richly; and I am grateful I can say that I am better now than I have been during some of the weeks and months just passed. I come to the office nearly every day, and I refrain from speaking to you now only on counsel of my doctor, whose advice I usually take.
I thank the Latter-day Saints from the bottom of my heart for their faith and for their prayers in supplicating God in my behalf, for his spirit, for health, for vigor in body and mind. I am here as a witness that God does hear and answer prayer, and I pray that his blessings may be upon Israel and upon all honest men everywhere.
BLESSING TO THOSE WHO WORK IN THE CHURCH
I desire especially to extend my blessing to all the men and women who preside in all the stakes of Zion throughout the Church, in all the missions, in all the wards, in all the quorums of the priesthood, and in all the auxiliary organizations. I am convinced beyond the shadow of a doubt that there cannot be found in any part of the world other men and women giving more unselfishly of their time, of their talents, and of the best that is in them, for the salvation of the souls of men. I am satisfied that there are no other people who are devoting more of their time, of their money, of their thoughts, and of their very being for the advancement of God's work at home and abroad, than are the Latter-day Saints. And with all the power that God has given me. I desire to bless the men and women who are thus giving their time and thought and are setting examples that are worthy of imitation, not only to those over whom they preside, but to all men. Every man and woman who is laboring for the salvation of the souls of men and keeping the commandments of God is entitled to be blessed, and I pray God that his blessings may come to them.
FAITH AND PROTECTION OF OUR YOUTH
Particularly in this critical time, do I pray for the youth of this generation, and for all those who labor for and with them, and who are responsible for their instruction. Their lives are beset by many temptations and evils and designs by those whom the Lord has chosen to refer to as "conspiring men". I pray that those who are at home and those who are away, in the armed forces and elsewhere, will be kept from evil in all its forms, by the prayers and righteous example of their parents, by remembrance of the teachings in their homes and church, by their own faithfulness and prayerfulness, and by the protecting influence of the angels of heaven.
There comes to mind an experience in connection with my brother, Fred, after our father died. Because of the mistreatment of a step-father, and neglect, as a young man my brother ran away, and I was told by Brother Martinet W. Merrill, at that time bishop of Richmond, Utah, that the night after my brother ran away, he, Brother Merrill, went to bed rebellious. He said: "I turned to my wife, Sister Merrill, and said, 'I feel that the Lord should have inspired me to take that boy away from the man who has reared him. He has abused and beaten him. His father is dead, and his mother has left the Church and now he has gone out into the world with no hope that he will ever come back again.' "
And that night, so Brother Merrill told me, he had a dream in which he saw my brother in all kinds of wicked company in many different states, and he saw that a light surrounded him. In the dream he said: "What does that light mean?" And a voice answered: "That is the influence that a faithful, God-fearing and God-serving father can have over a son to keep him from going astray, and to eventually bring him back to the truth."
Years later when my brother did come back and joined the Church, as I related here last conference, he fulfilled Brother Merrill's dream, because Brother Merrill said that he saw him laboring all over the Church, bringing wayward boys to a knowledge of the truth, and he did labor from Canada to Mexico in that service.
I am sure that we need a light to surround our boys and girls in this day, and I pray that the protecting influence of faithful, God-fearing, God-serving parents may follow them and keep them wherever they go. I believe that with the faithfulness and obedience of parents and proper influences in the home, and with proper instruction and example to youth, we can keep them from all the temptations of the evil one.
I sympathize with our young people because of these temptations that beset them. I urge them, as I always have, to live the gospel of Jesus Christ fully. In that way they will have health and happiness and will meet with success in this life and will have an eternity of joy in store for them in the life to come. I bless them with courage to meet the problems that lie ahead.
CONCERNING VIRTUE
I want to say also at this time that the crying evil of the age is lack of virtue. There is but one standard of morality in the Church of Christ. We have been taught, thousands of us who have been reared in this Church from our childhood days, that second only to murder is the sin of losing our virtue; and I want to say to the fathers and to the mothers, and to the sons and daughters, in our Primary, in our Mutual Improvement Associations, in our seminaries and institutes, in Sunday School, in the Relief Society and in all of our Priesthood quorums-I want it understood that the use of liquor and tobacco is one of the chief means in the hands of the adversary whereby he is enabled to lead boys and girls from virtue.
Nearly always those who lose their virtue first partake of those things that excite passions within them or lower their resistance and becloud their minds. Partaking of tobacco and liquor is calculated to make them a prey to those things which, if indulged in, are worse than death itself. There is no true Latter-day Saint who would not rather bury a son or a daughter than to have him or her lose his or her virtue-realizing that virtue is of more value than anything else in all the wide world.
The devil is ready to blind our eyes with the things of this world, and he would gladly rob us of eternal life, the greatest of all gifts. But it is not given to the devil, and no power will ever be given to him, to overthrow any Latter-day Saint who is keeping the commandments of God. There is no power given to the adversary of men's souls to destroy us if we are doing our duty. But if we are not absolutely honest with God, then we let the bars down, then we have destroyed part of the fortifications by which we are protected, and the devil may come in. But no man who was chaste and who was keeping the other commandments of the Lord has ever lost the testimony of the gospel; no man who had the knowledge of the truth has ever turned to the right or to the left, who was attending to his duties, who was keeping the Word of Wisdom, who was paying his tithing, who was responding to the calls and duties of his office and calling in the Church.
More than ever before, we as a people are scattered abroad throughout the world, we carry upon our shoulders the reputation, so to speak, of the Church, every one of us. And the young men and young women of today who think they are being smart by getting a little wine and a little liquor in their homes, and doing that which the Lord tells them not to do, are laying a foundation that will lead to their destruction eventually. They cannot go on breaking the commandments of the Lord without getting into the rapids. And what are the rapids? The rapids of moderate drinking, nine times out of ten, lead to excessive drinking, and excessive drinking leads to the destruction of body and of mind and of faith.
Any Latter-day Saint who actually believes in the commandments contained in the D&C; must have no regard for advancement in life when he fails to keep what is known as the Word of Wisdom. There is absolutely no benefit to any human being derived from breaking the Word of Wisdom, but there is everything for his benefit, morally, intellectually, physically, and spiritually in obeying it.
What does the Lord say to those who obey his commandments?
And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, shall receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones;
And shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures;
And shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint.
And I, the Lord, give unto them a promise, that the destroying angel shall pass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them.
May every father and mother so order their lives that their example will be an inspiration to their children; and may all realize that every Latter-day Saint carries, to a certain extent, upon his or her shoulders the reputation of the Church of Christ. We are trying to raise our children to be God-fearing, and to live lives worthy of the imitation of all men. May we read the revelations of the Lord Almighty and his Son Jesus Christ, that have been given to us, as contained in the Doctrine and Covenants; may we read them with a prayerful and a humble heart, seeking God for power and strength to live them, whether we are at home or away from home; and may we listen and give heed to the counsel of our leaders who fire with us today, I pray with all the power that I possess.
THE POWER OF PRAYER
I have little or no fear for the boy or the girl, the young man or the young woman, who honestly and conscientiously supplicates God daily for the guidance of his spirit. I am sure that when temptation comes they will have the strength to overcome it by the inspiration that shall be given to them. Supplicating the Lord for the guidance of his spirit places around us a safeguard, and if we earnestly and honestly seek the guidance of the spirit of the Lord, I can assure you that we will receive it. I am convinced that one of the greatest and one of the best things in all the world to keep a man true and faithful in the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, is to supplicate God secretly in the name of his Son, for the guidance of his holy spirit. I am convinced that one of the greatest things that can come into any home to cause the boys and girls in that home to grow up in a love of God, and in a love of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is to have family prayer.
It is not for the father of the family alone to pray, but for the mother and for the children to do so also, that they may partake of the spirit of prayer, and be in harmony with the spirit of the Lord. I believe that there are very few who go astray, that very few lose their faith, who have once had a knowledge of the Gospel, and who never neglect their prayers in their families, and their secret supplications to God.
But the minute a man stops supplicating God for his spirit and directions just so soon he starts out to become a stranger to him and his works. When men stop praying for God's spirit, they place confidence in their own unaided reason, and they gradually lose the spirit of God, just the same as near and dear friends, by never writing to or visiting with each other, will become strangers. We should all pray that God may never leave us alone for a moment without his spirit to aid and assist us in withstanding sin and temptation.
COMFORT TO THOSE WHO MOURN
I want to say that my heart goes out in the deepest sympathy and in as deep and sincere a prayer as I have ever offered for the comforting influence of the Lord to be given to the brethren and sisters who have sons and brothers and fathers and husbands in the war at the present time. I pray that the Lord will bless each and every boy who has gone into the service, and that he will help each of them to live in accordance with the principles of the Gospel, so that each may have a claim to the blessings of the Lord to the full extent that accords with His wisdom.
I am praying with all my heart and soul for the end of this war as soon as the Lord can see fit to have it stop. And to those homes that have been sorrowed by the loss of loved ones through death, may the peace and understanding and comfort of our Father in heaven be there unfailingly. And to you who are bereaved by the cruelty of war, I say, do not look forward to a life of care and trouble and anxiety, but look only to the duties and responsibilities of a single day, and by performing the duties each day that rest upon you, the burdens will be lightened notwithstanding all the sorrow that may come into your lives and the many things that may be hard for you to bear. I know the anguish of your feelings, and I can say this to you out of the sorrows of my own life. I have been blessed with only two sons. One of them died at five years of age and the other at seven. My last son died of a hip disease. I had built great hopes that he would live to spread the Gospel at home and abroad and be an honor to me. But he was taken, as some of your sons have been taken. And never in my life am I so grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ as I am when some of my family or beloved friends are called home to their final reward. There is nothing in the revelations of God to Joseph Smith for which I am more grateful than the following quotations from what is known as "The Vision," namely, the 76th section of the Doctrine and Covenants:
And this is the gospel, the glad tidings, which the voice out of the heavens bore record unto us-
That he came into the world, even Jesus, to be crucified for the world, and to sanctify the world, and to cleanse it from all unrighteousness;
That through him all might be saved whom the Father had put into his power and made by him;
Who glorifies the Father, and saves all the works of his hands, except those sons of perdition who deny the Son after the Father has revealed him.
And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!
For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father-
That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God.
I know as well as I know anything in this life that Jesus Christ is in very deed the Savior of mankind, and that God has seen fit to establish the Church of Jesus Christ upon the earth. I thank the Lord that I have an abiding knowledge of God, our Father, and Jesus Christ, his Son, and that I have pleasure in bearing witness to all the world of this knowledge that I possess.
Death has no real terror to any true Latter-day Saint. A faithful Latter-day Saint has been blessed with a testimony of the divinity of the work in which we are engaged and he knows that when he passes to the other side he will have an eternity of joy and happiness, and this I promise you-you who have lived righteously and who offer your lives in the service of your country, and you who live righteously and are left to wait, and sometimes to mourn.
FREEDOM AND THE CONSTITUTION
Every faithful Latter-day Saint believes that the Constitution of the United States was inspired of God, and that this choice land and this nation have been preserved until now in the principles of liberty under the protection of God.
Here are some of Lincoln's statements:
"Let the people know the truth, and the country is safe." "Let none falter who thinks he is right, and we will succeed." "Let us dare to do our duty as we understand it."
The following quotation from Abraham Lincoln with respect to the observance of law is also worth repeating often;
Let every American, every lover of liberty, every well wisher to his posterity, swear by the blood of the revolution never to violate, in the least particular, the laws of the country, and never to tolerate their violation by others. As the patriots of seventy-six did to the support of the Declaration of Independence, so to the support of the Constitution and laws let every American pledge his life, his property, and his sacred honor. Let every man remember that to violate the law is to trample on the blood of his father, and to tear the charter of his own and his children's liberty. Let reverence for the law be breathed by every American mother to the lisping babe that prattles on her lap. Let it be taught in schools, in seminaries, and in colleges. Let it be written in primers, in spelling books, and almanacs. Let it be preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislative hails, and enforced in courts of justice. In short, let it become the Political Religion of the Nation.
I quote here two verses from a declaration of the Church contained in Section 134 of the D&C;, regarding our belief in governments and laws in general, as adopted by a unanimous vote of a general assembly of the Church over a century ago:
We believe that governments were instituted of God for the benefit of man, and that he holds men accountable for their acts in relation to them, both in making laws and administering them for the good and safety of society.
We believe that no government can exist in peace, except such laws are framed and held inviolate as will secure to each individual the free exercise of conscience, the right and control of property, and the protection of life.
These principles are fundamental to our belief, fundamental to our protection. And in the providences of the Lord, the safeguards which have been incorporated into the basic structure of this nation are, if we preserve them, the guarantee of all men who dwell here against abuses, tyrannies, and usurpations. From my childhood days I have understood that we believe absolutely that the constitution of our country is an inspired instrument and that God directed those who created it and those who defended the independence of this nation. Concerning this matter it is my frequent pleasure to quote the statement by Joseph Smith, regarding the Constitution:
The Constitution of the United States is a glorious standard; it is founded in the wisdom of God. It is a heavenly banner; it is, to all those who are privileged with the sweets of liberty, like the cooling shades and refreshing waters of a great rock in a weary and thirsty land. It is like a great tree under whose branches men from every clime can be shielded from the burning rays of the sun.
And such the Constitution of the United States must be to every faithful Latter-day Saint who lives under its protection. That the Lord may help him to think straight, and to pursue a straight course regardless of personal advantage, factional interest, or political persuasion, should be the daily prayer of every Latter-day Saint. I counsel you, I urge you, I plead with you, never, so far as you have voice or influence, permit any departure from the principles of government on which this nation was founded, or any disregard of the freedoms which, by the inspiration of God our Father, were written into the Constitution of the United States.
ETERNAL LIFE THE GREATEST PRIZE
Let us realize that God is mightier than all the earth. Let us realize that if we are faithful in keeping the commandments of God and cherishing the principles inspired of him, his promises will be fulfilled to the very letter. For he has said that not one jot or tittle shall fall to the ground unfulfilled. The trouble is, the adversary of men's souls blinds their minds. He throws dust, so to speak, in their eyes, and they are blinded with the things of this world, and the adversary obtains power over them, and robs them of their freedom, which is what he tried to do in the beginning.
I say to you, Latter-day Saints, that the pearl of great price is life eternal. God has told us that the greatest of all the gifts he can bestow upon man is life eternal. We are laboring for that great gift, and it will be ours if we keep the commandments of God. One fundamental thing for a Latter-day Saint is to be honest. Another is to value his word as faithfully as his bond; to make up his mind that under no circumstances, no matter how hard it may be, by and with the help of the Lord, he will dedicate his life and his best energies to making good his promise; and that he will not permit some personal advantage to cause him ever to compromise his principles.
I say to you that it is not an insignificant thing to hold the priesthood of God-to have the right to influence the powers of the heavens for good; and it is not a slight thing for us to neglect to honor the priesthood of God in those who preside over us, nor to ignore them in their counsel. My faith is such that I could lay down all that I possess rather than ever depart from the Latter-day work. I value all things as nothing in comparison with having the spirit of God to guide me. And I promise you, as a servant of the living God, that every man and woman who obeys the commandments of God shall prosper in righteousness, that every promise made of God shall be fulfilled upon their heads, and that they will grow and increase in wisdom, light, knowledge, intelligence, and above all, in the testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ. May God help each and every one of us who has a knowledge of the gospel to live it that our lives may preach its truth.
I leave with you my testimony that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, that Joseph Smith was and is a prophet of God. How do I know it? I know it as well as I know that I live. I know heat; I know cold; I know joy, and I know sorrow; and say to you that in the hour of sorrow, in the hour of affliction, in the hour of death, God has heard and answered my prayers, and I know that he lives. I leave my testimony with you.
May God give direction to all of the utterances of this conference. May he bless our youth away, and us at home, and give his direction to the leaders of nations, and speedily bring about the accomplishments of his purposes. May he bless you, one and all, and every honest man and woman that lives upon the face of the earth, is my humble prayer, and I ask it in humility in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
President J. Reuben Clark, Jr.
J. Reuben Clark, Jr., Conference Report, October 1944, pp. 14-16
We here and the Saints everywhere rejoice in the inspiration, the hope, the counsel, and the blessing of the great message of President Grant. May he live yet many years to give us his wise leadership.
SATAN'S POWER BEING EXERCISED
I humbly pray that while I stand before you, I shall have an interest in your faith and prayers, that I may be able to say something that will be encouraging and up-building in these times of stress. These are trying times. Satan is walking up and down throughout the earth. He is wielding a power and an influence greater than ever has been before in my generation. We shall be able to keep the commandments of the Lord and carry out his work only as the Lord shall give us help, give us strength, and only as we shall live for those blessings,
It has been our boast-I was about to say-that God has poured out upon us in the last one last one hundred years since the establishing of the gospel a fulness of knowledge and of wisdom as to matters spiritual, not only, but also as to matters temporal never before equaled in the same time in the whole history of the world.
I need not recount to you the achievements in science, in art, and in all that is done to make life comfortable and secure. We have harnessed the forces of nature in a way they have never been harnessed before. God has been prolific in the showering upon us of his blessings, and yet, he having so blessed us and so brought things to our service, we are now engaged in using every one of them that is available and usable of art and science to the destruction of our fellow men. Nothing that art or science has done but is used now to kill.
THE LORD TRIED BY THE ACTS OF MEN
We sometimes speak of our trials. I wonder if we remember what must be the trials of the Lord. He was sorely tried in the days of Noah. He was tried with Sodom and Gomorrah. He was tried by Israel. He has been tried in our day. I am sure he is being tried now. We alone, we of the older men-not the youth whom we have sent out to fight our battles-we are responsible for the conditions in this world. God will expect us, of this group of priesthood of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints-he will expect us to act as the ten righteous who could have saved Sodom and Gomorrah, if Abraham had been able to find so many.
PREPARATION FOR RETURN OF SOLDIERS
We hear a great deal today about postwar planning. It relates primarily, always, to our economic life. I am not much impressed with this planning, because in my view there are too many uncertain elements connected therewith to enable us wisely to plan. We shall have to wait and see what the postwar brings through forces and elements over which we have no control.
But there is one bit of postwar planning that we can do, and to that I would like to refer. Our boys, children almost, have gone out to do battle on the battlefronts of the world. We sent them out boys, in their innocence, in their inexperience, in their joyousness. We are going to have them back men, premature men, who have undergone trials of which we know nothing, who faced death consciously, day after day. Some of them will return-we hope most of them-glorious in their triumph over temptations and sin, able to take their place as the leaders of this people and as the leaders of the nation, seasoned in righteousness, seasoned in courage, seasoned in everything that goes to make a man and a servant of God.
But some are coming back wounded in spirit and in mind by hate, by revenge, by a willingness to kill, and sometimes by a will to kill, wounded and corrupted under compulsion in thoughts and acts and concepts which have never entered our minds and hearts. They are coming back questioning, questioning sometimes even the existence of a God who, as they look at it, would not tolerate such things as they have gone through, they not understanding that we have brought these ills upon ourselves. What are we going to do with these?
I am not thinking of their making a livelihood. That is the least of the problems. I am wondering into what kind of homes we are going to bring these boys back. Is there to be contention; is there to be fault-finding; is there to be discord? Is it to be to homes without faith, without righteousness, homes in which unchastity dwells with its corrupting curse? Or are we to bring them back into homes of patience and charity, into homes of righteous living? Are we going to bring them back into homes of confidence and of love, of chastity, of respect for their fellow men? Are we going to bring them back into Latter-day Saint homes, and there carefully nurture and rebuild, until they shall once more become as near as may be normal men? Are we going to bring them back into homes of faith in God, faith in his Son, Jesus Christ, and his atoning mission and sacrifice, faith in the restored gospel and in Joseph Smith, with all that that implies?
That is a bit of postwar planning that can be done by every man and the head of every family in this Church and in this nation, and in the world. It is a postwar planning that requires no knowledge of new elements. It is a postwar planning that merely requires that we shall live the gospel, seek the Spirit of the Lord, ask his help, a planning that requires that we and our families shall live in accordance with the principles which he has given to us. How can we do that? By prayer, by keeping the Word of Wisdom, by love, by respect for the rights of others, by that companionship in the home between mother and father, brothers and sisters, that can take the wounded soul back to the bosom of the family, and make it whole.
I urge upon you Latter-day Saints this postwar planning. It is your duty to your own; it is your duty to yourself; it is your duty to your God. It is within the reach of each and every one.
The Savior, commenting to the multitude after John's disciples had come and asked about him and whether he was the Savior, said:
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
God grant that to every father and mother, to every wife there will come the power to prepare themselves to receive back and nurture to health and strength the wounded soul which may come to them after this great war is over, that those who return may once more become useful members of the Church, and of society, and so shape their lives that they, too, may come to rest in glory in our Father's kingdom, I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Elder Nicholas G. Smith
Nicholas G. Smith, Conference Report, October 1944, pp. 16-20
It is a great thrill, my brethren, for me to meet with you, the men who have been called to guide and direct the destinies of a million people, and I thrilled as we listened to the wonderful things that have been given to us this morning, and to the clarion call of President Clark, that we begin our postwar planning and be prepared to welcome back our boys and girls into homes where the Word of Wisdom is observed and family prayers are indulged in.
THE VALUE OF FAMILY PRAYER
I am a firm believer in family prayer, and I do not think there is anything too small for us to ask for, notwithstanding the fact that I was talking with an educator not long ago who said: "It stands to reason that God can't hear all the prayers that are offered up by the hundreds of millions of people that are in this world, to say nothing of all the other worlds and their inhabitants."
Now, I do not pretend to know how the Lord can hear and answer all these prayers, but I do know that from my infancy my mother taught me to go to my Heavenly Father in prayer, that the Lord loves little children, and that he would answer my prayers. I have been amazed as I have met up with difficulties to discover how solutions came to problems. Surely the Lord does hear and answer prayer, and if we have a praying family, and these boys and girls who have been undergoing these terrible experiences come back, they will be mighty happy to join in those prayers.
LETTER FROM A SOLDIER
These boys of ours are having terrible experiences. One of my stalwart missionaries was on the beachhead of Anzio in Italy. He had been in a foxhole for weeks. He came out of it to get cleaned up and have a little rest, and as he was writing, telling me of the glorious experiences he had had up in the Northwestern States Mission, he said: "You know, I think there is something wrong with all of us. Here I have been looking to see if I couldn't catch some German boy with his head up so that I might be able to shoot him, and I knew that there were German boys all around waiting for me to stick my head up so they could shoot me, and as I sat in that foxhole this past week and thought about it all," he said, "I don't know why we should act this way, and I have asked my Heavenly Father to help me to understand."
He was praying in his foxhole, all right, and he sent this little rhyme in his letter. I do not know whether he himself wrote it, or where he picked it up:
Three monkeys sat in a coconut tree Discussing things as they seem to be. Said one to the others, "Now listen, you two, There's a certain rumor, that can't be true- That man descended from our noble race. The very idea! It's a disgrace.
"No monkey ever deserted his wife, Starved her babies, or ruined her life. And you've never known another monk To leave her babies with others to bunk, Or pass them on from one to another Till they scarcely know who is their mother.
"And another thing, you'll never see A monk build a fence 'round a coconut tree, And let the coconuts go to waste, Refusing all other monks a taste. If I'd put a fence around a tree, Starvation would force you to steal from me.
"Here's another thing a monk won't do, Go out at night and get on a stew, Or use a gun, or a club, or knife To take some other monkey's life. Yes, man descended, the ornery cuss, But brothers, he didn't descend from us!"
This fine young man who had filled a glorious mission up in the Northwestern States, just a few days after he had written me this letter, paid the price that so many of our boys must pay, for he was killed. When I think of these fine young fellows who have a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ burning in their souls, and who played their part in the mission field to try to tell people of this better way of life, that they have family prayers in their home, that they develop an unselfish spirit, that they be kind to their neighbors, I am sure that it is a terrible thing for such men to pay this price; and when they come back, having been taught to kill, to destroy houses and everything that civilization has yet built up, as well as the lives of the people, they will need prayer.
Now the men who sit in this congregation today are the men whom our Heavenly Father will hold responsible for the lives that the men and women and children live in the stakes of Zion in the Church-a million of them. I am sure there would not be one here who would fail to have his family prayers, or who would do anything secretly or openly that would make a living soul start on that road that leads to destruction. I know you love the people. My association with you as I have been working, visiting in the stakes at the conferences, visiting with the brethren, has convinced me of the fact that that spirit is abounding amongst the leadership of the Church, and it should be-a spirit of humility, a spirit of prayer
PRAYERS ARE ANSWERED
Prayer is not any unusual thing, of course. Prayers have always been answered. I picked a hundred and twenty-five references in the Holy Bible to prayer, and noted the many things that have been asked for, and noted how they were answered. Even an ax was caused to swim, the Bible puts it, when a poor workman had lost his ax, and dropped it into the river, and it was a borrowed ax. He wanted it back that he might return it, and his petition was answered; the ax was caused to swim. I wonder if any of us would make light of such a suggestion?
You remember that our Heavenly Father said to Solomon: "Ask what I shall give thee". Then it goes on to say, in I Kings 3:6-14:
... Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth,, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.
And now, O Lord my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.
And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude.
Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?
And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment;
Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.
And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days.
And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days.
A few weeks ago I was returning from Washington, D.C., and I was awakened in the morning after an all night ride. The chef in the dining car said to me, "You know, people stood up all night in the coaches, and there were dozens and dozens of soldier boys who were sleeping on the platforms of the cars." He said, "I wish people could be better to these men."
You know the transportation troubles. I suppose many of the boys were cold before that night was over, because it was a chilly night. However, as we neared Chicago, my reservations were for the twenty-second out of Chicago, and I was coming into Chicago on the evening of the twentieth, which meant that I would have to stay two days. Just a little bit before we entered Chicago I said, "Heavenly Father, help me to get out of here. I don't want to have to remain over in Chicago two days, there is much I can be doing at home."
When I arrived at the station the train was late, and I went over to see if there was a possibility of getting a reservation, but the ticket man said: "No, there aren't any reservations; they are all taken. There is not a thing in this train, but come back in a little while."
I went over to a restaurant and had something to eat, read the newspaper, and then just before train time went back to the station and went to the ticket office and said: "Have you anything yet?"
He said: "No, there hasn't been one cancellation. There is not a thing in any of these trains going west."
So I thought I would go and make my arrangements to remain two days in President David Stoddard's home, unless I could get out. Then I went down to the drugstore and thought I would have a malted milk, but as I sat down at the counter I looked across it and saw a familiar face. I once heard a man in Chicago say he had been there twenty years, and he had never met a living soul on the streets of that city that he knew. There were several thousand people milling around in that station. I saw a face that looked familiar, and I tried to catch her eye, but couldn't, so I walked around and asked her if she was not Mrs. Homer McCarthy.
"Why," she said, "Bishop Smith! What are you doing here?" She sent her daughters upstairs to get her husband, who, by the way, is manager of the Aurora plant of the Montgomery Ward Company, and she said: "Homer is going out to Utah to put our eldest daughter in Brigham Young University."
Pretty soon Homer came over. It had been thirteen years since I had seen him, and he said: "Bishop, what are you doing and where are you going?"
I said, "Well, I intended to go home on one of these trains, but I can't make it. Not one reservation has been cancelled, and there is no opportunity."
Then Homer said, "Well, Bishop, my daughter can have the upper berth, and you and I will sleep in the lower. Would you come and be with me, and we can have a visit as we go along."
I thought about those boys who were sleeping out on the platforms of the trains on those two nights, and I said: "I would be delighted to do it, Homer." And that got me on the train, and as the conductor finished checking the train he came and said, "I have one upper, Upper 10, left on this train. You may have it." As I crawled up into that bunk I thought of that little prayer I had offered, "Heavenly Father, help me to get home." And so it was in such a natural way my prayer was answered.
In the answers to my prayers I have found that the Lord is just natural and sweet and glorious always.
A TESTIMONY
Brothers, he lives! This is his Church, and he has called each of us to a responsibility, and we cannot fill that responsibility unless we are praying men, and as we are praying men we will have discernment, we will have the spirit of the Lord to help us so to live that no mortal can take offense at our lives. God bless all of us who are called to lead, and let us get into the hearts and souls of all of our people, a desire to serve God and keep all his commandments, so that our postwar plan, as called for by President Clark, will be one of force and power that cannot be equaled in all the world, is my prayer, in Jesus' name. Amen.
Elder Joseph F. Merrill
Joseph F. Merrill, Conference Report, October 1944, pp. 29-34
Brethren and Radio Listeners:
Much is said these days about winning a lasting peace following the terrible and fearfully destructive global war now raging. Various plans are proposed for attaining this greatly and widely desired objective. But we know that this can be achieved only if certain conditions are met among which are fair, right, and just provisions made for all nations, defeated as well as victorious. But in the few minutes allotted to me I desire to talk about some conditions on the home front that affect peace.
THE APPLICATION OF THE GOLDEN RULE
The reply of Jesus to the lawyer who asked "which is the great commandment in the law" was as follows:
... Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
This is the first and great commandment.
And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Since we are all children of our Father in heaven, the term "neighbor" as used by Jesus means our fellow men. Now, as an evidence that we love our neighbors as we love ourselves, we must treat them in all respects in our relations with them as we would like to be treated were the circumstances reversed-we in their shoes, and they in ours. In other words, we must live the golden rule. And because we do not live the golden rule there is more or less severe and tragic trouble all the time within the borders of our country, all of which would disappear if we kept the second great commandment.
Yet none of us fully keeps this commandment. Why? One reason is we are all too selfish, not some of us only, but all of us. Let me particularize by citing a few cases.
First, let us begin with a corporation having assets worth millions of dollars. Its money has come from thousands of stockholders and the sale of bonds. The stockholders elect directors who in turn appoint officers and other employees and fix their salaries. Some of these salaries are likely large-very large. The greater the assets the greater the salaries are likely to be. They really far exceed the needs of the recipients to maintain a decent standard of living. Commonly, also, these salaries have no relation to the ability of the corporation to pay dividends. Hence some stockholders feel aggrieved, thinking they are not fairly treated. Further, these big salaries incite workers to demand higher pay and create prejudice in the minds of the public against the corporation. Is any thought given by the directors to the golden rule when they fix compensations for themselves and the high-ranking officers? And does the company management always treat its employees as brothers, as neighbors, entitled to be dealt with according to the requirements of the golden rule? A few of these employees may even be more indispensable to the success of the company than the officers themselves, but in comparison they are underpaid. I have reference to inventors and others endowed with special gifts the products of whose ingenuity make it possible for the company to have a prosperous business. Our marvelous mechanical civilization is based upon research and invention. Managers are often ordinary men, given opportunity. Inventors are always men with extraordinary endowments.
Another illustration, seldom given: A highly respected and necessary profession has allowed itself to be maneuvered into a position where it absolutely controls one phase of the well-being of the public. There is no closed shop labor union of which I have heard that so completely controls its field as does this profession. It limits the number permitted to qualify for the profession, thus preventing any overcrowding in the field of service, and so practically insuring full employment to entrants. The standard of fees is so high that multitudes in the middle classes are hardly able to afford necessary service. The income of successful practitioners is far above that of most other people of equal or greater ability but engaged in other essential vocational fields. The situation appears to be entirely out of harmony with the requirements of the golden rule.
THE PRESENT STATE OF POLITICS
Let us glance at the political field. Though the need for statesmen was perhaps never greater in the history of the country, the supply, perhaps, was never proportionately less. Certainly the supply of politicians, even demagogues, was never greater. I use the term "politician" in the sense of a holder or seeker of political office who regards getting and holding the office as the all-important thing and who schemes, bargains, and promises in order that he may get support and votes. His principles are often tenuous and easily changeable to suit the needs of the hour. The demagogue is an unprincipled politician.
The statesman is a man who would "rather be right than be president." He is an able man of principles and of character who avoids compromising with his principles and disdains buying support by making promises to people who seek wholly selfish ends, for this is akin to the crime of bribery.
But it is probably true that the people themselves are responsible for the paucity of statesmen and the abundance of politicians and demagogues. Many years ago I sat one evening in the park with an elderly man, manager of the apartment house in which I lived. He said that for thirty years he was a member of the Illinois state legislature and related many interesting experiences. But I shall never forget one remark he made which was "every man has his price; some votes can be obtained for $50, others for $500, and occasionally $50,000 is the price." Unsophisticated as I was, this statement was hard for me to believe, but I had no reason then or now to doubt its truth.
Yes, the people themselves help to make politicians by offering them tempting inducements. The desire to serve the public is commendable, particularly when it is coupled with pure motives. But the itch for office and the emoluments thereof, sometimes affects otherwise good men so deeply that they yield to all sorts of temptations in their efforts to obtain or retain office.
Our primary election system is bad in at least one respect-it helps to make politicians and demagogues. The short time allotted me will not permit of showing why, but supporting reasons will occur to my listeners. It requires a strong man of firm resolve to go into a hotly contested primary for a high office and come through untarnished. In the primary he is on his own, not governed by the platform and backed by the resources of his party. He is likely to be contacted by many groups, actuated by wholly selfish motives and offered assistance of money and votes if -. A statesman is not purchasable; a politician may have his price. Even highly respectable groups may forget themselves and make offers and considerations, as has previously been done right here in our own state, so rumor says. Shame upon them wherever and whenever their motives are selfish and not clearly in the interests of the public good! In such cases, in principle at least, are they not offering bribes. Good laws should be made and enforced that would protect the public and public officials from all forms of bribery and near bribery.
In passing, may I say frankly that I believe a return to the convention system, where to a large degree candidates were "called," would be a factor in saving nominees for election from some of the temptations they now face in the primaries.
SELFISHNESS A DOMINATING FACTOR
We know that a dangerous doctrine has been fostered by some selfish groups and accepted by some politicians to the effect that the world owes everybody a living, irrespective of one's worthiness. Of course no living soul, unable to help himself, should be allowed to suffer for the necessities of life, if it is possible to prevent it. We are all fully committed to this Christian truth. But, unfortunately there are people who are indolent, thriftless, selfish, and sinful. Yet, they are voters and thus they have influence with politicians. But they are also human beings and therefore our brothers. They need to be helped to reform and helped to opportunities where they can work for what they get and thus become self-respecting. But is it not demoralizing to them to agree with the idea that the world owes them a living, irrespective of their worthiness? As a matter of fact should not worthiness always be a prime factor in determining the rewards given to anyone? Is not this what our religion teaches us? Could divine justice be otherwise based? Eternal progress, a beautiful doctrine, is based on worthiness.
Let us refer to another phase of our theme-that of selfishness as seen exhibited by some officials and members of organized labor. I think it very unfortunate for all concerned-union members and the public-that these organizations and groups have been pampered by selfish politicians and others until they have become a dominating factor in the politics of this country. Now, I believe wholeheartedly in labor unions and in collective bargaining. But the idea of "the closed shop," as we commonly understand the expression, is very repugnant to me. As I see it, "the closed shop" is based upon selfishness run riot. It ignores the basic principles that all men are equal before the law and no one should be deprived of his right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." This is the very foundation upon which this republic was founded. To weaken or destroy the foundation is to endanger the very existence of our republic. We frequently use the expression "our American way of life," unmindful of the fact that the true American way of life is based upon our divinely inspired Constitution, as it was interpreted by the ablest legal minds in this country during the first century and a quarter of our national history.
But now-is it due to the emergencies of war?-bureaucrats have taken over. Personal liberties have been severely restricted and in order to serve his country in a war-service or war-production plant, or in some other plants, a man must join a union, so it is said, and pay initiation fees, sometimes high, as well as dues, as required by closed-shop agreements. Recently I was told a plant needed a skilled worker. One was obtained through the employment agency. He was a drinker. At length he was discharged after twelve days of bungling work, because of being continually under the influence of liquor. The plant had been operating open shop, though the employees had a union of their own. The drunkard appealed to his union with the result that the company was ordered by a bureaucratic agency to bring him back, to pay him the high wages for lost time, and to make a closed-shop agreement with the drunkard's union without an election being held to determine who were entitled to bargaining rights. All the company workers, not members of the drinker's union, and largely in the majority, I was informed, were thus forced to join a union they did not prefer. But no appeal to the courts was permitted. Was this procedure in harmony with the requirements of the golden rule and of the Constitution?
It is said, however, the closed-shop is necessary for the success of the union movement. If so, let the union movement fail. We must not deny any man his free agency or take from him his right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." The right to work is absolutely fundamental. I repeat, I am in hearty sympathy with the organization of labor and with collective bargaining, that is, with the plan of a committee of employees meeting regularly with employers to consider all matters of mutual concern. But in my feelings I am strongly opposed to the "closed shop," as the term is commonly understood. And I do not believe the "closed shop" is essential to the success of labor unions, operated on principles of right, fairness, liberty, and justice. Did not Samuel Gompers also have this view? Further, should any organization, operated on principles antagonistic to these, be tolerated in America? Would it be tolerable for the Church to say to its people living in Logan, or Provo, where we are in the majority, you must not permit non-tithepayers to live among you? Certainly not. Yes, the right of every American citizen to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" should be protected, be he Mormon, Jew, Gentile, infidel, or pagan, white, yellow or black, union member or independent. Every American citizen should be free to do as he pleases so long as he does not infringe on the rights of others.
Right now there is a pressure movement on to raise wages of workers in war industries. Do those sponsoring this movement recognize that there are millions of workers in America, engaged in essential industries, whose incomes did not increase during the last three years in anything like the proportion to those of workers in war industries? In fact, because of the rise in the cost of living, the net income of multitudes of Americans is less today than it was three years ago. Can this be said of any worker in war industries? Figures say not. If another raise in wages of these war workers should now be made, would there not be a still greater discrimination against these multitudes? The situation is extremely complex. But is there any fair-minded citizen, be he a union or a nonunion American, who wants to profit at the expense of his neighbors? Let us hope not.
My time is up, so I must close. Of course a multitude of illustrations could be given of the fact that few, if any, of us fully keep the second great commandment. We are all in need of repentance. Let each of us search his own heart and make sure that it beats in harmony with the divine will and then act accordingly. In my humble judgment, lasting peace-certainly worth the price-in our beloved America, as in the world at large, must be based upon living acceptably before God the second great commandment. Brotherly love must prevail. Liberty and freedom under wise and righteous laws, administered in harmony with the provisions of our divinely inspired Constitution must be preserved. Selfishness and greed must be subdued and righteousness exalted. The Lord help each of us to this end, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder John H. Taylor
John H. Taylor, Conference Report, October 1944, pp. 34-36
Dear Brethren: I am very happy to be with you in our conference, and I trust that I may contribute to the spirituality of our meetings held during the days of this conference.
FAITH AND WORKS CONSISTENT WITH RIGHTEOUS LIFE
We as a people are trying to correlate, and with considerable success, our faith and works, knowing that this type of combination will bring to us the best in life and a better reward in the future life.
It has always seemed strange to me that so many of our friends expect us to live more consistently according to our faith than they expect other people to live their faith. Perhaps it is because they are acquainted with our teachings and know that we emphasize the fact that our salvation is so dependent upon how righteously we live here upon the earth. That well-known saying of the Apostle James, "...shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works", is consistent, practical, and efficient.
In talking to a visitor one time on Temple Block, he inquired about our religion and asked for an explanation about our faith and our Church. As usual, I commenced immediately to quote from the Articles of Faith and explained about the establishment of the Church. In a short time he made this remark:
I am not concerned particularly with what you believe or have written; I am more concerned as to how efficiently you carry out the things that you believe and have written.
A similar thought was expressed by a musician who had been brought here from the east by the M.I.A. to judge some of our contests at a June conference. On a Friday evening we were at Saltair where the dance festival was being held. The dancers had been well-trained and were so efficient that they could execute the different intricate steps and formation with considerable skill, and because of the precision and order it was very beautiful. In order to see better, the man from the east and some of the rest of us stood on the band stand and watched the demonstration on the dancing floor.
A while later, he made this comment:
The thing I am wondering about is, after seeing all these young people on the floor so perfect in their deportment and their culture, just what will happen when they finish this demonstration and commence to dance the regular dances and act, so to speak, as they please. If I go into your wards or your stakes, will I find the same type of beauty and culture that I find on the floor tonight?
This same thought is given prominence by the Apostle James in this statement:
If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
When our friends see us in action, doing the things we have been taught to do, their faith and confidence in us increases and is a testimony to them of the worth-whileness of the gospel.
A PRACTICAL DEMONSTRATION
I remember hearing of a man who was very sick in one of our wards. His crops needed planting. He was the only one on the farm, his boys having gone to war. If he couldn't get out and plant, he would have no crops in the fall. A number of his neighbors and members of his quorum, hearing of his condition, assembled at his farm at a given time with their plows and all other utensils necessary to prepare the ground and plant the crops. In a short time it was all done, and the brother and his family were assured of the necessary food and money at the harvest time. That was a demonstration of the Gospel in action.
It is just the same in thinking about the Word of Wisdom. I am certain the majority of our boys who are away are living up to the principles of the Word of Wisdom and doing it splendidly. Occasionally we find some boy who may not do this.
An incident was related of one of these boys. We had a young man who had just gone into the army and who had only recently become a member of the Church. He was explaining to a number of other soldiers about the Word of Wisdom and our people living so closely to that part of our faith. An officer came along who was also one of our people and, hearing the discussion, said to this young man:
"I wonder why you want to be so fanatical about these things. I am quite sure that you know as the rest of us know that no one will be shut out of heaven because he smokes a cigarette or takes a drink."
WORKS ARE THE PROOF OF FAITH
The splendid testimony of President Grant this morning would rather convince a fellow that it is not so much the one cigarette that is against him but what it leads up to and finishes with. Once we leave the road of right, it is often very difficult to find our way back to it again.
In my visits to some of our wards, I see so many of our meeting-houses not so well-filled at sacrament sessions. We often read in the papers the statement that people are not going to the churches on Sunday, and because of the lack of attendance many churches are being closed.
I wonder whether we are making the necessary effort to prove to the Lord that we not only have faith but also works in honoring and keeping his holy day sacred. Perhaps we need to repent and indicate to our friends that our religion has the vitality in it not only to keep our meetinghouses open, but also to crowd them with our membership because we love the Lord enough to keep His commandments.
May our Heavenly Father bless us that we may be so consistent in our living that he can say to us, "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 the Lord", I pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
Elder Joseph L. Wirthlin
Joseph L. Wirthlin, Conference Report, October 1944, pp. 36-40
Paul declared: "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation". Others define the gospel as tidings of great joy, some as the body of doctrine promulgated by the Savior and his apostles, and it may be termed the constitution of God's kingdom; but Paul's definition causes one to pause and contemplate the intriguing term "godly power" as an element in the plan of salvation and whether or not man can acquire and develop godly power.
THE POWER OF GOD MADE MANIFEST
The power of God is manifested by and through the priesthood. It was through the power of God that worlds were created, providing a tangible evidence of God's power. The power of God is evidenced and keenly felt in righteous words, honest deeds, sincere emotions, and clean thoughts of men. The power of God is creative, both in a spiritual and temporal sense, for all things were created, first, spiritually and then temporally. By his power the earth was formed; by his power light and darkness were separated; by his power the land and water were separated; by his power the vegetation, fowls of the air, the fish of the sea, and all earthly creatures were brought into being; but the most important of all these was the creation of man in the exact image of his Creator. The finite mind cannot comprehend or understand the full significance of the creation nor of the principles and the powers involved therein, but we do know that the creation was a great and stupendous work accomplished by actual, spiritual, mental, and, who knows but what some physical effort was necessary on the part of our Heavenly Father. There must have been an element of work, of effort, in it, or else why the declaration found recorded in Genesis 2:2, "And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made", an indication of the necessity for rest after such a tremendous accomplishment.
ADAM'S EXPERIENCES
When Adam was placed in the Garden of Eden to enjoy its beauty, comforts, and food already produced, the Lord enjoined him merely to prune the garden and keep it in good condition; but soon thereafter the fall came as foreordained, and Adam was cast from the garden. He found himself in the lone and dreary world, far different from the orderly Garden of Eden. The voice of the Creator declared to him that if he were to eat, in fact to exist, it would depend upon his efforts whereby in the sweat of his brow and the toil of his hands should he eat his bread, pointing out, too, that noxious weeds and thistles would stand in his way, creating the necessity for more work and effort. With Adam leaving the garden there came into being the most important project among men, namely, that of agriculture which produces food and raiment for man, the first two physical requisites, and moreover affords more actual work than any other industry. But Adam was not left unqualified to meet this new condition, for his Eternal Father had bestowed upon him the mental and physical potentialities to create by his labors all the necessities of life. So man from the beginning possessed the potential power of creating his requirements through work. The words "create" and "work" are synonymous. Hence, the power of God is work, by which I mean the conscious exercise of spiritual, mental or physical effort and activity.
MAN'S GROWTH COMES THROUGH WORK
The very spiritual, mental, physical makeup of man fits him for work and the acquirement of godly power there through. Think, if you will, of all God's creations, there are none comparable to man spiritually, mentally, or physically. In the mind of man, the plan is formulated, and physical instruments, such as the hand, bring into actual existence the plan of the mind. There is nothing comparable to the hand as a useful tool. The things that can be done and accomplished by the hand are innumerable. The most delicate mechanical instruments, such as the electric eye, the radio, radar, all forms of transportation and buildings, are the creations, first, of the mind, influenced by the spirit of inspiration, and, secondly, the hand of man-man, the son of the Eternal Creator.
We have spoken of man's mental and physical attributes but what of the spiritual? There is no question but what the development of the spirit depends entirely upon the mental and the physical work of man. Therefore, any individual who denies himself the privilege of work denies himself salvation and exaltation in the kingdom of God. He denies himself the power of creation. First, he imposes on others and their efforts the responsibility of providing temporal sustenance. Secondly, his mind being idle, he becomes open to the influences of the evil one, for as it has been said, "An idle mind is the devil's workshop." Mental progression stops. "No man can be saved in ignorance". Physically he becomes weak, subject to disease, and as medical science has declared, his span of life is shortened ten to twenty years, which is logical because the body, like a machine out of use, becomes rusty and obsolete. Spiritually, he loses contact with the divine. His spiritual body literally starves and becomes emaciated and weak. The experiences of mortality have done him but little good.
The Lord knew his children in the spiritual world, fully realizing that upon their return to his presence, there would be a great difference in achievements-some taking full advantage of the opportunities in mortality, thereby achieving highly. Others would achieve in a partial way. Then there might be the indolent and careless. Therefore, out of justice and proper rewarding, the Lord indicated that his children would be judged by their works and very properly established three glories as a reward-the celestial for those who achieved highly, the terrestrial for those who achieved partially, and the telestial for those who were indolent and careless.
IDLENESS A DEMORALIZING AGENCY
The modern day trends in religion advocate the corrupt philosophy that man's salvation is assured by grace alone, which contradicts the teaching of the Master, "Faith without works is dead". And why should faith without works be dead? Because the godly power of work, the power of God unto salvation, has not been invoked. Moreover, men are being taught a demoralizing, and might I say a most degenerate doctrine that the world owes them a living without physical or mental effort upon their part. There has been nothing in history which has undermined and destroyed the moral fabric of the people more than this false doctrine, not a new doctrine, for it had its inception in the council of heaven when the Son of the Morning, Lucifer, proposed to save mankind without any effort upon their part. Men are encouraged to lean upon the government for their sustenance rather than to depend upon their God-given powers to create by the sweat of their brow and the work of their hands the necessities of life. It is odd that there are those who think that our government has an inexhaustible resource of money which will always be available.
ROBERT INGERSOLL'S OPINION OF GOVERNMENT SUPPORT
On this point may I quote Robert Ingersoll. I do not agree with him on many things, but on this point, he is right. Said he:
In the first place the government does not support the people, the people support the government. The government is a perpetual pauper. It passes 'round the hat and solicits contributions; but then you must remember that the government has a musket behind the hat. The government produces nothing. It does not plow the land, it does not sow corn, it does not grow trees. The government is a perpetual consumer. We support the government. Now, the idea that the government can make money for you and me to live on-it is the same as though my hired man should issue certificates of my indebtedness to him for me to live on. Some people tell us that the government can impress its sovereignty on a piece of paper, and that is money. Well, if it is, what is the use of wasting it making one dollar bills? It takes no more ink and no more paper-why not make one thousand dollar bills? Why not make a hundred million dollar bills and all be billionaires? How do you get your money? By work. You have to dig it out of the ground. That is where it comes from. Men have always had a kind of hope that something could be made out of nothing.
LABOR A SACRED OBLIGATION
The only preventive for further decadence in the morals, intelligence, spiritual, and materialistic affairs of man is not less work, but more work, the proper understanding between employee and employer, both of them realizing that they have sacred obligations to one another. He who would hire the laborer should realize that there is imposed upon him a sacred obligation, namely, as stated in Luke that the laborer is worthy of his hire. On the other hand, he who labors with his hands should remember his obligation of an honest day's labor. It is as the writer of Proverbs declares in 10:4: "He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich". The last sentence of this verse that "the hand of the diligent maketh rich," impels me to quote to you a statement of Abraham Lincoln:
Labor was prior to capital, but property is the fruit of labor. Property is desirable and is a positive good to the world. That some should be rich shows that others may become rich and hence is just encouragement to industry and enterprise. Let not he who is houseless pull down the house of another, but let him work diligently and build one for himself, thus by example insuring that his own shall be safe from violence when built.
The power of God which is work, creative work, as I have defined it, is the foundation stone of salvation, temporally, spiritually, and mentally. The cornerstone on which this great republic rests is that of work and free enterprise. Should the cornerstone deteriorate, the national structure will collapse. The cornerstone must be strengthened and reinforced by greater endeavor, for there is now resting upon this nation a burden of debt the like of which the world has never known before, stupendous beyond the imagination and comprehension of the average mind; and its liquidation, if it is liquidated according to just and honest principles, can only be accomplished through the application of godly power, namely, work on the part of its citizens. This statement is sustained by an excerpt taken from a bulletin published by the Tax Foundation in New York City:
The relation between average earning power and the average debt load on the individual is significant. A large part of the debt is held by banks, insurance companies, and other savings and investment institutions. The future welfare of millions of people depends on the continued solvency of these institutions and that depends on maintaining the value of their assets, including government bonds. But the value of the government bonds depends on the labor and earnings of the people and on their capacity to provide enough taxes to pay the interest and redeem the principal of the debt.
Anything short of this will bring bankruptcy and chaos to all. One cannot think or speak of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ as being the power of God unto salvation, spiritually, mentally, and temporally but what there comes to mind the memory of the intrepid pioneer-he who saw and understood the Gospel with all its implications and obligations, accepting them wholly, willingly, and with no reservations as to work-hence his memorable achievements. There stands to his memory an everlasting monument in the form of the restored Church of Christ a great state, the emblem of which is the beehive-a symbol of industry, thrift, and no place for the idler but an attitude of helpfulness to the aged, the widowed, and the fatherless. As heirs to all these blessings, there stands before us the challenge of the pioneer, and if we accept it, we will take from his gnarled hand of toil the torch of the gospel of salvation to exemplify its ideals, its saving power in unceasing work.
We are a blessed people in that we have a living prophet of God, whose counsel on the matter of work is as follows:
I have never seen the day when I was not willing to do the meanest work rather than be idle.... I assert with confidence that the law of success here and hereafter is to have a humble and prayerful heart and to work, work, work.
Of all Christian peoples and American citizens, we should stand out preeminently as a people full of faith in the Creator, a people of integrity, and a people which demonstrates and proves to the world that the power of God in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is the power and the efficacy of work as I have defined it.
I humbly pray that every man, woman, and child in Israel will understand the full significance of work, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Spencer W. Kimball
Spencer W. Kimball, Conference Report, October 1944, pp. 40-46
Dear brothers and the radio listeners:
In attending the genealogical sessions of the quarterly conferences in many stakes there has been sung beautifully the song, "Open the Gates of the Temple," which ends with the solemn testimony: "I know that my Redeemer lives, and because he lives, I shall live," and I always feel to say with Luke:
... I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes:....
THE REQUIREMENTS IN OBTAINING A TESTIMONY
In a high council testimony meeting some time ago I heard one of the number say: "I am happy in the work and have made research and this Church and its doctrines satisfy me better than anything I have found." Then another arose with deep feeling declared: "This is the work of God. I know it. It is the Lord's eternal plan of exaltation. I know that Jesus lives and is the Redeemer." I was uplifted by his sureness. And I went to the revelations of the Lord to see how it is that some are so sure while others are passive or have doubts.
I recall the experience of the Apostles when the Lord manifested himself to them after his resurrection and found a group who accepted him, but one of the quorum being absent declared that he would not believe unless he could see in the Lord's hands the print of the nails, and thrust his hand into the wounded side. And when the Savior, anticipating his doubt, had commanded Thomas to thrust forth his hand and feel and know, he said:
... Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
The Lord thus indicated that a knowledge of spiritual things may be had without perception through the five senses. He has keys by which we may have a knowledge of his work. In the temple he taught the Jews. They marvelled at his knowledge and positiveness and said: "He speaks as one having authority".
The Redeemer declared:
... My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God or whether I speak of myself.
What is it to know of the doctrine? It is an unwavering assurance. The Lord has offered a rich reward but has provided that it can be had only by meeting certain requirements. He has said:
There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated-and when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicted.
In this case the blessing promised is a knowledge of the divinity of the doctrine. And in this case the law or requirement is that one must "do his will". Most of us know what his will is, far more than we have disposition or ability to comply.
The Lord has reiterated his promise with much emphasis:
If thou shalt ask, thou shalt receive revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge, that thou mayest know the mysteries and peace-able things-that which bringeth joy, that which bringeth life eternal.
SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS IN THE WORD OF WISDOM
We preach and discuss the revelation known as the Word of Wisdom, and usually think of the temporal blessings that will come to us in increased health if we live in harmony with its teaching, that we might run and not be weary and walk and not faint, and the destroying angel should pass us by, but there is also a spiritual aspect which is more far-reaching and should stimulate us to high purpose. The promise I am thinking of is this:
And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments... shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures.
What could be so priceless as wisdom and knowledge, even hidden treasures? Surely the treasures here referred to are not those of scientific accomplishments. Such will come revealed as light from heaven discovered through the research of men, but these hidden treasures of knowledge in the revelation are those which can be had only by use of the keys given which are: "Walking in obedience". And while the discoveries in the physical world are very important to us here in mortality, the spiritual discovery of a knowledge of God and his program reach into and through eternity.
And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
A TESTIMONY OF THE TRUTH COMES THROUGH RIGHTEOUS LIVING
Another revelation gives us this:
... For unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom, but unto the world it is not given to know them,
which indicates another requirement: One must be baptized and receive the Holy Ghost and still live the commandments to be given the knowledge of the divinity of the work. Mere passive acceptance of the doctrines will not give the testimony; no casual half-compliance with the program will bring that assurance; but an all-out effort to live his commandments. We often see this in the lives of members of the Church. One said to me in a recent stake I visited, "I assiduously avoid all testimony meetings. I can't take the sentimental and emotional statements that some of the people make. I can't accept these doctrines unless I can in a cold-blooded and rational way prove every step." I knew this type of man as I have met others like him. In no case had they gone all-out to live the commandments: Little or no tithing, only occasional attendance at meetings, considerable criticism of the doctrines, the organizations and the leaders, and we know well why they could have no testimony. Remember that the Lord said:
I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say; ye have no promise.
Such people have failed to "do what he says." Of course, they have no promise.
On the other hand we have the missionary completely immersed in his work, giving to it his every thought and energy, and living closely the commandments. Almost without exception they have lived worthily, kept the commandments, and have been rewarded with a knowledge as promised by their Savior, in proportion to their faithfulness. Consider also the thousands of ward, quorum, and stake and mission leaders who have an abiding testimony. It is not blind loyalty but faithful observance, and turning of keys which open the storehouse of spiritual knowledge. The Lord revealed again to the Prophet Joseph:
Verily, thus saith the Lord: It shall come to pass that every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am and that I am the true light... and... the Father and I are one.
The Lord will not discriminate between his children but delights to own and bless us all, if we will let him. And here he reveals another most important item-one must be free from sin to claim the blessing of an unwavering testimony, and sin is of two kinds, those of omission and those of commission.
When I was a very small boy, I was taught the habit of going to sacrament meetings. Mother always took me with her. Those warm afternoons I soon became drowsy and leaned over on her lap to sleep. I may not have learned much from the sermons, but I learned the habit of "going to meeting." The habit stayed with me through my life. And even from those early years in the testimony meetings, I often came home distressed by the expressions of critical people who took issue with those who had borne their testimonies with such fervor and sureness. "Why does Sister Blank say she knows that Jesus is the Christ? How can she know? Why does Brother Doe declare with such definiteness that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God and that this is the Church and kingdom of God? I doubt if they know any more about it than I do." Then I refer these who would rationalize to Colossians 2:8:
Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
But our Father in heaven has repeatedly promised such knowledge upon compliance with his commands. Hear his words in modern revelations speaking to those who fear him and delight to serve him in righteousness unto the end. He says:
And to them will I reveal all mysteries, yea, all the hidden mysteries of my kingdom from days of old, and for ages to come, will I make known unto them the good pleasure of my will concerning all things pertaining to my kingdom. Yea, even the wonders of eternity shall they know, and things to come will I show them.
PROMISES OF THE LORD TO HIS PEOPLE
It was in 1841 that the Lord commanded the Prophet to release his brother, Hyrum, from the Presidency that he might function as the Patriarch. In his place William Law was called and was instructed through the seer:
... let him be humble before me, and be without guile, and he shall receive of my Spirit, even the Comforter, which shall manifest unto him the truth of all things.
And a similar promise was made to Sidney Rigdon as he was called to be a spokesman to the Prophet Joseph:
And I will give unto him power to be mighty in testimony. And I will give unto thee power to be mighty in expounding all scriptures and that thou mayest be a spokesman unto him, and he shall be a revelator unto thee, that thou mayest know the certainty of all things pertaining to the things of my kingdom on the earth.
The Lord seems to extend the same privileges and makes the same promises to all his people:
... I the Lord am willing to make these things known unto all flesh.
Seek not for riches but for wisdom, and behold, the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto you, and then shall you be made rich. Behold, he that hath eternal life is rich.
GOSPEL TRUTH REVEALED THROUGH THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD
It should be kept in mind that God cannot be found through research alone, nor his gospel understood and appreciated by study only, for no one may know the Father or the Son but "he to whom the Son will reveal him" . The skeptic will some day either in time or eternity learn to his sorrow that his egotism has robbed him of much joy and growth, and that as has been decreed by the Lord: The things of God cannot be understood by the spirit of man; that man cannot by himself find out God or his program; that no amount of research nor rationalizing will bring a testimony, but it must come through the heart when compliance with the program has made the person eligible to receive that reward. The Savior could have taken highly trained minds from the temple porches for the chief builders of his kingdom, but he went to the seashore to get humble fishermen. He wanted men who would not depend upon their own intellects only to ferret out the truths, but unbiased men to whom he might reveal his new program, men who were trusting and sincere and willing to serve. He tested Peter on one occasion by asking him to identify him, and with power and sure of his grounds the first apostle declared: "Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God". Surely the Redeemer must have been pleased, and he then revealed the source of Peter's knowledge by saying:
... Blessed are thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
There were many trained and educated Jews in Jerusalem who rationalized themselves completely out of a testimony and the rich spiritual life. Though Jesus was among them and they could see his miracles and hear his words, it was still an impossibility for those scribes and Pharisees to prove him to be the Redeemer by any of their mental processes, or by the kind of proof that many moderns require. But Peter and his associates, receptive as they were, knew the process. They lived the truth, and they knew the truth, and the truth made them free and gave them peace.
REQUIREMENTS FOR RETAINING A TESTIMONY
To acquire a testimony, then, one must be in tune with the Spirit of the Lord, keep his commandments and be sincere. Because one does not receive this positive assurance is no reason why another cannot. To say that another person cannot see the light because you fail to comprehend it is to place unwarranted limitations on another's power. To say that no one can know of the doctrine because you do not is like saying that there is no germ or virus because it is not visible to you, and is to deny the word of God.
To hold his testimony one must bear it often and live worthy of it. The Lord declared his displeasure in the failure of his people to bear testimony.
Destructive criticism of the officers of the Church or its doctrines is sure to weaken and bring an eventual end to one's testimony if persisted in.
And so there have come ringing down through time the testimonies of men who knew and bore witness: John, the cousin of Jesus, saying:
"Behold the lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world".
The apostles in the storm-tossed ship exclaiming: "Of a truth thou art the Son of God".
The Prophet Mormon from Nephite history declaring:... God is not a partial God-but he is unchangeable from all eternity to all eternity".
Nathaniel, an Israelite in whom could be found no guile: "Rabbi, thou art the Son of God. Thou art the King of Israel".
Andrew, the apostle, who told Peter, his brother: "We have found the Messiah, which is, being interpreted, the Christ".
Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in their positive declaration: "That he lives" and "that he is the Only Begotten of the Father".
And Job with his unalterable testimony: "I know that my Redeemer lives".
These and countless others through the centuries have "done the will of the Father". They have received a knowledge of him and his work. This same promise is made by our Lord to all who will do likewise.
May I add my testimony. This is the work of God. He is at the helm. It will go forward till his glorious program is consummated. I bear my testimony most humbly in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder John A. Widtsoe
John A. Widtsoe, Conference Report, October 1944, pp. 46-51
My dear brethren and fellow workers:
In his address this morning, President Clark spoke of postwar problems. They are many, and they keep pounding upon our thinking. President Clark enlarged upon the most important of these problems. I would like to call your attention to one or two minor, though also important, problems, which are being much discussed at present. If it seems to be largely of a temporal nature, my defense is that in the Gospel of Jesus Christ there is really no distinction between the temporal and the spiritual. Speaking to the Prophet Joseph Smith, the Lord said:
... verily I say unto you that all things unto me are spiritual, and not at any time have I given unto you a law which was temporal.
THOUGHTS ON THE RETURN OF THE SOLDIERS
At a recent stake conference, a fine young man, a soldier, enjoying a brief furlough, addressed the congregation. He was clearly perplexed. He wondered why in the heat of battle, he had escaped the bullet that took the life of his buddy. He spoke of the interruption of his education; the frustration of his life's plans; and the hell that we call war, into which he had been catapulted. He declared his readiness to die, if need be, for the freedom of man; but wondered why men should have to die to possess freedom, which belongs to every man by the right of his existence. "Shall this self-destruction of man continue?" he asked. As he sat down, he voiced the question now asked by millions of men: "What of the future?"
I thought of the 80,000 youths and young men of our faith, members of the Church, nearly all of whom will return, after the war, whole in body, but perhaps maimed in spirit, and scarred in memory, by the unnatural life in the army and navy, and by the inexpressible horrors of warfare, as conducted by "civilized" man. They will return to a world which has been shaken and changed by the turmoil and tumult of battle in the air, on the land, and under the sea. It will be a new world. They shall not see again the world they once knew. The forces of change will have carved deep furrows in the face of human existence.
These returning men were torn from their native soil by the roots. In the field of war, they have been nurtured with the poison of destruction. How to transplant them, to revive their full vigor, and ensure normal growth after the war, is perhaps the major problem among the many that will arise in the proposed reconstitution of the world.
Human history does not justify the belief that returning armies will be adequately rehabilitated by governmental efforts. Grants of small sums of money, or the offering of opportunities to the few, cannot restore that which has been lost, or supply the needs of the many who will need help. That has been tried before, without success. Salvation by government, whether spiritual or temporal, before or after a war, is a delusive and elusive will-o'-the-wisp. With God's help, men win success by self-effort, and only so.
DUTY TOWARDS THE DEFENDERS OF OUR COUNTRY
The responsibility for our homecoming boys, who are really the coming generation, will rest, as in ages past, upon the family and the home and the cluster of neighborhood families and homes. Each man must bear his own burden. Such help as he needs must be given by family and immediate friends. By such a distribution of a labor among many any task is easily accomplished, far beyond the power of any government. In every household we must convert our faith for peace, and our love for our boys, who have been willing to face death for us, into sober planning and direct activity. We must sift the many possibilities for the benefit of the returning lads. This duty, which we owe our defenders, cannot be shifted to others. Nor can a central agency undertake it successfully. Moreover, that is ever the method of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Now is the time to undertake such planning and the consequent preparation. There should be no delay. We must be prepared. Building is slower than destruction. Our boys may soon be coming home. They will then be ready for the next adventure. We must not reward their sacrifices with disappointment. Rather, we must be ready also with the necessary advice and help. It may be too late if we do not begin now.
In this important matter, Latter-day Saints must needs cling to the well-established ideals of the Church. Among them is one that we treasure greatly. We have the reputation of being a productive and creative people; and indeed we deserve it. We have always tried to better the world, to leave it richer than we found it, spiritually and temporally. In our temporal affairs we have taken the Lord at his word; that he has given man dominion over the earth, on the condition that he would seek to subdue it in the sweat of his brow. We have proved this promise to be true; we know that only as we toil do we overcome obstacles. We have learned also that whenever human energy is applied to the resources of earth, wealth is produced. That is indeed the only way that true wealth, much or little, can be added to the world's possessions. By that method this people made a garden out of the desert; and by that method they have bettered their own economic conditions; and have led others into paths of prosperity. By that method every man may win wealth sufficient for his needs. It is the surest approach to a competence. We are a practical-minded people. Of that we are proud. This basic principle should be before us in planning for our returning sons.
EDUCATION TO BE ENCOURAGED
It is an equally well-established Latter-day Saint principle that ignorance waits on no man. Dominion of the earth will ultimately be in the hands of those who know, and use their powers intelligently. Therefore, as a people we believe in education the gathering of knowledge and the training of the mind. The Church itself is really an educational institution. Traditionally, we are an education-loving people. Remember the valiant group, young and old, who more than a hundred years ago gathered daily in upper rooms of the Kirtland Temple? They were really the founders of adult education in the modern world. They dipped into English, mathematics, history, science, law, and languages. They were fearless in their educational aspirations. They exemplified the words of Brigham Young, "The religion embraced by the Latter-day Saints... prompts them to search diligently after knowledge." Remember, also, the succession of educational institutions marking the progressive history of the Church! Schools, colleges, and universities attest the high place of education in "Mormon" philosophy. Do not forget the surpassingly high present educational standing of our people.
Our young men returning from the front, should be encouraged to take up their educational work where they laid it down when the country in its need called for their service; and they should be urged to continue it to the end of their program. Despite the loss of time during the war period, and the apparent financial need, they would make a mistake to rush into active life without proper development and training; without the eye-and-mind-opening vistas that follow the wise discipline of schools. The coming age will require the service of trained minds and bodies more than before. During the late financial depression, few men who had professions, including agriculture and the trades, were unemployed. The untrained group suffered most. We must see to it that our returning boys, even at our own heavy sacrifice, finish their educational ambitions. Thus we shall better protect their futures. Some help may be offered by the federal government. Schools will do their utmost, we may be sure, to intensify and shorten the courses required for men who have matured quickly among the stern realities of warfare.
Education cultivates the innate powers of man, and gives him a vision of eternal truth and the great gains of the centuries. It should also help fit a person to make a living, and to perform better the work likely to be required of him, and from which he earns his bread and butter. In that sense, all education, dealing with men, having earthly needs, should be practical. Probably most of our young men have already decided upon their life-pursuits; all should do so, and make their educational training subserve their life's needs. All their learning, including that which seems at first remote, should fit into the student's life ambition. Wise parents, and all young men, will heed this matter with care; and direct their educational efforts to a definite objective. Wasted educational opportunities are seldom recovered.
AGRICULTURE GIVES PROMISE OF SUCCESS
Among the membership of the Church, farmers and craftsmen predominate. They are true wealth producers, for they convert the elements about us into articles needed by man. By the efforts of these wealth producers, the prosperity of the world may best be measured. Therefore, the Church has always advocated that its members keep close to agriculture, the crafts, and the industries. They form the safe base of the pyramid of social and economic life on earth. More than a hundred years ago the Prophet Joseph Smith, then building the city of Nauvoo, stressed this principle in no uncertain words.
Probably more than half of our Church membership is agricultural. Of that we are proud; for that we are grateful; we hope that it may ever be so. Tillers of the soil are a steady, dependable element in society. There is an unusual stability in the lives of farmers and farming communities. They know better than any other group that as we sow, so do we reap. The succession of seed time and harvest bespeak to them an orderly universe. The changing seasons reveal powers beyond man's control, for which he must prepare in favorable years. Big lessons of life come out of the profession of farming. Seldom does a hare-brained social, economical, or political philosophy issue from those who, upon the soil, face wind and weather for their sustenance. If the farmer is caught, for a time, by the oily promise and airy prospects of a fluent demagogue, he is usually the first to repent, often in sackcloth and ashes, and to return to a sensible, lawful order of living. A strong rural membership brings safety to the Church not otherwise obtainable. It is so in the nation. We believe in rural life. By that we mean not only living on a farm, but in a rural community, composed of farmers and the necessary craftsmen, tradesmen, and professional workers. If living joyfully is the purpose of life the small community, in which all modern advantages and comforts may now be available, has a distinct advantage over the crowded city. Because of this, eminent business and professional men, operating in large centers, often commute to their homes in rural neighborhoods. The present two chief candidates for the office of president of the United States maintain their homes in rural communities. Already there is a strong movement towards the decentralization of industry, so that workers may be placed in smaller communities, with the family kitchen garden and other similar advantages. The experiments of Henry Ford in the field of combining industry and agriculture are notable.
The city of Zion, as laid out by the Prophet Joseph Smith, was planned to accommodate between 15,000 and 20,000 people-a relatively small city for the capital of a kingdom-the kingdom of God. The whole city was to be divided into twenty-four wards with six hundred to eight hundred souls in each ward. Each lot was to be four by twenty rods, ample for a dwelling house, outbuildings, and gardens. All public buildings would be placed in the easily accessible center of the city. Such a plan would be ideal in our day, if living richly is the consideration. Indeed, we came near to this ideal in laying out our cities in the intermountain country. The Mormon village system has contributed much to our strength and our happiness as individuals and as a people. It is one of the many Mormon contributions to the plan for human welfare. It is interesting that many sound thinkers in our day are advocating similar cities and villages.
The majority of the service men of the Church have come from the farm. They are acquainted with rural conditions. It would be wise to encourage them to return to the farm. They would make no mistake if they do so. Modern agriculture has become a profession of equal dignity with the older, so-called, learned professions. It is good business, if practiced properly. It has the unequaled power to yield daily, sane joy to the farmer and his family. And from generation to generation it builds men and women of strength for the world's service. If the family farm is too small to be divided, lands may yet be obtained. Such opportunities are usually known in every community. Communication with the agricultural committee of the welfare program will reveal many localities where lands may be obtained under conditions that may be met by our young men. Our western lands are far from being fully occupied.
THE CONSERVATION OF WATER
Besides, in the irrigated area, where so many of our Church members live, the people have it within their own power, within their own locality to increase the area of tillable land. By conserving, and using more rationally, the water now available, the irrigated area may be greatly increased. Almost everywhere there is a great waste of water. The fallacy remains that the more water used the better it is for the plant. Over-irrigation follows. The fact is that the yield of a crop is completed with much less water than is usually applied. Water saved may be used to redeem more land of which there is a surplus in the West.
Immense quantities of water are lost by seepage. In one ideally located L.D.S. community, nearly one half of the water held in the reservoir is lost in transit over three or four miles to the farms. The task of making this canal water-tight is slight compared with the labor of the pioneers who settled that community and dug the first canals. There are also hundreds of places where water now going to waste might be stored, of spring water held back for later crops. By a little united effort on the part of the people, such projects could more easily be completed than the pioneer projects of the founders of the West. Why wait for others to do it for us? Let us do it ourselves!
IMPROVED CONDITIONS IN FARMING
In addition, the introduction of new, more intensive, and more profitable crops, is increasing the acre income on the farms, thus automatically enlarging the agricultural area. The relatively small farm, if cultivated properly, is the most satisfactory. There is yet land available for our young war veterans.
You who may advise our lads to return to the farm should also remember that the profession of farming has moved forward with the vast progress of recent years. Much of the toil has been taken out of the tillage of the soil. Motorized implements, from plowing land to baling hay, even for the small farm, under control of one man, have cut down the former manual labor. Only the other day I saw a farmer's son drive a herd of pure-bred, sleek, dairy cows to the cooperative shed to be milked by machinery. When this herd was on its way back, another took its place at the iron milk-maid. Such devices, helps to the farmer, are steadily increasing. The farmer need no longer be kept busy from dawn to dark. Headwork is today the prime requisite of the farmer. The day of the pioneer is not over. Progress is never ending, on the farm as elsewhere. Problems beckon to every man of courage; and there is joy in conquest.
When we think of our boys who have gone out, willing to face death, if need be, for our freedom, our hearts grow warm. They have a claim upon our help when they return to enter upon paths that will lead to service and joy. When we do our best and most for them we do not do too much.
May the Lord bless us in this matter; and may He bless and protect our sons who are placed in battle array and guide them wisely upon their return. This I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Marion G. Romney
Marion G. Romney, Conference Report, October 1944, pp. 53-58
I don't know just why it is that I always feel like this when I stand before you brethren in this great building. The other day I was in Nampa, Idaho, attending a stake conference, and I said to one of the brethren up there:
"My name is Marion G. Romney."
This man said: "Oh yes, I know you. I heard your heart beat, and I heard you breathe the first time you spoke in the tabernacle."
I still feel that way. I know you are my brethren. I know you know my limitations. I know you want me to succeed, but when I am ministering in this work of God I am always very humble.
I am very much in harmony with the spirit of those two lovely hymns we have sung this morning. If I had known that I was to be the first speaker, and could have chosen the hymns, I could not have chosen better.
PRAYER THE PRESENT DAY NEED
I have been thinking of that marvelous appeal for prayer made by President Grant yesterday in his message, I have been thinking of it in connection with a passage of scripture, a commandment which the Lord gave to the Prophet Joseph Smith. Perhaps I was so impressed because I had been thinking, as I am sure you have been, of the great hold which Satan has upon the inhabitants of the earth today. The commandment was:
Pray always, that you may come off conqueror; yea, that you may conquer Satan, and that you may escape the hands of the servants of Satan that do uphold his work.
The subject of prayer deserves the consideration not only of Latter-day Saints but also of the whole nation, for a belief in God and prayer has been almost universally professed in the United States.
One of our greatest needs today is to turn to God in true prayer, that we may conquer Satan and escape the hands of the servants of Satan that do uphold his work. I should like to call your attention to some of the prerequisites to the realization of this need. The first is belief in God the Eternal Father, as taught by Joseph Smith.
BELIEF IN A LIVING GOD ESSENTIAL TO FAITH
There is a world of difference between a prayer understandingly addressed to "Our Father which art in heaven", and a prayer addressed to some unknown god defined in some such language as "cosmic energy," "universal consciousness," or as "the first great cause." No man prays to a theoretical god with any faith or expectation that his petition will receive a sympathetic consideration. But one can pray to the true and living God with the knowledge that he actually deals with men. When God is believed in as our Eternal Father, we can to a degree understand our relationship to him, that he is the father of our spirits, a loving parent who is interested in his children individually, and whom they can love with all their hearts, might, mind, and strength.
Such a belief is essential to true prayer because intelligent beings will not pray fervently to a God they do not know. Such praying will be done only by people who believe that their prayers can be heard and answered by an understanding, sympathetic parent.
Associated with belief in God the Eternal Father is belief in his Son Jesus Christ and an acceptance of his divine mission as the Redeemer of the world. This belief is as basic to true prayer as is belief in God, the Eternal Father. It is because Jesus is our Redeemer and therefore our advocate with the Father that we must always pray unto the Father in his name. While yet in mortality he said to his disciples, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me" . He promised them that if they prayed in his name, they should receive whatsoever they should ask. To the Nephite multitude, whom he taught after his resurrection, he said, "...Ye must always pray unto the Father in my name", and to this generation, "... Thou shalt continue in calling upon God in my name".
I call these well-known teachings to your attention because on a number of occasions recently I have heard prayers in religious services which were not offered in his name. Latter-day Saints ought not to be ignorant of these commandments nor hesitant about obeying them. Our hearts are filled with gratitude beyond expression for what the Savior has done for us. We sing with feeling, "Oh, it is wonderful that he should care for me enough to die for me!" Every time we partake of the sacrament, we witness unto the Father that we are willing to take upon us the name of his Son. A prayer not offered in his name suggests insincerity or lack of understanding.
When we pray unto the Father in the name of Jesus for specific personal things, we should feel in the very depths of our souls that we are willing to subject our petitions to the will of our Father in heaven. "Thy will, O God, thy will be done" should never be lip service only. "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven", is the pattern given by Jesus in the Lord's prayer, and emphasized in Gethsemane when in blood-sweat and agony he prayed,"... Not my will, but thine, be done".
A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
This principle we learned in our home through a rather impressive experience. During the early years of our married life, my wife and I intensely desired what we considered to be a particular blessing. We set about through fasting and prayer to obtain it. We considered many of the scriptures which seemed to make a blanket promise that "... Whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive". We asked, we believed, we thought we had faith, but though we fasted often and prayed fervently, the years rolled by without bringing us the desired answer to our prayers. Finally we concluded that we had not fully understood; that we were not giving proper consideration to the will of the Lord. Rather were we concentrating our faith and prayers upon receiving the particular thing which by predetermination we had set our hearts upon. We had to reconsider the conditions of the promise. We found that Jesus had stated them in full to the Nephites as follows: "... Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is right, believing that ye shall receive, behold it shall be given unto you" , and to this generation thus, "Whatsoever ye ask the Father in my name it shall be given unto you, that is expedient for you". We had to learn to be as earnest in praying, "If it be thy will" as we were when presenting our personal appeals.
We need have no fear that our well-being will not be served by such an approach. It is God's work and glory "... to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man". I think I am within the mark when I say that the obtaining of eternal life by each individual person, including specifically you and me, is part of the work of God and adds to his glory. His will concerning us and our affairs cannot be other than for our advancement toward immortality and eternal life. Submitting to his will in every instance will be for our own good. And this we must do in faith if we would have peace and happiness in our present state of imperfect living.
RIGHTEOUSNESS STRENGTHENS FAITH
The time will come when we shall know the will of God before we ask. Then everything for which we pray will be "expedient." Everything for which we ask will be "right." That will be when as a result of righteous living, we shall so enjoy the companionship of the spirit that he will dictate what we ask. On this point the Lord has said, "He that asketh in the Spirit asketh according to the will of God; wherefore it is done even as he asketh", and again, "And if ye are purified and cleansed from all sin, ye shall ask whatsoever you will in the name of Jesus and it shall be done. But know this, it shall be given you what you shall ask". Nephi, the son of Helaman, so lived. He with unwearyingness declared the word of God. He sought not his own life but the will of God, and to keep his commandments continually, and to him the Lord said,... all things shall be done unto thee according to thy word, for thou shalt not ask that which is contrary to my will".
Now, in submitting our requests to the will of our Eternal Father and asking in the name of Jesus, when, where, and for what shall we pray?
The psalmist sang, "Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray". During his earthly mission, the Savior taught by parable that"... men ought always to pray, and not to faint". In this dispensation, he has said in many revelations, "Pray always." He said this to the Prophet Joseph Smith, to Martin Harris, to Thomas B. Marsh, and to many other individuals; he said it to the Church, and finally he said, "What I say unto one I say unto all; pray always lest that wicked one have power in you, and remove you out of your place".
THE SCRIPTURES TEACH PRAYER
As there is no limitation as to when we should pray, so there seems to be no limitation as to where we should pray or what we should pray about.
... In every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
... Cry unto him for mercy; for he is mighty to save... Cry unto him when ye are in your fields, yea, over all your flocks. Cry unto him in your houses, yea, over all your household, both morning, mid-day, and evening. Yea, cry unto him against the power of your enemies. Yea, cry unto him against the devil, who is an enemy to all righteousness. Cry unto him over the crops of your fields, that ye may prosper in them... But this is not all; ye must pour out your souls in your closets, and your secret places, and in your wilderness. Yea, and when you do not cry unto the Lord, let your hearts be full, drawn out in prayer unto him continually for your welfare and also for the welfare of those who are around you.
Pray in your families unto the Father, always in my name, that your wives and your children may be blessed.
... Pray vocally as well as in thy heart; yea, before the world as well as in secret, in public as well as in private.
Call upon the Lord, that his kingdom may go forth upon the earth, that the inhabitants thereof may receive it, and be prepared for the days to come, in the which the Son of Man shall come down in heaven, clothed in the brightness of his glory, to meet the kingdom of God which is set up on the earth.
Wherefore, may the kingdom of God go forth, that the kingdom of heaven may come, that thou, O God, mayest be glorified in heaven so on earth that thine enemies may be subdued; for thine is the honor, power and glory, forever and ever. Amen.
AN INCIDENT FROM LINCOLN'S LIFE
Most all of you who are within the sound of my voice are witnesses that no person in true prayer ever called upon God in vain. There is hardly one of you who cannot personally testify, out of your own experience, of the power of prayer. Here is an example from the life of President Lincoln:
General Sickles had noticed that before the portentous battle of Gettysburg, upon the result of which, perhaps, the fate of the nation hung, President Lincoln was apparently free from the oppressive care which frequently weighed him down. After it was all past the general asked Lincoln how that was. He said:
"Well, I will tell you how it was. In the pinch of your campaign up there, when everybody seemed panic-stricken and nobody could tell what was going to happen, oppressed by the gravity of affairs, I went to my room one day and locked the door and got down on my knees before Almighty God and prayed to him mightily for victory at Gettysburg. I told him that this war was his, and our cause his cause, but we could not stand another Fredericksburg or Chancellorsville. Then and there I made a solemn vow to Almighty God that if he would stand by our boys at Gettysburg, I would stand by him, and he did stand by our boys, and I will stand by him. And after that, I don't know how it was, and I cannot explain it, soon a sweet comfort crept into my soul. The feeling came that God had taken the whole business into his own hands, and that things would go right at Gettysburg, and that is why I had no fears about you."
Lincoln believed in God. He prayed mightily in the strength of great humility. He did not alone ask God to stand by him, but he promised to stand by the Lord. He received his answer in the way which you, my brethren, are so well acquainted with,-the sweet comfort which crept into his soul.
JOSEPH SMITH'S PRAYER AND ITS RESULTS
In the spring of 1820, Joseph Smith, Jr.-one of God's mightiest spirit sons-but then a then a little known fourteen-year-old boy in the backwoods of New York state, while reading the Bible in search of light on a vital problem, was moved upon by the Spirit to ask God in faith for the wisdom he lacked. Retiring to a secluded spot in a wooded grove, he "kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of" his "heart to God" in vocal prayer. It was while this boy was so engaged in humble prayer, and in answer to that prayer, that the great vision of the Father and the Son which opened this last dispensation of the gospel was given.
A great deal more could be said upon this vital subject of prayer, but this is not the time nor place for me to say it. In conclusion, I plead with all men everywhere to turn to God in true prayer. This is the number one requisite for peace in the world. It is the only way that we can conquer Satan and escape the hands of the servants of Satan that do uphold his work. We Latter-day Saints know that God is our Eternal Father, that Jesus Christ is his Son and our Redeemer, and that we must bring our desires and our lives in harmony with his divine will, praying to him always about all things in the name of Jesus. Let us see to it that from henceforth no day shall pass in which we do not fervently, in family and in private prayers, express our gratitude to our Heavenly Father and seek his guiding and protecting care, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Antoine R. Ivins
Antoine R. Ivins, Conference Report, October 1944, pp. 58-60
I crave an interest in your faith and prayers, my brethren, that what I may say may be directed by the Spirit of God, through your prayerful help.
CULTIVATION OF THE SOULS OF MEN
As I travel over this vast country of ours, I, like you perhaps, have been impressed by the vast amount of unproductive and untilled land that we have. Only a small portion of this state and the other states around us is well cultivated and really productive. There is a writer whom I read frequently who has made the statement that there are more uncultivated souls than lands. I wonder if that is true.
Certain it is that there are many souls in the world today who have been improperly cultivated, else we would not have the conditions prevalent that we are struggling with now.
I like to look upon this body of men as the tillers of the soul of the Church, and it is our problem to see that the soul of the Church is well cultivated, so that it can yield itself to the purposes of God. The soul of the Church is a composite of the souls of its members, and so we become the tillers of the souls of the members of the Church, and it becomes our duty as we face this problem, each and every one of us, to till our own garden spots first, and if they turn out to be productive, then there is no question that the greater fields will, likewise, be productive.
When we think of the soul of the Church, and the souls of the members of the Church, we naturally wonder what constitutes a well-developed, well-cultivated soul.
We have already been told that the first and great commandment of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that we should love God with all our hearts, and that we should love our neighbors as ourselves. That is the great fundamental principle of the Gospel, and since the purpose of the Gospel is to develop men in their souls and give them joy and happiness and better life, then the first requisite of a well-cultivated soul is that he must love God and love his neighbor, be willing to serve God and serve his neighbor.
Then we, who are the custodians of the people, so to speak, the tillers of the soul, must see that we love God and love our neighbors, so that we can help others to arrive at that state.
There are many other virtues that enter into this picture. Right along as second to love come charity and mercy. Can we feel that our souls are well cultivated if we have not charity? If you read the scripture you will find that all these other things seem to fail in the absence of charity and mercy.
Then comes forgiveness. We must be ready to forgive when persons who have sinned against us, prompted by sincere repentance, attempt to make restitution. If we are going to forgive, we are going to forget likewise, for forgiveness falls flat if it is of the mouth only and not of the heart, and if, after saying we forgive, we still carry in our minds the offense and hold it as an obstacle to the progress of the one whom we have forgiven.
We must be honest, too. We must be honest with ourselves, we must be honest with our neighbors, we must be honest with the state, we must be honest with the Church. There is too great a lack of honesty in the world today; too many do not think seriously enough of those problems and feel that so long as we can act within the technicalities of the law, we are sufficiently honest for the day. I question that very much, brethren. I think we all ought repeatedly to examine our hearts and our attitude, to make sure that we are honest.
And we should be industrious. If there is anything that the Church has been noted for in the past, among those things comes the fact that we have been an industrious people. We would like to continue to be such, industrious, frugal and careful. If we are, there is little question but that God will bless us and help us to meet the exigencies of our lives.
We should be sympathetic with our neighbors in their trials and troubles. We should be willing to help them over their difficulties. We should be trustworthy, so that when we make a promise, everybody will know that we keep that promise to the very letter, that our word will be as our written bond, and nobody will question us. We should live clean, honorable, and upright lives. No other thing will give us greater happiness, or will develop our souls to a greater degree than to live the law of chastity which is prescribed by our Church as by no other organization on the earth.
All of these things tend to develop the spirit and the soul of man. The Prophet Joseph Smith has told us that the soul consists not only of the spirit of man but of the spirit and body inseparably connected. Then, in the development of the soul, we have next, after the spiritual development, that of the body. I believe what the scripture says that the body is the temple of the spirit, the temple of God, and that his spirit will not dwell in an unclean body. Our purpose, then, as well as to develop the other phase, is to develop our bodies, to attempt perfection in them, so that the spirit which God grants the privilege of dwelling in this body of clay shall, in its development, be unhampered by physical imperfections.
If we can do these things, we shall not have it said of us that there are more uncultivated souls than land where we abide and we, the priesthood presidents of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have this as our great purpose and our great field of activity: to develop the souls of the people and the soul of the Church. This is a complex problem but it is wholly within our power, if we can only gain the assistance that comes from the companionship of the Spirit of God. If we are humble-and humility is one of the highest virtues that we should cultivate in this spiritual development-if we are only humble, and if we apply the spirit of prayer as Brother Romney has just said, we can gain that power that comes from the Spirit of God.
That Spirit will give us the interest which will impel us to greater activity than we have ever undertaken before.
That, brethren, is my prayer today, that we the servants of God and the servants of his people, for he has told us that inasmuch as we serve the least among us we are serving him; that we can get his Spirit to give us a true vision of our responsibility and the power to meet it fully and completely. All of us should examine ourselves and our problem, and then make a high resolve before our Heavenly Father that we will, to the best of our ability magnify our calling. If we can but do that, there is no question about the power of the priesthood of God. That he may grant it to us, I pray, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Bishop LeGrand Richards
LeGrand Richards, Conference Report, October 1944, pp. 60-65
Brethren, in your presence, and with the utmost humility and sincerity, I desire to express to my Heavenly Father my deep gratitude for membership in this great Church, and for your fellowship and the fellowship of the Saints, and the blessings that I am privileged to enjoy as a member of his Church.
We called a deacon to talk in one of our stake conferences recently, extemporaneously, and he expressed his gratitude to the Lord for his blessings, and among them he said, "I thank the Lord for the privilege of being reared in a Mormon home." I have thought of that a good many times since, and I think of all my blessings I could be most grateful for the privilege of having been reared in a Mormon home.
AN EXPRESSION OF GRATITUDE FOR BLESSINGS
Then I thank the Lord for the influence of the gospel which has assisted my wife and me in rearing our children. I realize the condition the world is in today; they need the influence of the gospel of Jesus Christ more than anything else to enable them to keep their moorings and to be faithful and true to the high standards of this Church.
In traveling from stake to stake, attending stake conferences, in almost every chapel we enter there hangs on the wall a memorial flag or banner, with stars representing each boy and girl in the armed forces. In many cases they total approximately ten percent of the ward or the stake population. I never look at a flag like that but what I realize that every star represents a boy or a girl. I think of those boys, and my own two sons, of where they go and what they do. I am most grateful to the Lord for my present assignment to labor with the youth of Zion. Of all the responsibilities that are mine, I regard this as the most precious and the most important.
THE TEMPTATIONS MET BY OUR BOYS IN THE ARMY
I think of these boys by day and by night, not only the ones who are on the firing line and are in precarious conditions and circumstances, but also those who have to meet the temptations of the world by which they are surrounded under their present conditions. I wonder if we at home have done all we should for them, that as they live we will be proud to know that they stand for us individually, for our homes, for this great Church. Are we willing that the world should judge us individually and as a people by their lives and the things they do?
Then I think of the temptations that they are subjected to. I am sure we were all impressed yesterday with what President Grant said about President Merrill seeing President Grant's brother wearing a halo, as it were, about him, it being the influence of his father. I pray that wherever our boys go our influence may go with them, and may be as a light to their path, to guide and direct and to give them power and strength to resist evil with which they are surrounded at the present time.
I desire to read a few words from a letter I received from a captain from one of our bases. "After wading through the muck and mire and vice, immorality and corruption, it takes courage of a high caliber to keep yourself immune from partaking of the same." And then he tells of attending an officer's party when he was the only one of all present, men and women, who was not under the influence of liquor. Then I wonder if my boy were there if the influence of the home and of the gospel would be such that he could stand out alone against that entire group of officers, even though they taunted him, as they did, as the captain explains in his letter.
Now, I want to read a few words from my own missionary son who recently entered the service. He says:
My companion and I are plenty disgusted with the boys here. Their language is positively evil, foul and vile. If the Lord preserves their lives, they will be mighty fortunate. Day and night filthy talk.
Things would not be bad at all if we had a company of returned missionaries.
Thank God that our boys are able to discern the difference between the ways of the world and the way they have been taught in this Church.
A returned missionary came into my office not long ago. I knew his parents well. He was serving at one of the bases here in Salt Lake, and I said: "What kind of boys are you associated with?"
"Oh," he said, "they are swell fellows. They would do anything in the world for you. But," he said, "they profane the name of God all day long, and when you tell them they are doing it, they don't believe you. They have just been used to it, it is their natural language, it is the way they talk."
He said: "Do you want me to tell you the rest of the story?" I said, "Well, yes." "Well," he said, "they don't think any more of being Immoral, going out for a woman, than they would to go and buy a beefsteak if they were hungry."
You wonder that the world could fall to such a condition as that.
I attended a stake conference in San Diego. Brother Hugh B. Brown was there, and we had some sixty-odd of our boys of the armed forces present. They sang for us: some of them talked, and after the conference one of the boys came up to me and said: "Bishop, you'll never know what a day like this means to us." He said, "The world is so wicked-you think men are wicked, but I want to tell you that they are not in it as compared with the women."
I could not understand that, because I had been reared in Zion and know of the teachings of the gospel and the high standards of our women. And this condition seems to be largely conceded by leaders in the world. When I was in Atlanta as president of the Southern States Mission, one of our most prominent ministers of Atlanta, in talking before a Bible society in Virginia, made this statement about conditions in the world. He said:
Society thinks it is cute for debutantes to be carried home Monday morning gloriously drunk. History shows that all conditions which preceded the downfall of every empire of the past face us today. It remained for the twentieth century to lift woman down from her throne, teach her to drink as we drink, smoke as we smoke, and blaspheme as we blaspheme.
THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MANKIND
Roger Babson indicates that there are four requisites to restore the world to peace, one being a return to righteousness and Christianity in action, and then he adds: "There, however, may be a great difference between righteousness and theology, between theoretical Christianity and Christianity in action."
Booth Tarkington, in giving an explanation for the condition the world is in today, said: "Lop-sided progress did it-scientific material advance achieved by nations undeveloped in spirit."
Will Durant, who was here not long ago, made this statement: "We will be poor and virtuous again."
I thought much about that, and I thought that if poverty were the only price of virtue, God grant that poverty might come, for virtue must return to the earth if we would be able to stand when He makes His appearance.
Returning from Oregon a few weeks ago from attending a conference, I sat in the men's rest room while the porter was making up the berths, and there were an army officer and one or two others present, and a doctor who was in the armed forces just returning on furlough from New Guinea and the Islands of the Pacific. Someone started the subject of Salt Lake, and then I admit to you brethren that I never listened to a man use more vile language than that doctor did when he spoke of Brigham Young and the Mormons. I shall never repeat it as long as I live, to man or woman.
Then I spoke up and said, "Doctor, I would just like to tell you that I am from Salt Lake City, and I am a member of the Mormon Church, and I have traveled all over the United States and in Europe, and in Mexico and Canada, and the islands of the sea, and if there is a people on this earth as morally clean as the Mormon people it has never been my privilege to meet them." I referred him to an article that appeared not long ago in Life magazine from the surgeon general's office of the United States, in which the statement was made that the greatest deterrent to the success of the armed forces in the United States and the war industry was venereal disease. The article indicated that eighty-five per cent of all the men in the armed forces, including married men, were living immoral during the term of their service.
He turned to the officer sitting there and said: "That doesn't begin to cover it, does it? Why, it is ninety-nine and nine-tenths percent."
Then I told him of a letter I had in my possession from the superintendent of the L.D.S. Hospital in Salt Lake, in which the superintendent indicates that they had given the Wasserman test to over 7,000 boys who passed through the missionary home here in Salt Lake, and out of those 7,000 tests, only four of them showed any trace of impure blood, and I said: "Doctor, if you can duplicate that anywhere in the world, I'd like to know where."
EXAMPLE OF A MORMON GIRL
Then he added: "Well, over in New Guinea, even the doctors and the nurses 'let their hair down.'" That was his own expression. He said: "They figure they may never come back, and they are getting all they can while they are there. But," he said, "there was one nurse from Salt Lake, a Mormon girl, who said, 'I left my home clean, and I am going to return as I left.'"
I said to myself: "God bless her." And I know that if her parents knew they would say the same thing. I cannot help but feel if there is rejoicing in heaven over one sinner that has come to repentance, surely there must be great rejoicing in heaven when a Mormon girl or boy has the courage to stand out against, the entire group and keep himself sweet and clean.
GOOD AND EVIL INFLUENCES EVER PRESENT
I thought of the words of Joseph when sold into Egypt, tempted by Potiphar's wife-you know how she laid a trap for him-and then Joseph said: "How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?". He refused all her entreaties and efforts to seduce him, even though he realized that he might incur the displeasure-which he did-of those who ruled over him, and he was cast into prison.
I saw a picture in Brussels, when I was laboring as a missionary in Europe, depicting a man as he stood with a revolver and shot off his head. As he did that thing, there stood on either side an angel, one an angel of light, the other an angel of darkness. As he pulled the trigger that severed his head from his body, the angel of darkness turned with a laugh of triumph, and the angel of light turned and wept.
Brethren, wherever your boys and girls go those influences will go with them. If there is anything you can do at home to strengthen them to meet the temptations that come before them, please do not leave undone what can be done. I say this to you fathers, and you officers in this Church. I cannot help but think of the words of Jesus when he said, "Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul, but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell".
And think of the words of the Presidency of this great Church to all the youth of the land, "Better dead clean, than alive unclean."
God help us to help them, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Samuel O. Bennion
Samuel O. Bennion, Conference Report, October 1944, pp. 65-68
At the beginning of my remarks I acknowledge the hand of the Lord in permitting me to be here today. I pray the Lord that I may be sustained.
It was forty years ago now, at this particular time of the year that I was preparing to go on my mission. I called on President Joseph F. Smith, according to appointment, and told him I was ready to go. He said to me, "Brother Bennion, you stay here and help elect Theodore Roosevelt, and then go." And I did.
I am delighted to be here and to see this great congregation. I enjoy the companionship of my brethren; I would not want to live in mortality without it.
A TESTIMONY OF THE TRUTH HELPS UNDER DIFFICULTIES
Seventy-seven years ago my progenitors came down Emigration Canyon into this valley, and they found here a desert-nothing that was inviting enough for them to want to stay. They came from the green fields of England, into this desolate place; almost all they had in the world was in a wagon box. And many others were in the same condition. But there was one thing in their hearts, one thing that brought them from the shores of England: they had a testimony of Jesus. They knew that the Redeemer lives; they knew that this is the work of God, and they believed the prophet of God when he said, "This is the place," and, "Here we will build a temple unto our God; here will be our home; this is where we are going to reside."
The Indians could scarcely live. My parents knew them, and these Indians were living on the rodents of the earth, and anything they could get. The same soil that is here now was here then, but it was barren.
But the Lord had said through His prophet, Isaiah, centuries before:
The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing:... they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God.
Isaiah knew the Lord. He was a prophet of the living God, and it was given him to look down through the stream of time. The Lord put those words into his mouth, and he delivered that scripture, and this has become now one of the greatest gardens of the earth. The Lord had planned for His people. Men could not live in this country who did not have a testimony of the promises concerning it. All who are here today and those who hear my voice can see that this great country has been made to blossom as a rose; it is lovely, as Isaiah predicted it would be.
PROPHECIES FULFILLED
Go where you may, I care not where-I have not been abroad, but I have seen all the states of the United States and Canada and Mexico, and it is all this country-and there are no more fruitful fields than in this land where the Lord led the people, this once barren and forbidding country.
Land that I positively know has been tilled for sixty years-I have seen it-has produced a produced a better crop this year than at any time in its history, because it has been fertilized and cared for. Water used in the right way, with crop rotation, and fertilization, have made it what it is.
MEMBERSHIP OF THE CHURCH BLESSED
And as it has been with the land, so it has been with the membership of this Church. There never was greater strength in the land than at the present time. It does not make any difference to me, brethren, what people think about the Mormon Church, or its doctrines, I cannot help thinking of the words of the Lord to Job the prophet: "Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?". Who is it? Who dares to question? The plan of God is here. He further said to Job:
Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.... Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the comer stone thereof... and all the sons of God shouted for joy?.
The great program of God for his children was planned from the beginning and when He came to Joseph Smith, He revealed unto him this plan of salvation. And this plan came to you and to me and will come to all men who make an investigation of it. Joseph Smith bore that testimony to the children of men. He also brought to our attention the words of Paul the apostle: "Wherefore I give you to understand that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost". Jesus said, "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God". Nay, more, "he cannot see the kingdom of God".
I have listened to hundreds of men and women who have come out of the world, so-called, into this Church, who have been baptized and who have had the witness and power of God given to them by the Holy Ghost, say that they could no more go back into their old way of thinking than they could go back to yesterday-they have been born again into a new world.
The faith of the Latter-day Saints is an established fact, and men and women of honor and integrity, by the thousands, from all parts of the world, are located in these valleys where the Lord led them. Here there is power such as the world has never seen; truly out of Zion goes forth the law.
I call the attention of all to the words of the President of this Church, that were read yesterday; they came from the Prophet of God. And to the testimony that David O. McKay bore, and to the sermon that was delivered by President Clark. They are all readable. They set forth the issues of the present day. How many of us will follow them when we go back into our homes; how many will say to the children of men among whom we labor: "The word of God came to us again." Call their attention to these commandments:
Thou shalt not lie, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor, thou shalt honor the Sabbath day and keep it holy, thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain, and thou shalt not commit adultery.
The plan of God is here to fertilize the spiritual fields of the Church. As the land has produced more since the membership of the Church began to till it, as it has grown richer under careful supervision, so will the strength of the children of men grow through the powerful influence of God, and our people will carry off victoriously the plan of God, for this is His work. It will never fail. It does not make any difference to me what men think about Mormonism, or what they think about this Church. I mingle among them; I have done so for many years-many of them are fine men, good men. There are good men in the Church and out of the Church, and when we find out what they are good for, they should be put to use. But even though they may not recognize it, there is a Power guiding this people to high destiny and even now they have become, as the Prophet Joseph said they would, a "mighty people in the midst of the Rocky Mountains."
A CLOSING TESTIMONY
I pray the Lord to bless us. I am thankful for the privilege I have of being here. I know this is the work of God and that he lives, that he came to Joseph Smith and that Joseph Smith brought to the world again the plan by which all men may know their Redeemer and give praise to him.
I do not believe this is the end of "Sweet hour of prayer," I believe it is just a beginning. The hour of prayer will go on into time beyond our power of conception and will be a part of the great story of the Latter-day Saints. Last December I heard in one of our stake conferences a lovely chorus of about a hundred and fifteen or twenty young women. Their music was most inspiring. I said to myself then and I say it now, I expect to hear the voices of millions of such beautiful singers and participate in countless hours of prayer.
The Lord bless you. Amen.
Elder Harold B. Lee
Harold B. Lee, Conference Report, October 1944, pp. 72-76
Prompted by my reflections over the past months of experiences I have had, and inspired by that very comprehensive message read to us from President Grant, and from the impressions of this meeting, I have some things I should like to say that to me should be vital to all Latter-day Saints, and indeed to all seekers after truth.
DREAMS AND DELUSIONS
There came to my office some time ago a faithful Latter-day Saint who related an experience in which she was placed in a very embarrassing situation. She had been deceived and led astray by those who professed to have had spiritual manifestations, and because she had followed what she thought was the light, she had found herself in rather serious economic difficulties. As she finished the story of her experience, she asked me this question: "How can one be certain that a thing is true or false, or that his decision is approved of the Lord?"
I have thought a lot about that question, because I find it being asked by those who have been led into conditions of confusion, by those who have professed to have received by dreams and revelations certain information as to mining properties that were supposedly for religious and spiritual purposes. I have known of those who have likewise been led into organizations that were unholy because of their listening to teachings of some who profess to set up organizations they call the "United Order." It is the same question that many of our fine young women are asking when there are those who encourage them to live in illicit relationships under guise of authorized marriage contracts, by some who profess to be the authorized servants of the Lord.
From students who are struggling in their higher education we have the same inquiry: "How may we know the difference between truth and that which we study so often in our textbooks?"
There are those in the military service, under the pressure of the expediencies of war, who are imbibing many distorted views that they have difficulty in squaring with the truth. In these days hardly do we listen to the radio to one who gives a political speech but what we hear the shouts of "Untruth!" and opposing speakers being called untruthful.
In a recent visit to a conference I learned that a man had attained quite a following by relating what he termed a vision, in which the Savior was supposed to have appeared to him, and he thought he was making a great contribution to the personality of the Savior by telling the people that He had red hair, in contradiction to the revelations of the Lord.
So in all these experiences the question is asked: "How may we know the difference between truth and error, and how may we be able to detect the same?"
THE WORD OF THE LORD
As I studied the matter and gave some thought to it, I found the Lord had revealed something very precious to us. He said:
Behold, verily I say unto you, that there are many spirits which are false spirits, which have gone forth in the earth, deceiving the world....
Behold, verily I say unto you, there are hypocrites among you, who have deceived some, which has given the adversary power; but behold such shall be reclaimed;
But the hypocrites shall be detected and shall be cut off, either in life or in death, even as I will; and wo unto them who are cut off from my church, for the same are overcome of the world.
The Lord has told us further that we should seek the best gifts, that we be not led astray. Apparently the Lord had in mind the very conditions under which we now live, for in the words of prophecy that he gave to his disciples when they asked him how they should know when his second coming was nigh, he said this:
For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
Now mark you these words-"who are the elect according to the covenant".
SATAN'S AIM IS TO DECEIVE
Some of those were to be led astray who were to be members of his Church so I am not surprised in this day when with the power of these evil spirits they are finding a following from those who profess membership in the Church. The extremes to which the master of darkness would go to lead astray those who were to be deceived is indicated by the experiences of many of our prophets. I cite the experience of Alma's contention with the anti-Christ, Korihor, who, you remember, was stricken dumb when he asked for a sign, and while he was thus impressed that the power of the Lord was upon him in judgment because of his wickedness, wrote his testimony that Satan had appeared to him as an angel of light and had told him that there was no such a thing as God.
So he may come today with guileful ways, with deceiving and lying spirits, to entrap us.
But the Lord has not left his people alone, and those who would may be well guided in the midst of these trying conditions. The prophets of every dispensation, and indeed our own leader in this conference, has told his people how they might avoid these pitfalls. The Apostle Paul said:
... Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.... Neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
LIGHT GIVEN THROUGH THE HOLY GHOST
The writer of the Gospel of John, told of a light, in describing the powers controlled and operated by the Savior, the true light that was to light every man that cometh into the world. In modern revelation the Lord told us more about this when he spoke of the light which was to shine, which was to enlighten our understanding, and was to give light and intelligence to all mankind; it was to be in the light of the sun, the moon and the stars; indeed, we might say this light was to constitute the reason in man and the instinct in animal life.
But to baptized believers there was a greater light given, and that was the power of the Holy Ghost which has been spoken of here. That power which Jesus described was to give us power to understand all things, to bring to our recollection that which he had taught, to reprove the world of sin and of righteousness and judgment, and to guide us into all truth. Moroni told us that if we ask with a sincere heart, with real intent and with faith in Christ, that by the power of the Holy Ghost we might know the truth of all things.
These powers are given to us on condition. And the conditions as to the ways by which man might be darkened and be unable to see and perceive by these great God-given powers were well set forth yesterday by Brother Kimball in his very excellent address. We are to understand further that the wicked one would come and that he should take away light and truth from the children of men through disobedience.
I listened to a doctor friend explain a very interesting matter to me, when he said that all germ cells within each individual were directly or indirectly connected with some nerve system. By that connection there was made possible an intelligence in the individual necessary to maintain the vital life processes. So, likewise, it seems to me, that in the Church we as individuals must maintain our connection with the source of divine intelligence if we, too, are to maintain and direct the growth of our spiritual lives properly. Failure to maintain this intelligent connection in the germ cell or the individual brings decay, stagnation, and death, in the case of the individual, or spiritual death in the case of a member of this Church.
There are spiritual phenomena that have sometimes disturbed us and that have seemed to be induced by this master of darkness. The Lord has given us certain definite ways by which we may perceive and detect the same. In one revelation he told us, "And that which doth not edify is not of God, and is darkness. That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day".
Again he told us we might understand that those who were ordained of God and were set at the head, to them would be given the understanding to know the difference between these spirits, suggesting clearly that it was the business of the members of the Church to seek to be guided by the counsel of those who have been set at the head.
AUTHORITY VESTED IN THE HEAD OF THE CHURCH
In the revelation given to the Prophet Joseph Smith, known as the 132nd Section of the D&C;, the Lord sets this out in plainness, in which he said that there is only one man on the earth at one time who holds the keys of this authority, by which all contracts and bonds and things pertaining to the salvation of the children of men should be sealed.
In an address delivered by Elder Joseph Fielding Smith in October of 1920, he made an explanation of this matter. He said:
I hold the priesthood; you brethren here hold the priesthood; we have received the Melchizedek Priesthood-which was held by Elijah and by other prophets and by Peter, James and John. But while we have authority to baptize, while we have authority to lay on hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost and to ordain others and do all these things, without the sealing power we could do nothing, for there would be no validity to that which we did. Of course an elder can baptize, and they did baptize before Elijah came, and that was valid, and the ordinance work that was done then was valid; but the higher ordinances, the greater blessings which are essential to exaltation in the kingdom of God, and which can only be obtained in certain places, no man has a right to perform except as he receives the authority to do it from the one who holds the keys. It makes no difference how great an office you have, what position in the Church you hold, you cannot officiate unless the keys, the sealing power, is there back of it...
I have no right, there is no man upon the face of this earth who has the right to go forth and administer in any of the ordinances of this gospel unless the President of the Church, who holds the keys, sanctions it. He has given us authority, he has put the sealing power in our priesthood, because he holds those keys; and if the President of the Church should say to us, "You shall not baptize in this state or in that state, or in this nation," any man that would go forth to baptize contrary to that command would be violating a command of God and going contrary to authority and power; and that which he did would not be sealed... The man who holds the keys can bestow and he can withdraw; he can give the power, and he may take it again; and if he takes it, that ends our right to officiate. That has been done; it may be done again.
HOW TO DETECT TRUTH FROM ERROR
I wish that we understood that. I wish that we might understand these principles by which we might obtain this light, as an answer to those who ask us the question, "How may we detect truth from error?"
To all those then who would seek an answer to their question may we reply by asking them these questions:
Are you living righteously in order that you may enjoy the influence of the Holy Spirit, and the revelations of the Holy Ghost? Have you studied the matter out in your mind, and then have you asked God if this thing is right? If so, you may have the right to enjoy the spirit to know that it is right. Does that which you have had presented to you enlighten you? Does it edify your soul? Is it in harmony with the teachings of the Gospel? Is it approved and accepted by those who preside as the leaders of the Church?
If your answers to these questions are in the affirmative, then you are entitled to the great promise that the Lord made in a revelation to this people, in which he said: "And if your eye be single to my glory, your whole body shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you, and that body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things".
May the leaders of this people who sit in this congregation so live and so teach that those who are wavering in their faith, who are being led astray by these false and lying spirits, may be so taught to live and to walk that they might enjoy this fulness of light that will preserve them from the errors that otherwise would bring their downfall, I pray humbly, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, October 1944, pp. 77-83
I pray I may have your sympathy and faith and prayers while I stand before you to discharge this duty.
Many appropriate references have been made during this conference to the desirability of peace. I am wondering if and when peace does come, whether the nations will be sufficiently wise to avert a third world war.
JESUS' GRIEF OVER JERUSALEM
And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it. Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.
According to tradition, when these words were spoken, Jesus stood on the Mount of Olives, opposite a point in the walls surrounding Jerusalem a few yards south of the Gate Beautiful. From this spot one may behold a beautiful view of that historic city.
It is wonderfully picturesque, with its quaint, flat-roofed houses, church towers, and mosque domes covering the four hills on which Jerusalem is built. The view is impressive even now; it must have been inspiring when Jesus beheld it in all its Herodian splendor.
But it was the inhabitants of the city, not the beautiful buildings or the commanding view that the Savior saw through tear bedimmed eyes when he cried: "If thou hadst known... the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes". He saw the people divided into conflicting and contending sects, each professing more holiness and righteousness than the other and all closing their eyes to the truth. There were the conservative Hebraic Jews, holding rigidly to the Mosaic law; there were the more liberal minded, Hellenistic Jews whose views had been modified by pagan philosophy: there were a few Essenes with their asceticism and rejection of the Aaronic Priesthood; there were the Sadducees with their lifeless and formal observance of the Sabbath, and their denial of the resurrection; and, finally, the Pharisees with their "ostentatious almsgiving," "broadened phylacteries," "greedy avarice," "haughty assertion of pre-eminence," "ill-concealed hypocrisy" which was often hidden under a venerable assumption of superior holiness.
No wonder the Savior, seeing such division among the people, prayed to the Father so earnestly in behalf of his own little flock to keep them "one as we are one". No wonder the Savior, discerning perfectly the deceit and hypocrisy underneath the glassed-over outside of religion, uttered such scathing denunciation when he said:
... Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.
Such were the people whom the Son of Man saw when he stood twenty centuries ago on the Mount of Olives and "beheld the city and wept over it".
HISTORY BEING REPEATED
So we may picture him today weeping over a world weltering in an orgy of blood because a few gangsters fired by selfishness, revenge and desire for conquest have gone mad. Impelled by greedy avarice, and arrogating to themselves racial superiority, they strode forth to subdue, to conquer, and to kill. There was nothing left for law-abiding, peace-loving people to do but to try to prevent their depredations and murder. The result is the thunder-roar of a million cannons, the devastation of cities and farms, the wailing and suffering of women and children, the groans of the wounded and of the dying, and the death of the chosen youth of our land.
Approximately only a quarter of a century ago, the world listened to the clanging of arms of nations fighting in a worldwide war that was supposed to end war forever. Up to that time it was the bloodiest war in history.
Again, misguided leaders of nations, worshiping the god of materialism, have brought on World War II, and unless the nations avoid the evil things which caused this war, there will be a World War III even more destructive, more terrible than the present murderous conflict. Like causes produce like effects.
Now, while the trying exigencies of war are wringing our hearts, it would seem the part of wisdom for men to examine some of the basic causes that produce armed conflict with the view of avoiding them in the future.
DEVELOPMENT OF BRUTAL INSTINCTS
The seeds of war lie in man's nature. These seeds germinate at the first natural urge for self-preservation, self-perpetuation or a desire for conquest.
The fruit of such seeds is hatred and brutality.
Knowing this, the world's chief gangster trained his youth to be brutal. In anticipation, indeed, in glorification of armed conflict, this man declared that he would train youth to be brutal. "In my great educative work," said he, "I am beginning with the young.... Weakness has to be knocked out of them.... A violently active, dominating, intrepid, brutal youth-that is what I am after. There must be no weakness or tenderness in it. I want to see once more in its eyes the gleam of pride and independence of the beast of prey."
It is significant that one hundred years before this egotistic leader began to poison the minds of youth, a German philosopher-Heinrich Heine-warned the German people that:
Evils will follow the rise of "Germanic pantheism," because then there will awake in him that fighting folly that we find among the ancient Germans, that fights neither to kill nor to conquer, but simply to fight. Christianity has-and that is its fairest merit-somewhat mitigated that brutal German lust for battle. But it could not destroy it; and once the taming talisman, the cross, is broken, the savagery of the old battlers will flare up again, the insane rage of which Nordic bards have so much to say and sing. That talisman is brittle. The day will come when it will pitiably collapse. Then the old stone gods will rise from forgotten rubble and rub the dust of a thousand years from their eyes; and Thor will leap up and with his giant hammer start smashing Gothic cathedrals,.. and when you hear a crash as nothing ever crashed in world history, you'll know that the German thunder has hit the mark. At that sound the eagles will fall dead from the sky, and the lions in the farthest desert of Africa will put in their tails and slink away into their royal caves.
A play will be performed that will make the French Revolution seem like a harmless idyll in comparison....
Beware! I wish you well; that is why I tell you the bitter truth. You have more to fear from a liberated Germany than from the whole Holy Alliance with all its Croats and Cossacks.
THE COLLAPSE OF HUMANITARIAN PRINCIPLES
The substitution of ancient gods for Christianity was followed by the collapse of humanitarian principles, and, as Will Erwin said in "An Appeal to Common Sense," men were back to the ethics of the barbarian hordes. Barbarians of the twentieth century before Christ killed in any manner which their imagination suggested. And so now do civilized men of the twentieth century after Christ. The barbarians of the twentieth century before Christ killed the women and children of the enemy as tribal self-interest seemed to dictate, and so now do so-called civilized men of the twentieth century after Christ. The barbarians of the twentieth century before Christ made slaves of the conquered people, or forced them to pay tribute; so virtually do civilized men of the twentieth century after Christ.
"A brutal youth," having in their eyes "the gleam of the beast of prey" hark back to the law of the jungle, as far as from the teaching of Christ as hades from Heaven! It is the doctrine of avarice, selfishness, and hate.
There are some things which man should hate-he should hate injustice, hate hypocrisy; hate wickedness in all its forms, but never hate mankind.
We hope and pray that this second World War will soon come to an end, and that war-weary, heavy-hearted peoples may again have peace. What then? After all the suffering, after all the destruction of human life, shall we be so blind as to have it start all over again? If the germ of hate is permitted to develop, if strong nations strive to dominate the weak as Mussolini did Ethiopia, as Japan did Manchuria; if the few ruling nations, mighty in the implements of warfare, seek to dominate weaker nations and to tell them how to live and what to do; if they seek success only in materialism and shut their eyes to the value of human souls; if they reject the teachings of Christ and pursue their selfish interests, history will repeat itself, the world will be plunged into another war, and again the Lord in pity and sorrow will weep over the folly and blindness of the human race.
Peace will come and be maintained only through the triumph of the principles of peace, and by the consequent subjugation of the enemies of peace, which are hatred, envy, ill-gotten gain, the exercise of unrighteous dominion of men. Yielding to these evils brings misery to the individual, unhappiness to the home, war among nations, with resultant misery and death.
Two thousand years ago Jesus wept over Jerusalem, the inhabitants of which were blind to the things which pertained to their peace. Today contention, strife and hatred are manifest between capital and labor unions, and bitterness among advocates of Nazism, Fascism, Communism, and Capitalism. No matter how excellent any of these may seem in the minds of their advocates, none will ameliorate the ills of mankind unless its operation in government be impregnated with the basic principles promulgated by the Savior of men. On the contrary, even a defective economic system will produce good results if the men who direct it will be guided by the spirit of Christ.
Actuated by that spirit, leaders will think more of men than of the success of a system. Kindness, mercy, and justice will be substituted for hatred, suspicion, and greed. There is no road to universal peace, which does not lead to the heart of humanity.
TO AVOID ANOTHER WAR, THEN, PEOPLE MUST CHANGE THEIR WAY OF THINKING
Men say that so long as human nature is as near to the animal nature as it is, that selfishness, suspicion, greed, chicanery, will continue to pervade and govern human society. If that be true then man must rise above the animal instincts, and strive for the higher and more abundant life. If this requires a change of human nature, then human nature must be changed. On this point, Beverley Nichols writes impressively:
You can change human nature. No man who has felt in him the spirit of Christ, even for half a minute, can deny this truth, the one great truth in a world of little lies. You do change human nature, your own human nature, if you surrender it to him. To deny this is only to proclaim yourself as an uneducated fool....
Human nature can be changed, here and now.
Human nature has been changed, in the past.
Human nature must be changed, on an enormous scale, in the future, unless the world is to be drowned in its own blood.
And only Christ can change it....
Twelve men did quite a lot to change the world, nineteen hundred years ago. Twelve simple men, with only the wind to bear them over the seas, with only a few pence in their pockets, and a shining faith in their hearts. They fell far short of their ideal, their words were twisted and mocked, and false temples were built over their bones, in praise of a Christ they would have rejected. And yet, by the light of their inspiration many of the world's loveliest things were created, and many of the world's finest minds inspired.
If twelve men did that, nineteen hundred years ago, what might not twelve men do today? For God has now given us the power of whispering across space, of transmitting our thoughts from one end of the earth to another. What shall we whisper-what shall we think? That is the question.
ELIMINATE ARROGANCE OF SUPERIORITY
With the spirit of Christ in their hearts no nation will arrogate to itself superiority over others, but give to each nation, however small, however seemingly backward, the right of self-determination.
SEEK MATERIAL ADVANCEMENT AS A MEANS TO SPIRITUAL ATTAINMENT
With the spirit of the gospel in men's hearts, nations will accept the truth that integrity is more to be desired than intellectual acumen or the accumulation of wealth. Men will then look upon material advancement not as an end in itself, but as a means to spiritual attainment. They will recognize the significance of "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you". Statesmen, churchmen, school teachers, civic officers, newspapers-all who in any way mold public opinion must grapple intelligently with spiritual apathy and moral decay.
Some day men must realize that only true religion can satisfy the yearning soul.
TWO GREAT FORCES POINT THE WAY TO PEACE
I see two great forces leading the way from the abyss of another World War into the realm of peace and progress-America and the gospel of Jesus Christ.
America has the great opportunity to lead the world from political intrigue and cheap demagoguery, from national selfishness, from unrighteous usurpation of power, and from unholy aggrandizement. She must prove to the peoples of Europe and of all the world that she has no selfish ends to serve, no desire for conquest, no arrogance of national or race superiority. When these ideals are established America can blaze the trail and lead the world to peace.
This is a land where hate should die- This is a land where strife should cease, Where foul, suspicious fear should fly Before our flag of light and peace.
But I repeat, permanent peace will be found only in the application of the principles of the gospel of peace. Christ came to earth to bring peace and good will. When he said: "I came not to send peace, but a sword", he perceived how the acceptance of eternal principles might render asunder the dearest ties, and how a man's foes may become those of his own household. Asserting the principles of the gospel over everything else, he added: "He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me". Thus he but emphasized the great truth that acceptance of the principles of the gospel is the supreme purpose of life.
Again the Lord has revealed himself to man, and in that revelation may be found the answer to the perplexities and yearnings of the human soul.
Again in this age Christ has said:
... I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
I feel that we can join with the poet in saying:
O Christ, who died to give men life, Bring that victorious hour, When man shall use for peace, not strife, His valor, skill, and power.
God grant that the nations of the earth will soon open their eyes, and behold the light of the world, and thereby accept in this day the things which belong unto their peace, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Levi Edgar Young
Levi Edgar Young, Conference Report, October 1944, pp. 83-85
Sitting in this large audience are a number of men in the service of their country. They wear the uniform of United States soldiers. It is always a fine thing to have them in our midst. On the banks of the Potomac River in Washington at Arlington Cemetery, is the tomb of the Unknown Soldier whose body was brought from France at the close of the First World War. Carved on the tomb is a message of beauty. It reads: "Here lies in honored glory an American soldier known but to God"-a message that all Americans may do well to keep in mind.
I wish to have the help of my Father in heaven while I speak to you this afternoon.
PRESENT-DAY CONDITIONS
The Puritan preacher, John Eliot, known as the apostle to the Indians, wrote as a preface to his Bible after having translated it into the Narragansett language: "Work, with faith in Jesus Christ, can accomplish all things." It was a motto peculiarly fitting to his times; it is peculiarly fitting in our own day. It meant as Frederick Harrison has aptly written that to toil in producing things needful for human life is to offer up ourselves to the law of creation which ordained that life on this earth could only be sustained by the sweat of man's brow. The terrible times through which we are passing are destined to leave war within every nation as well as our own. It may prove harder to win peace than to win war. There will be a dearth of food, of clothing, and saddest of all, a lack of Christian fellowship. Are the religious forces influential enough to set an example of self-denial, of self-restraint, of discipline and a renewed faith in the teachings of the Savior of the world, who taught that peace can only come as people love the Lord their God, and their neighbors as themselves?
We have too often failed to give ourselves to the word of the Lord. We have run after wealth, praise, and honor, and thought that Christ may be found by seeking eminence and power. This is not so. Many of us will have to learn that it is not the outward and physical, but by the inward and physical that men become true men. Did not the Master say: "Whosoever will save his life shall lose it". He taught that the majesty and sanctity of living is for the invisible: that is to say for honor, truth, fidelity, and the kingdom of righteousness.
There were honored names that took part in the great religious changes that came into the world in the sixteenth century. The daring and forceful methods of John Calvin, Martin Luther, Melanchthon, Zwingli, and John Knox, and many others left their results upon the world. We do not doubt their integrity to what they considered the fundamental doctrines of Jesus Christ, but sin and disaster have been growing to the present day. There are in this country two hundred and fifty different religious creeds with a total membership of some eighty million souls. The burning question of the hour is: Where is the simple and pure religion of Jesus Christ as taught by the Master two thousand years ago? The Bible has suffered at the hands of those whom it sought to help. Men have failed to read its teachings through to the end with an intelligent thoroughness. They have made selections according to their human knowledge "and have missed its spirit and the trend of its instruction, and the glorious uplift of its truths."
CHRISTIAN BELIEF OF THE FUTURE
What will be the characteristics of a religion of Jesus Christ as humanity returns to the old way-the way of Christ our Savior? The followers will hold to the power of the priesthood of God, to authority, and liberty, to the doctrine of individual salvation, the spirit of truth that binds people into a Christian society. The unity of the Church of the living God will be envisaged by a society, for which Christendom waits. It will be the religion of Jesus Christ, and not a religion about Jesus Christ. Thus we come to the supreme test of religion-revelation. This was the fundamental teaching of the prophets of the Old Testament. Isaiah in richness of spiritual expression wrote ages ago:
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening up of the prison to them that are bound. To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.
Our Savior came to save. He sought out the lost souls who had wandered far away. Sin was in the world then as it is today. He came to redeem the lost by the principle of repentance and holy baptism by one who has the power of God. If the Christian world has forgotten this, then it has lost its divine power. "All great truths," it has been said, "are simple truths." If the followers of Jesus will begin to teach the ways of the gospel of Christ in that humility which comes of the genuinely pure heart and the high regard for the intellect, then the divinity of the gospel will take new root in the souls of men. It will be Christianity again.
A MESSAGE GIVEN THROUGH THE RESTORATION OF THE GOSPEL
A new message of the Redeemer is in the world today. It says in part:
We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in his Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.
We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam's transgression.
We believe that through the atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.
We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.
We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands, by those who are in authority to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.
We believe in the same organization that existed in the primitive Church, viz., apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, etc.
* * *
We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul-We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.
This message is purifying and refining. It will correct the abuses of human society; the abuses that obstruct the pathway of God's work. It is revelatory, "fulfilling the largest meaning and possibility of revelation." And furthermore, we have a truth: "Whatsoever principles of knowledge we attain unto in this life will rise with us in the resurrection". This provides a scope of unlimited progress, and makes due place for all the human instincts that constitute the spiritual nature of man. It limits man to his highest possibilities. This new message meets the supreme test of religion-revelation. For in him is the supreme Sonship: "The glory of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth". What we have this day has redeemed you and me far more than we have realized. Our world must go forth with the teaching that God does live, and we freely give that which we have freely received. We will become a power through our idealism and faith. All of this, the Prophet Joseph Smith meant when he declared in words as revealed from God:
Ye must grow in grace and in the knowledge of the truth.
May we all abide more and more each day by the laws and commandments of God. I ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder George F. Richards
George F. Richards, Conference Report, October 1944, pp. 86-90
My brethren and sisters and friends, I use this salutation advisedly, for I realize that I am not only addressing a large congregation of men holding the priesthood, and officers of leadership in the Church, but another group, possibly larger than this, that is on the outside listening in, made up of faithful men and women of the Church, and possibly some who are not members of the Church. I salute them, and you, my brethren, as my friends.
TRUE FRIENDLINESS
I have a friendly feeling toward all those who hear my voice, and toward all mankind. I hope that feeling is reciprocated. I would like to do something for my friends, but what can I do? I remember the Apostle Peter on one occasion when there was an afflicted person pleading for aid, said, "Money I have not, but such as I have, I give freely unto you. Be ye healed". And he was healed.
Money I have not to give to my friends who are so numerous, but as a witness for the Lord Jesus Christ I would point the way to those who have not understood the way of life and salvation-the way into that narrow path that leads to that goal. And to those who have entered the path I would counsel them to neither deviate to the right nor to the left, but to pursue a straightforward course, that when they reach the end of the trail they will not be disappointed with their life's work.
Quoting from Whittier's "Maud Muller":
Of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these: It might have been.
THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE GOSPEL
I desire to add my testimony to the testimonies of my brethren of this conference, for I have a testimony abiding in my soul, and I know without any question that the work in which we Latter-day Saints are engaged is the work of the Lord, the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, the power of God unto salvation unto all those who accept it and live according to its precepts. It is the same as that which was instituted in the councils of heaven before the world was. It is not a new gospel, but the old one restored.
It is the same as Christ our Lord taught and lived, and by living it made him what he was in life and what he is after life, enthroned in glory at the right hand of our Father in heaven. It is intended to make us like him and to save us with him, and it will do so if we follow in his footsteps, and walk in the light as he is in the light, loving the Lord and keeping his commandments, and this I admonish all my hearers and myself, that it will be the efforts of our lives so to do.
It involves the accepting and receiving of certain principles and ordinances, the keeping of certain commandments, the obeying of the laws of God, performing acts of service to our Father in heaven, and to his children here on the earth, the making of sacrifices, the forming of family relations, ties that are to exist throughout the eternities, to live and serve the Lord by faith and not by sight, putting our trust in him, living by every word that proceedeth forth from his mouth.
There is reward ample, that of forgiveness of sin, a wonderful blessing innate in the gospel of Christ; the companionship of the Holy Ghost, the resurrection with the just, and eternal life and exaltation in the kingdom and presence of God the Eternal Father and his Son Jesus Christ.
The Savior said to his disciples:
In my Father's house are many mansions:... I go to prepare a place for you... that where I am, there ye may be also
That would be a good enough place for you or for me.
It is written: "... Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him". And it is also written that if we love the Lord we will do his work and his will and that will make for our satisfaction. There is satisfaction in having been right, and disappointment in having been wrong on any question which we may have considered; especially is that true where others have considered the same question and their views and ours differ. The more important the question under consideration, the greater the satisfaction if right, and the greater the disappointment if wrong.
TESTIMONY OF THE TRUTH COMES THROUGH REVELATION
The most important question that has ever engaged the attention of man is that of religion, or salvation; of what it consists, and how it may be attained. There is no other question that has received the attention of so many people, and on no other question has there been such a diversity of opinion. Hence, the many religious organizations upon the earth today.
The time is to come when every knee is to bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ. Then, if not before, as sure as there is a God in heaven and life beyond the veil-and there is nothing surer-then men will know, all men will know the truth pertaining to religion and salvation.
But it is not necessary that we wait until that time, for to know the truth pertaining to salvation the Lord has given us the key to this knowledge, when he said:
... My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.
How would we know? By the revelations of God through the Holy Ghost. The same as Peter received the light and knowledge. When Christ our Savior asked his disciples: "Whom say ye that I am?" Peter answered: "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God". Jesus said unto him:
... Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona; for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
It was revealed by the power of the Holy Ghost. It is written:
... No prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old times by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
There is the secret-holy men of God, enjoying the Holy Ghost, under its influence, gave to us the scriptures, ancient and modern, and it is a commandment of the Lord that we search the scriptures, for in them they "testify of me".
The people of the world of mankind today have not that Holy Ghost that was enjoyed by those holy men of God who gave us the scriptures. If they had the Holy Ghost, in the same degree of power that was had by those holy men who gave us the scriptures, then they would understand the scriptures just as did those men who gave the scriptures to us.
THE POWER OF THE HOLY GHOST
We are not only to receive the Holy Ghost, being born again, the way the Lord has designed that it should be and has been in the days of the primitive Church, but we are to live and labor so as to have the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost, and he will not dwell in unholy tabernacles.
The scriptures tell us no man can say that Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy Ghost. And what man knoweth the things of man save by the spirit of man which is in him; even so the things of God knoweth no man but by the spirit of God.
"And the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned".
There is a difference between the natural man and those who understand the things of the Spirit of God. One has been born again and the other has not. The rich man, Nicodemus, who came to Jesus by night professing belief in him, saying that he knew he must be a teacher sent of God for no man could do the work that he did, except God be with him, received this reply:
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Nicodemus not understanding how it would be possible for a man to be born again, the Savior replied: "... Verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God". That is the explanation of being born again. We hear it on the day of Pentecost, when the assembled multitude of different nationalities in their own tongues heard from the mouths of the disciples of Christ, under the power and influence of the Holy Ghost which was manifest there in a remarkable degree, that he who had been crucified was indeed Christ, the Savior of the world, and being converted and convinced, and having faith, they cried out, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?".
Peter answered them,"... Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost". There is no other way prescribed by the Lord of heaven by which we may have the Holy Ghost, by which the scriptures have been given, by which they can be interpreted and understood.
THE NEED FOR A TEACHER
So these people who have not taken the course-and they are numbered by the thousands-I suppose hundreds of thousands who have never heard of the gospel-since they have not received the Holy Ghost in the way the Lord has appointed, they need a teacher. We have a splendid example of that where an angel of the Lord appeared to Philip, and told him to go down south to the way leading from Jerusalem, to meet a certain Ethiopian who had been up to Jerusalem to worship and was returning to his home in Gaza, Ethiopia. Philip did as he was required, and as this man came along in his chariot-for he was a wealthy man, a man of high repute, the treasurer to the queen's treasury in Ethiopia-he had the Bible open upon his knees to the 53rd chapter of Isaiah, and Philip hailed him and asked him if he understood what he was reading. "How can I," said he, "except some man shall guide me?" He invited Philip into the chariot, and he sat beside the Ethiopian and taught him the gospel. When they came to a place that had plenty of water, he said: "Here is water. Why should not I be baptized?"
Philip said: "If thou believest with all thy heart, thou mayest." He professed belief in Jesus Christ, and Philip and he went down into the water, and he was baptized by Philippians When they came up out of the water. Philip was caught away by the Spirit of God.
A teacher is needed.
I refer you, my friends, to the case of Saul of Tarsus. Jesus Christ had to take him in hand. And Saul, after he became an apostle of the Lord, declared that what he did in persecuting the Church, he did conscientiously, thinking that he was doing God service.
It takes something more, brethren and sisters and friends, than education and learning to comprehend and understand the things of the Spirit of God and the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
A SINCERE TESTIMONY
I bear you my testimony in all sincerity. I know that this work is true. I know that God lives, a glorified and exalted personage, having a body of flesh and bones and spirit as tangible as man's, all-powerful in heaven and in earth; the earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof. He is the Eternal Father of all men. Jesus Christ is the First-born in the spirit and the Only Begotten of the Father in the flesh; he is the only name under heaven by which mankind may be saved. No man can be saved in the kingdom of God without believing on the name of Jesus Christ and in the efficacy of his atonement.
By the same token I know t hat Joseph Smith is a mighty prophet of God. raised up in these last days, and through him the Father and the Son have revealed themselves anew to the world of men, and Joseph Smith was succeeded by Brigham Young, and each of the presidents of this great Church of Christ, in his day and time, has been inspired and led by the Lord, supported by faithful men, the general authorities of the Church, and faithful Latter-day Saints, and this work has grown and prospered and will continue to do so until the Son of Man shall come to take his kingdom and reign upon the earth as King of kings and Lord of lords.
I bear to you, my brethren and sisters and friends, this testimony in the authority of the holy priesthood as a witness for the Lord Jesus Christ, in his name. Amen.
Elder Richard L. Evans
Richard L. Evans, Conference Report, October 1944, pp. 90-93
I need your sustaining help, my brethren, and that of my Father in heaven, whenever I stand before you.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF JOSEPH SMITH
Since we met here at general conference six months ago, we have observed the anniversary of an event of great importance to this Church and people-the one hundredth anniversary of the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith. During the last few months I have been reading, and am still reading, all that I can find pertaining to Joseph Smith, both that which he himself has spoken or written and that which has been spoken or written concerning him.
I find that by all the standards by which any of the prophets of all times may be judged or accredited, Joseph Smith stands with the greatest of them, and conforms in all things to the accepted definitions of a prophet. So profound were his utterances, so comprehensive the pattern of truth revealed through him, that whenever I think of him, unless I bring myself up short, I am inclined to think of him as among those men who lived long in years-among the sages and the seers who attained old age.
Considering the accomplishments of his life, I find it almost incredible, and must remind myself of it frequently, that he gave his life for the cause of truth at almost the exact age at which I stand before you here today, to the very year, and almost to the very month. The shortness of his years does not comport with the breadth and depth of his teachings.
Notwithstanding his youth, he invaded virtually every field of thought and human activity, in the physical sciences, in economics, in sociology; and in religion and things of the spirit; he uttered things which were beyond the common knowledge and practice of his day, and which in many instances, are still beyond the common knowledge of our day.
EVIDENCE OF REVELATION IN THE TEACHINGS OF THE PROPHET
If we had no other standard by which to convince ourselves that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, standing among the greatest of all time we need but compare his teachings with the current teachings of his time, and to compare his teachings with the current teachings of our time, by which comparison we will inevitably reach the conclusion that the thought and belief and knowledge of the world have moved steadily toward the utterances of Joseph Smith.
These things he could not have known for himself. There is only one way in which he could have known them, and that is by revelation from God, our Father in heaven, which is how he did know them. The world has always been slow to forgive, and to accept, those to whom it has been given to see beyond their time, and Joseph Smith is no exception to that rule; but whether or not they accept him in name, they are moving, and have moved, toward his teachings, of which there is ample evidence.
Through him there was revealed a plan of life, in truth so obvious that all who desire to see and understand may do so-obvious in all things that pertain to our essential welfare, here and hereafter. But beyond the simple and essential things, we find ourselves at times delving for the mysteries, which is not in itself a thing to be condemned, until it results in the inordinate consumption of time, and leads to heated argument and the obsession of speculation upon things which no man does know or can know.
A WARNING REGARDING SEEKING AFTER MYSTERIES
On this subject I give you one of the utterances of Joseph Smith, and a statement following it, by the Quorum of the Twelve, who were associated with him in his day. First let me quote from the Prophet:
A fanciful and flowery and heated imagination beware of; because the things of God are of deep import; and time, and experience, and careful and... solemn thoughts can only find them out... None but fools will trifle with the souls of men.
How vain and trifling have been our spirits... our private as well as public conversations.
From another statement, written in 1839, from an Epistle of the Twelve to the Church, I take excerpt, on this same line of thought:
Study the word of God, and preach it and not your own opinions....
Leave the further mysteries of the kingdom till God shall tell you to preach them, which is not now. The horns of the beast, the toes of the image,... are not going to save this generation; for if a man does not become acquainted with the first principles of the Gospel, how shall he understand those greater mysteries, which the most wise cannot understand without revelation?.
A word of restraining counsel to our quorums, and to us as individuals, whenever we are tempted to become heated in speculation about things which we do not and cannot know, except by revelation: "Study the word of God, and preach it, and not your opinions."
I have known of intimate friends becoming heated in argument and estranged in their feelings-seriously so-in speculation about things which no man does know or can know, know, until the Lord sees fit to give us further light on some subjects of controversy and concerning which we lack completeness of knowledge.
I think sometimes we are seeking mysteries also in fields other than in religion, when the plain and obvious truth is before us, and the answers are there to be had without probing beyond them. I think that we have looked for economic mysteries at times, hoping that there will be found some other answers than the plain and simple answers, which involve work and thrift and living within our means. We may have been guilty of looking for a good many other mysteries in other fields also-but we have, in fact, as a people, and the world has, in those things which have been given to them and to us, all of the fundamentals of truth which are essential to man's temporal and spiritual salvation. There are no new answers, my brethren, fundamentally speaking, and those who are chasing after them and overlooking truth in the process, are doing themselves and all men great injustice and hurt.
WISE COUNSEL
I close with another guide to conduct, from the same Epistle of the Twelve, quoted above, of 1839, written by the associates of and under the immediate influence of, the Prophet Joseph Smith:
... Be honest; be men of truth and integrity; let your word be your bond; be diligent, be prayerful; pray for and with your families; train up your children in the fear of the Lord; cultivate a meek, a quiet spirit; clothe the naked, feed the hungry, help the destitute, be merciful to the widow and orphan, be merciful to your brethren, and to all men; bear with one another's infirmities, considering your own weakness; bring no railing accusations against your brethren, especially take care that you do not against the authorities or Elders of the Church, for that principle is of the devil; he is called the accuser of the brethren; and Michael, the archangel, dared not bring a railing accusation against the devil, but said. "The Lord rebuke thee, Satan"; and any man who pursues this course of accusation and murmuring will fall into the snare of the devil, and apostatize, except he repent .
I am reminded, in closing, of an excerpt from one of the letters I have read in the flies of President Grant from his correspondence of some forty or fifty years ago, when he was away at one time, and one of his brethren wrote to him, complaining that he did not know what his mission in life was, but he wished he knew what the Lord expected of him, apparently expecting or hoping for some special manifestation or call. President Grant wrote him in his characteristic frankness and directness, and said:
My dear brother:... All that the Lord expects of you or of me, or of any other man is for us to do our full duty and keep the commandments of God.
I leave this thought with you, with the testimony of my conviction of the Prophet Joseph Smith and his divine mission, and the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ, of the truthfulness of this work, and in its inspired leadership of this day. I do it in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder George Albert Smith
George Albert Smith, Conference Report, October 1944, pp. 93-99
I think nobody could stand here and look over an audience like this and fail to be impressed with the importance of this occasion. Men who come here from all over the United States to be here in general conference for three days, paying the expense incurred, and sitting in meetings day after day to be instructed by other men, are certainly in earnest. Yet, this has been the custom of this Church from the beginning. The purpose of our being together is that we may think seriously, and wait upon the Lord. We are living eternal life, and here in mortality is the opportunity that God has given to us to prepare for happiness. I sometimes have said to my friends when they seemed to be at the crossroads, uncertain as to which way they wanted to go, "Today is the beginning of eternal happiness or eternal disappointment for you." We have our free agency; the Lord will not take it away from us.
EXPERIENCES OF JOSEPH SMITH
About a hundred and twenty-five years ago a boy fourteen years of age, named Joseph Smith, lived with his parents near Manchester, New York. He was taught to study the Bible. In the community in which he dwelt when he was fourteen years of age they were holding religious revivals. The various denominations were inviting those who came to the meetings to join one of their groups. This boy was a little uncertain about which group he should join. He wanted to belong to the one that would please his Heavenly Father.
He had read in the Bible: "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God who giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him", and with that in his mind, he decided to put it to the test. The Lord would tell him which church he should be identified with.
He went out into the woods near his home and knelt down to pray. His own statement is that he saw the Father and the Son, and in answer to his question as to which church he should join, they informed him that not any of them was pleasing to the Lord, and that if he would be faithful there would be given to him a great opportunity to bring new light into the world. That was the beginning of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Prior to that the people did not believe that God could be seen; they did not believe that we would have any additional information. They said the Bible contained all that the Lord had spoken and would speak. But when this young man, not yet fifteen years of age, listened to the voice of his Heavenly Father, he knew that the heavens were not sealed and that the Lord could speak again; and soon he began his ministry. During the period from that time until now, the representatives of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have traversed many parts of the world, and have gone with kindness and love in their hearts and invitations to their fellows to accept the message of truth, not to give up any good thing they had possessed, but to add to the good things that they did have, and put themselves in condition to know the purpose of life.
The result has been that the membership of this Church has continued to increase. Driven from their homes repeatedly, under the guidance of a prophet of God, they finally settled in the tops of these everlasting hills, and from that time until now, this land, then desolate and forbidding, has continued to produce, until today it is as the garden of the Lord.
THE IMPORTANCE OF PRAYER
When the pioneers came into this valley, on the 24th of July, 1847, this was a wilderness. Today comfortable homes, houses of religious worship, business places, all these things have come, built from the grassroots, if you will, by a people who came with only what they could bring in their wagons, and from that time until now they have believed in God and have worshipped him in spirit and in truth. They have sent more than 60,000 of their own members into the world to divide with our Father's other children the gospel of Jesus Christ, our Lord.
The result has been that we have continued to be happy; we pass through the experiences of mortality like other people, but we have had an anchor that has made our lives delightful, and when we were in doubt, like the Prophet Joseph Smith when he was a boy, we have this comfort: If we will go to the Lord in prayer, he will give us comfort.
Reference has been made in this conference to the importance of seeking the Lord in prayer. And we should know that our prayers will not avail us much unless we repent of our sins. Faith, repentance, baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, are the fundamental teachings of our Heavenly Father to us, and have been the groundwork of the Church since it was organized.
MISSIONARIES IN THE ARMED FORCES
Reference has been made to the fact that we are engaged in a terrible war. We are involved in it, far though we are from the scenes of conflict. But there are two wars going on, one a war for the destruction of human life and property, the other for the destruction of eternal happiness. The latter one is the most serious because it is eternal.
Today we have comparatively few regularly called missionaries in the world, but we have about 80,000 members of the Church in the armed services of our nation. If they have been properly taught in their homes, and have availed themselves of that teaching and conformed their lives to the inspiration that should come therefrom, all of them are missionaries. Thus, there are today in the world, by example, if not by precept, 80,000 missionaries laboring for the cause of the Master, demonstrating by their conduct that they know that God lives and that Jesus is the Christ.
Many of them may not return; quite a number of them have already given their lives in order that liberty of conscience and religion may remain in the world, but they have faced their problems believing they were doing their duty to God as well as their country. They have this assurance if they have kept the commandments of God, that they are living eternal life, that they will be resurrected from the dead, and that they will again have the companionship of those they love when this earth shall have been cleansed of all impurity and become the celestial kingdom.
Today you men are here with that serious thought in your minds, and as you read the papers-and it is very distressing to read the papers-and as you examine the public magazines that come to your table, you see that not only is the world at war, but it is drinking in the filth and degradation of humanity through the printed word, and through the information that is scattered broadcast. I was thinking today, if the magazines that I find upon the tables of my brethren and sisters, the popular magazines of the day, had been brought into my mother's home when I was a child, I would have been denied the privilege of looking at the pictures and reading the stories. There is so much in them that is debasing and destructive of the morals of humanity. But we go serenely along and our children are exposed to those things. If we are properly taught, it is a joy to have in our homes the purity of virtue, the sweetness of righteousness.
A CONVERSATION WITH A CATHOLIC BISHOP
A number of years ago I was riding on a train with one of our prominent Catholic bishops-a very fine character-and as we visited and compared notes, he made some expressions with reference to the faith of the Latter-day Saints and their high standard of morality, and intimated he would like to know why it was that we were able to maintain such a desirable condition.
I confided in him and said: "From my mother's knee I have been taught that this body of mine should be kept sacred, as the tabernacle of an immortal spirit. I was taught when I was a child that to be clean in my living was most important. In fact," I said, "upon one occasion my father called me to him when I was just a young man, and he said, 'My son, I have something I want to say to you.'" And I said to the bishop: "I loved my father; I almost worshipped him, and anything that he said to me sank deep into my soul. He said, 'My son, there are reports of evil in the community; bad men and bad women are coming in from different parts of the country, one or two at a time. I hope that you will avoid them, but if by any chance any wicked man were to enter into our home and attempt to take the virtue of your mother or your sister I want you to know from your father that I would expect you to defend that virtue with your life. Then,' he said, 'that is not all. I lay the same obligation upon you with reference to every other man's wife and daughter.'"
As the bishop looked at me, I said: "That sank into my soul, and has been as armor to me as I have traveled through the world, and it has been a joy to me to hold up to our Father's other children that standard of virtue: not only shall we not have our own despoiled, but we should see to it that no other man's family should be despoiled."
He looked at me and said: "I thank you for that suggestion. I have never heard anything just like that. I hope you will have no objection if I repeat it as I go among my people."
It is regrettable that in the world today in many cases men do not appreciate that this temple of the body is sacred and should be so held, that this body of ours was given to us as a tabernacle for the spirit while we are here in mortality, but that the spirit that is in this tabernacle came from God. He is the Father of it. If men realized that, how much more careful they would be to protect this tabernacle and keep it wholesome and delightful.
THE NEED FOR REPENTANCE
Think of what is presented to us in the world today. Not only has mankind strayed from the moral teachings of our Heavenly Father, for we were told here today that among the armed forces, those who are facing death, a large percentage of them are not living moral lives. I am happy to say that I believe that in that group that has gone out from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints there are thousands who will return home just as clean as they went, if they come at all, and if they do not come back to us alive, they will be prepared to stand in the presence of their Maker and give an account for the time they spent on earth, and explain to him why they are there now, because they offered their mortal lives to safeguard their fellows.
Today I am thinking of the need not only of prayer, not only of faith-the world is teaching that, too-but I am thinking of the need, the sublime need, if I may use that term, of repentance from the things of the world and the turning away from the temptations that afflict mankind.
We are in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints because we desire eternal life in the celestial kingdom. We cannot have that kind of a life unless we keep ourselves clean. It would not make any difference who the man is, whose son he is, or what family he belongs to, or what church he belongs to, if he despoils his body he must account some time to God for his base life.
So we who have had a proper teaching should instill in the lives of our families, the seriousness, not only of keeping ourselves as we should be, but if we should make a mistake, how great the need of repentance before it is too late. So let us set our houses in order. When we write to our loved ones who are in the army and navy and air service, send them a message of confidence. Say to them: "We count on you," even as the patrician mother who gave a shield to her son who was going to the army, and said: "Come home with it or upon it." So we might say to these boys, by letter if we have not already trained them, "Come home in purity, or come home not at all."
That is the gospel of Jesus Christ; that is the purpose of this conference. The reason we are here today is that we believe sincerely that we are the sons of God and that he desires that we be happy forever, and the life that is to make us happy is the life that conforms to the teachings of the gospel of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Let us see to it that wherever we go we teach by precept the gospel of repentance, and by our conduct live the gospel of repentance and faith in God; and in prayer let us go to him and plead for power to resist evil and to cleave to that which is right, that in the end we may have the companionship of those we love, throughout the ages of eternity, and that right here upon this earth, when it shall become the celestial kingdom.
That is why we are here today, brethren. That is the blessing that God has given to us in the gospel of Jesus Christ-it is that anchor that should make us secure against all evil, if we will permit it so to do.
A TESTIMONY
In conclusion let me say, knowing that I stand here as one of the older ones among you, I leave you my testimony. This is not some imaginary thing with me; I know that God lives; I know that Jesus is the Christ; I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of the living God, as I know that I stand here and speak to you; and with that knowledge in my soul I plead that we shall go forward with faith and with prayerfulness and with hope and courage to receive at the hands of our Heavenly Father a glorious welcome home when mortality shall cease and we go on to immortality. I pray that it may be so for us and for all that we love, wherever they may be.
A PLEA FOR THOSE WHO NEED COMFORT
One word more. Let us remember the mothers of these men who are in the missionary field and in the armed services-for they are both the same-let us remember these good women, and where they are bereft let us go out of our way to comfort their hearts. They have not given their own lives, but they have given that which is dearer than life itself, and we owe it to them, after the sacrifices they have made to bear children, to surround them by the arms of our love and let them feel that we are in sympathy with them, and grateful that they are able to go on, waiting for the gathering of the family when it shall finally come.
God bless you, and peace be in your hearts and in your homes throughout our great land, and throughout the world as a result of repentance and righteousness, I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Marvin O. Ashton
Marvin O. Ashton, Conference Report, October 1944, pp. 103-109
I know of no one whom I would rather follow than Oscar Kirkham. I remarked to Bishop Wirthlin, who sat next to me tonight, as soon as I felt a little relaxation go through the audience a few moments ago, "There is a different feeling here tonight. We are not under such a strain when we are not 'on the air.'"
Much has been said today about prayer, including the last few remarks of Brother Kirkham's. I have never bragged about how much praying I do, but if there is any time I do pray, and pray fervently, it is during conference time-and you know why.
I thought President McKay had some inspiration when he used to announce the speaker, and then say who was to follow. As far as I am concerned, if he wanted to say who was on deck as the third one up, I would say he had still more inspiration. I do not know if anybody has had the courage to tell it to him, but I am telling it to him right now.
A TIME FOR FERVENT PRAYER
As one looks out of his window into the world today, he sees things to criticize, and if you please, persons to criticize as he never did before. It does not take very much intelligence to tell what is the matter with the world, here, there, and everywhere. Brother Kirkham has given you four rules of good procedure in life. I would like to give you two which I am sure will "dovetail" into his sound advice. First, now is the time when we ought to say our prayers fervently; second, now is the time to do our own thinking. I say that with as much fervor as I know how to say it.
Tonight as I speak I would like to feel perfectly free. I am going to speak as I would like to speak, and trust that I will be understood. It will be a kindness of you who are here if you will take what I say in the spirit it is given. I trust that what I say will be tempered with good judgment so that I will not be embarrassed, nor embarrass the good brethren I love.
"BOWLEGGED" THINKING
Someone who has been championing very fervently the Word of Wisdom-and I mean championing-made this remark the other day. I shall give you his exact words, "I wonder if it wouldn't be a good thing now for us to let up a little on the Word of Wisdom and preach honesty."
Now don't get excited; let's stay with the Word of Wisdom. As I go about the Church from stake to stake, if there is anything for which I take off my coat and for which I unmercifully fight it is the Word of Wisdom. I won't say let us let up on the Word of Wisdom, but this observation relative to old-fashioned integrity sticks to me!
I suppose there never was a time when we gave more thought to our diet. We want it to be balanced. We want it to have the right calories. I suppose it is very important that our diet be well balanced, that in what we eat, there shall be the different elements to take care of the different needs of the body, for energy, heat, and tissue. If a person doesn't get a proper diet, he may die of partial starvation or what they choose to call it these days malnutrition. A person may stuff himself with potatoes, but if this were his only diet, he would soon be in bad shape.
I remember in Scotland when I was on a mission, I stood at the corner one day and saw one of their public schools let out for noon recess. I saw many a little child hobble along the streets with his little legs so bowed that a good-sized pig could run straight through without touching either leg. What was the trouble? Partial starvation. Tea and cookies and cookies and tea! Does our thinking, because it is not balanced properly, sometimes suffer in the same way? In plain American English-is our thinking bowlegged? Or to be more frank, do some of us get on the horse of tithing and ride it to death? Do some of us sit astride the genealogy steed and ride it till its tongue hangs out? Do some of us ride the welfare pony until it is covered with lather? Do some of us think of nothing but the Word of Wisdom, or prayer, and forget the other things necessary to make a real citizen and, if you please, a real Latter-day Saint? Brigham Young said at the time of the Indian wars, "Brethren, say your prayers, but keep your powder dry!" Could a good-sized pig run through our thinking without touching either leg? In other words, do we "strain at gnats and swallow camels"? Do we think bowlegged?
If there is anything that the Lord has held important in our lives, it is that we be honest. Nothing in history has been awarded much greater punishment than dishonesty. To illustrate: The story of Ananias and Sapphira. Things were held in common. As a member of the Church would sell his property, he would turn in all the money to this common fund or storehouse. Ananias and Sapphira connived together that they would have the reputation of giving their all and yet would have the pleasure of retaining some of the money. When confronted by Peter, Ananias, as he put his cash on the counter, represented to Peter that was all. Well, the story was short. As a reprimand from the heavens, they carried him out a dead man. An hour or so later, Sapphira, not knowing what happened, did as good a job of lying as her husband. She was carried out a dead woman. Well, this was quite a lesson. Now, the thinking of Ananias and Sapphira wasn't balanced. They were inconsistent. In other words, these good people were thinking bowlegged.
OUR ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE AGED
Probably there is nothing that illustrates what I am trying to emphasize better than the length to which people are going these days to get on the relief rolls. Now, I know I am treading on dangerous ground, especially if I get into the realm of the old-age pensions. I am going to observe very carefully and watch every step I make. A civilization is marked by its attitude toward the aged. May it never be said of me that I wasn't thoughtful of the old. You know, after all we are all going to be old some day or die in the attempt!
That which we mete out to the old may sometime be meted out to us. We should be most concerned about our fathers and mothers, our grandfathers and our grandmothers. I often think of the story in the old reader of the grandfather who ate in a dark corner of the kitchen by himself while the rest of the family partook of the better food at a well-spread table. The young son about four or five years of age was seen whittling away on some boards. The father of the lad was inquisitive: "Johnnie, what are you doing?" came the question. The answer came quickly, "Dad, I am making a trough for you so when I get to be a man, it will be all ready!"
DISHONESTY IN PENSION MATTERS
When our legislature passed the old-age pension, they wanted to be kind and were probably justified in their action, but the point I am trying to emphasize is the misrepresentation that some of our people stoop to, even those over sixty-five, and for that matter, before they are sixty-five!-to get this free money. Some of them are downright dishonest. To put it plainly, they are eligible for membership in the "Ananias and Sapphira Club." Let me illustrate what I mean:
Sometime ago in an investigation we found seven people with rather sacred Church responsibilities, with compensation, where they were getting old-age pensions as well as the salary mentioned. They were hiding the facts from those who should know. Sometime ago we discovered a man working for us at our office getting the salary from us and an old-age pension at the same time, and yet that brother, I am sorry to say, had the gall to go to his quorum meeting Sunday mornings pretending to be a Saint! Sometime ago in visiting one of the stake conferences, I found people enjoying old-age pensions who had turned their property over to their son or sons in order to be eligible for old-age pension, and last year their farm produced $10,000.00 worth of apples! I ask these people, whose thinking, I'm sure, is suffering from malnutrition, what kind of God in heaven do they think they are worshiping who could look down and smile at all that? Years ago, as a boy, I remember father always went to the market to buy his hay by the wagon load. That is the way hay was sold, in the bulk. If a farmer were unscrupulous enough to add water to the hay before it was sold, he might get away with it. A farmer of this particular kind was heard to call out into the yard, "John, put another dozen buckets of water on the hay and come in to prayers." That poor fellow was not thinking straight. Neither are the members of our Church who get on these relief rolls under false pretenses! Bobby Burns, the Scotch poet, put it very aptly, "The man of independent mind looks and laughs at a' that."
"Consistency, thou art a jewel!" Yes, folks, while our missionaries are out in the world, trying to bring honest souls into the Church, some of us at home are doing this kind of thinking. While they are giving a good pail of milk, we, at home, are kicking it over! What do people think of the rest of us when we are so inconsistent?
HONESTY ENJOINED
Not too long ago I went to a stake consisting of six wards, where we found one hundred fifty families on relief, notwithstanding this was more of an agricultural area with business augmented by war industries-peaches, $3.00 a bushel, other crops accordingly-this was this was the condition we found. It seems to us that often no consideration is given from where the money comes or how long the government can stand such a strain. The only thing in which they are interested is self or in other words, "The government can go to the devil, but I am going to get mine!" Is this the stuff that built up America? Is this the mettle that killed the snakes and made the desert blossom as a rose?
It is a question oftentimes of degree-how far we should go into these things. Let us, as members of the Church, be fair to one another-to use the rough expression-let's not let's not pass the buck! Let's face the truth if it kills us! The trouble is not alone with others as it is with ourselves. Let's be frank and diagnose our own case and we will get better that much quicker than we will by evading the truth. Sometime ago, in visiting a stake, I took occasion to read the reports showing how much hard liquor was consumed in that stake. A member of the stake presidency was indignant at the figures and refuted something like this: "We would have Brother Ashton understand that the only reason so much liquor is consumed in our stake is that we have so many hunters coming from Salt Lake." Brothers and sisters, let's not fool ourselves. If the shoe fits, let's wear it.
Sometimes we are like a horse that isn't bridle-wise, when we pull the left rein, the horse goes headlong to the left and if we pull the right rein, he goes headlong to the right. One time, I had a little mare that tipped us over in the ditch because she wasn't bridle-wise. And the sad part of it is that men who hold public offices and should know better, even encourage this careless handling of the truth. When we find out what kind of fellows they are, if we would just kiss them good-bye, we would be wise.
If you think I am trying to talk politics tonight, you are sadly mistaken. I have enough to answer for without that. I thought Brother Bennion was very brave today. I would not be as brave as he, but he got away with it all right. I am not talking politics. I did not say a Democrat was honest, and a Republican was not, or vice versa. I am going to keep right out of that. What I am trying to do is to talk honesty. The sad part of it is that these fellows in office, whether it be now or two years ago, or four years hence, or whatever you wish to call it, pretend to be our friends, and they forget all about what honesty is. When you get a fellow like that kiss him good-bye, but do it as quickly as you possibly can.
APT ILLUSTRATIONS
Years ago a contractor told me a story, along this line, that I shall never forget. It may have its application right here. The assets of a ranger were largely his sheep. The old gentleman had three sons, one of whom was supposed to be one of those fellows who were not too bright. The rancher died, and the thing now to do was to divide the estate which, as stated, was largely sheep. The two older boys connived together. They would abide by the wishes of their father before his death, and yet very decidedly they wanted the best of the bargain and pooled their interests against their simple young brother. As the sheep were to be divided, they thought they would make three pens, putting in each pen a third of the sheep. By the way, this little fellow who was thought not to be too bright had a pet sheep that, like Mary's little lamb, its fleece was white as snow and every where the boy went, this lamb was sure to go. He loved it very dearly. He thought so much of it that he decorated it with a blue ribbon. He fondled it and caressed it. Now, the two older boys thought they would capitalize on the love of the boy for the animal. They proceeded accordingly. Into the center pen of these three pens they had constructed, with the dividing of the sheep, they put all the gummers, all the runts and all the shabby sheep. Of course, they watched that the number was the same in each pen, but into this pen of the culls, they put the pet lamb with the blue ribbon around his neck. Now, it doesn't take much reasoning to follow the philosophy of such a wonderful division of the father's assets. Now, they said to their weak-minded brother, "Willie, you may take your pick." Willie did just exactly what they thought-he made a bee-line for the pen wherein bleated the pride of his heart-his pet lamb. He opened the gate, rushed in, put his arms around his pet lamb and said something like this, "My dear little lamb, we have been friends a long while. I have called and you have come and because of my affection for you, I have put a blue ribbon around your neck. I loved no one of the fold as I loved you, but," he added, "my dear, when you associate with a bunch like this, this is where we must say good-bye." Yes, if we would say good-bye to some of these fellows who are supposed to be our pets, we would make this a better America!
Some of our citizens are hanging on to what they can get like bloodsuckers! It isn't a question of "what should I give to my country," but "how much can I bleed her? The other fellow is getting his, I am going to get mine!"
Let us teach our children honesty!
When Abraham Lincoln found that damaged book in the crevice of the logs, he did not need to run to the owner and say, "I will make that up in split rails," but he did! When he found a shortage of tea, he did not have to walk five or ten miles to make it right, to be forgiven, but he did. When he was a lad of nine or ten, his mother put her arms around him and said, "Abe, leave that stuff alone"-whiskey. When he was elected President of the United States, he could have had champagne, but he put a big pitcher of water-Adam's ale-on the table as much as to say, "If you don't like that, you can lump it." In other words, the seeds of his mother's teachings bore good fruit.
CHILDREN TO BE TAUGHT EARLY IN LIFE
Let us start early. The python egg is as innocent looking as a hen's egg, but out of it comes the reptile that grows as big as your leg and hangs from the first tree and strangles its victim, whether it be man or beast. Let's crush the egg of dishonesty before it hatches!
Now, I just want to say this in closing. Bishop Richards was very frank today in telling what some of our young people are doing. It comes to me from many directions that sometimes young people think that so long as they do not drink tea or coffee, nor smoke, they can get away with anything. Some of the soldier boys say some of them will not do some of these things, but "we can get what we want." That is a bad situation. Am I too frank? I am going to say what I have said before: I do not want my children to drink tea nor coffee, but I would rather have them take a bath three times a day in coffee and lap it up as they swim in it than to lie! To repeat, the Lord expressed himself along this line very emphatically. The occasion I have mentioned: He was in favor of a double funeral in the Ananias family. You cannot do very much with a liar. The Lord won't have him, and if I were the devil I would not have him either, because I would be afraid of being double-crossed.
May the Lord help us to be consistent. May he help us to think straight. Let's remember that "an honest man is the noblest work of God." The closing remarks of President Grant's message to us at this conference pleaded with us to think soundly. May the Lord help us to be consistent in our thinking, I ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Joseph F. Smith
Joseph F. Smith, Conference Report, October 1944, pp. 109-113
Inasmuch as this is a priesthood meeting, and inasmuch as at our last semi-annual conference I spoke at the priesthood meeting, this was the one session at which I expected to be comfortable. I have learned another lesson in jumping at conclusions.
Since this is a priesthood meeting, if I may have the assistance of my Father in heaven, I should like to attempt, at least, to make a few observations that may answer some queries you have, and I feel safe in assuming that some of these queries are common, because of the frequency with which they have been put to me.
THE NECESSITY FOR WITNESSES
Oliver Cowdery occupied a unique position in the Church. He was called to be a special witness, and that is according to law. The Lord has said time and again that his word is to be established in the mouths of two or three witnesses. It is significant that the Prophet Joseph Smith did not receive the priesthood by himself, but he, together with Oliver Cowdery, received the priesthood, and it was Oliver Cowdery's calling to bear witness to these things.
The Savior himself, according to the law, required a witness, and his Father in person, bore witness to the divinity of his Son. Together they appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith. You will find ample Biblical support for the necessity of witnesses.
Oliver Cowdery did not remain faithful, and his position was given to Hyrum Smith.
And again, verily I say unto you, let my servant William be appointed, ordained, and anointed, as a counselor unto my servant Joseph, in the room of my servant Hyrum, that my servant Hyrum may take the office of Priesthood and Patriarch, which was appointed unto him by his father, by blessing and also by right; That from henceforth he shall hold the keys of the patriarchal blessings upon the heads of all my people. That whoever he blesses shall be blessed, and whoever he curses shall be cursed; that whatsoever he shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever he shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Hyrum Smith was called to be the patriarch to the Church, but he was also called to take Oliver Cowdery's place as special witness to the Prophet.
... From this time forth I appoint unto him that he shall be a prophet, and a seer, and a revelator unto my church, as well as my servant Joseph; That he may act in concert also with my servant Joseph; and that he shall receive counsel from my servant Joseph, who shall show unto him the keys whereby he may ask and receive, and be crowned with the same blessing, and glory, and honor, and priesthood, and gifts of the priesthood, that once were put upon him that was my servant Oliver Cowdery; That my servant Hyrum may bear record of the things which I shall show unto him, that his name may be had in honorable remembrance from generation to generation, forever and ever.
That calling was over and beyond his office of patriarch. He was a special witness to his brother, and was shown the keys of presidency. Now this situation has been unique in the history of the Church. Since that time that has not been necessary. There are thousands of persons who now are witnesses of the divinity of the Prophet Joseph Smith, so that the office that Hyrum Smith held was more than the office which subsequent patriarchs have held.
SPECIFIC DUTIES OF PATRIARCHS
Patriarchal blessings are sacred things. It is significant to me that in the revelation, the great revelation on priesthood, the word "patriarch" itself is not used. I have pondered that considerably.
It is the duty of the Twelve, in all large branches of the church, to ordain evangelical ministers, as they shall be designated unto them by revelation. The order of this priesthood was confirmed, to be handed down from father to son, and rightly belongs to the literal descendants of the chosen seed, to whom the promises were made.
Then the order of this priesthood, beginning with Adam, is chronicled in the 107th section of the Doctrine and Covenants.
Now we know that these men were patriarchs. I am not sure that I know precisely why the words "evangelical ministers" were used, rather than the word "patriarchs." It seems, however, significant to me that the term here used suggests very definitely the spiritual nature of the patriarchal office. It is not an administrative office, it is not an executive office, it is a spiritual office.
The old patriarchs, of course, lived under a patriarchal system of government. The head of the family was, actually the head of their government, and that continued for a good many generations. We no longer live under a patriarchal form of government. Our civil government is greatly different. The Prophet Joseph Smith, in a meeting with the Twelve, explains specifically that "evangelical ministers" means "patriarchs."
If I remember correctly, he gave these instructions on the 27th of June, 1839. I may be wrong. One of the duties of a patriarch in these days is to declare the lineage of the persons receiving blessings. I am of the opinion that that means much more than simply a declaration of fact. Some persons who have received patriarchal blessings and who have not had their lineage declared have shown a good deal of concern, wondering about it.
I must confess, for myself, I have never been able quite to understand why we should be so much concerned about merely not knowing. Certainly this declaration of lineage is a more important thing than simply giving an individual a psychological satisfaction as to his heritage.
A RESPONSIBILITY IN LINEAGE
I believe that a declaration of lineage, by the authority of the priesthood is also a declaration of, and an assignment to, a responsibility. When one has his lineage declared, he is given a responsibility to fulfill, according to that heritage.
On the very day that the Prophet explained that evangelical ministers meant patriarchs, he also explained some of the functions of the Comforter. He explained the difference between the two comforters, and he explained that one of the functions of the Holy Ghost is to purge the Gentiles of their Gentile blood. Now we know that today heritages are mixed. Pure racial strains-certainly in the Occident-are almost impossible to discover. Bloods are mixed but a Gentile, born of full Gentile lineage, being converted to the gospel, accepting the gospel, and receiving the Holy Ghost, through his faithfulness, according to the Prophet's words-and these are not my words-according to according to the Prophet's words, will have his Gentile blood completely purged, and he will become literally of the blood of Israel.
I think that fact is something for patriarchs prayerfully to ponder.
A FATHER'S BLESSING
The question has arisen a number of times recently whether or not fathers are entitled to give their children patriarchal blessings. The answer is yes and no. After all, if you are going to deal technically merely in the meanings of words, a patriarchal blessing means a father's blessing. A patriarch is literally a paternal ruler. That is what the word means, and any father in the Church who holds the higher priesthood, may, in the authority of that priesthood give unto his child a blessing, and that is a patriarchal blessing, in that it is a father's blessing.
But according to the ruling of the Church, that blessing is not to be recorded as having come from an ordained patriarch, because it does not come from an ordained patriarch. The business of declaring lineage and giving patriarchal blessings, these blessings given by one who is ordained a patriarch; that is the privilege of the ordained patriarch. Such blessings are recorded and kept in the Church historian's library.
MORE THAN ONE PATRIARCHAL BLESSING
There are some who would like to have more than one patriarchal blessing. In the early days of the Church many people received many patriarchal blessings, or at least blessings by patriarchs. The First Presidency and Council of the Twelve have advised that one person receive one patriarchal blessing. Now, that is not one of the laws of the Medes and Persians. There are and have been a few cases that have come to my attention where persons have received patriarchal blessings when they were very young, and where they have felt that the blessings have been mostly fulfilled, and they would like another patriarchal blessing.
The advice of the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve is to the effect that under normal circumstances one person should receive one patriarchal blessing. I think that wherever there is to be an exception, the recommendation for that exception should be made very, very carefully, and bishops and stake presidents should exercise care in that regard. If the bishop and the stake president concerned, after careful and very thorough consideration, feel that conditions warrant it, they may issue a signed recommendation to their patriarch to give an additional patriarchal blessing to the person recommended. In such rare cases, where the lineage has already been declared, there is no need, of course, for repetition.
A PATRIARCHAL BLESSING FOR INDIVIDUAL COMFORT
A patriarchal blessing is a very personal thing. Sometimes zealous teachers in auxiliary organizations develop enthusiasm in classes for patriarchal blessings, and there have been cases where whole classes have gone to receive their patriarchal blessings at one time. This brethren, would better be avoided. It is commendable, on the part of teachers of children, to talk about patriarchal blessings, to explain the importance of them and their value, but the individual himself, if he wants it, should first obtain his proper recommendation, and then make his own appointment with the patriarch, and having received that blessing he should hold it sacred. It is not a thing to be published; it is not for everybody to see; it is for his comfort, for his strengthening. It is his blessing.
Every one of you who has had a patriarchal blessing probably has a testimony about it, and almost daily one of the great joys comes to me-as it does to every patriarch-and also one also one of the terrifying things about the position, is the testimonies of persons who have received patriarchal blessings.
BLESSING UPON HIS SON
Let us teach our children the value of them, let us teach them what they are, let us instill into them a desire to get them.
I think one of the biggest thrills that I have had was a few weeks ago. One day on my appointment sheet I read merely "appointment." There was no name. I asked my secretary who that was, and she mumbled something rather inarticulately. At the appointed hour, my little nine-year-old boy came into my office, beaming all over. On his own initiative he had gone to his bishop and the president of the stake and he brought me his recommendation to have his daddy give him a patriarchal blessing.
I acknowledge my weakness; many times a day I am aware of my utter dependence upon our Father in heaven. I ask you, my brethren for your sustaining prayers. I bespeak for every patriarch in the Church the prayers of our brethren.
God give us vision in these times when nations are being sacrificed upon the altar of righteousness. Give us the power to see and the strength to do, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Charles A. Callis
Charles A. Callis, Conference Report, October 1944, pp. 113-114
I must not encroach on the time of the First Presidency in this important meeting. May I read a story that was published in The Reader's Digest of April 1944:
"THAT'S THE SPIRIT"
The bomber had been almost ripped apart by German cannon. The ball turret gunner was badly wounded and stuck in the blister on the underside of the fuselage. Crew men worked frantically to extricate the youngster but there was nothing they could do. They began to jump.
The terror-stricken lad screamed in fear, as he saw what was happening. The last man to jump heard the remaining crewman, a gunner, say, "Take it easy, kid, we'll take this ride together."
And they took that ride of death together, and together they stood at the gates of God, the selfsame God who died for all men.
A PLEA FOR UNSELFISHNESS
Brethren, in this hour of trial, we must all take the ride together, eschewing all selfishness and personal advantage. You ask for a postwar program. The Lord gave it to us. It is as follows:
Wo unto you rich men, that will not give your substance to the poor, for your riches will canker your souls; and this shall be your lamentation in the day of visitation, and of judgment, and of indignation: The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and my soul is not saved!
Wo unto you poor men, whose hearts are not broken, whose spirits are not contrite, and whose bellies are not satisfied, and whose hands are not stayed from laying hold upon other men's goods, whose eyes are full of greediness, and who will not labor with your own hands!.
The blood of the rich men's sons and the blood of the poor men's sons commingle at this very hour upon bloody battlefields in a brave endeavor to keep the temple of liberty inviolate and keep eternal those principles of freedom for which our forefathers bled and died.
Is it not possible for the rich man, the capitalist, and the laborer to meet at a round table conference and settle all these economic troubles? If they will meet in the spirit of Christ, these things will be settled to the satisfaction of all concerned.
May God send that day which the Nephite people enjoyed that golden era of two centuries, where in their industrial and social life all things were had in common; they lived in the prosperity of Christ; there were no rich and no poor. Banish selfishness from the world and this blessed condition would be realized.
We are in the midst of turbulent times. Reason is invited to give way to partisanship; but we must not blind ourselves to the good of all the people of the United States. Let us pray with the poet:
God give us men. A time like this demands Strong minds, great hearts, true faith and ready hands! Men whom the lust of office does not kill; Men whom the spoils of office cannot buy: Men who possess opinions and a will; Men who have honor, men who will not lie: Men who can stand before a demagogue And damn his treacherous flatteries without winking; Tall men, sun-crowned, who live above the fog In public duty and in private thinking; For while the rabble, with their thumb-worn creeds, Their large professions and their little deeds, Mingle in selfish pride, lo Freedom weeps, Wrong rules the land, and waiting Justice sleeps. -J. G. Holland
May God give us reason. May we in prayer approach him for guidance in temporal as well as in spiritual things, and may unselfishness rule the land, and rule in the hearts of men, that these economic differences may be adjusted in the spirit of tranquility, reason and divine justice, and may we all take the economic ride together, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Ezra Taft Benson
Ezra Taft Benson, Conference Report, October 1944, pp. 128-134
To the peoples who should inhabit this blessed land of the Americas, the Western Hemisphere, an ancient prophet uttered this significant promise and solemn warning:
Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ... For behold, this is a land which is choice above all other lands; wherefore he that doth possess it shall serve God or shall be swept off; for it is the everlasting decree of God.
AMERICA FOUNDED ON CHRISTIAN PRINCIPLES
Founded on the truth of Christian principles, this nation has become the world's greatest power. Whence have come our blessings of influence and success, and what assurance do we have that these blessings may be continued? Have they not come as a result of a humble and devout recognition of the overruling power of Almighty God in the establishment of this nation, and the willingness of the founding fathers to conform their actions to divine law?
Our earliest American fathers came here with a common objective-freedom of worship and liberty of conscience. The Pilgrim Fathers, the Puritans in New England, the Quakers in Pennsylvania, the Catholics in Maryland, the Lutherans in Georgia, and the Huguenots in Virginia, all came seeking God and the enjoyment of God-given, self-evident rights based on eternal principles. Familiar with the sacred scriptures, they believed that liberty is a gift of heaven. To them, man as a child of God, emphasized the sacredness of the individual and the interest of a kind Providence in the affairs of men and nations. They acknowledged their dependence upon God as they exhibited their humble faith in, and devotion to, Christian principles.
Those who later became the leaders and founders humbly recognized the need for, and actuality of, divine guidance. They saw clearly the importance of vital religion and morality in the affairs of men and nations. The following are a few quotations from their sincere statements. George Washington said:
No people can be found to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than the people of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency.
Then as to the place of religion and morality, the Father of our country continues:
Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports... Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.
Daniel Webster with prophetic vision declared:
"If we and our posterity shall be true to the Christian religion, and if we and they shall live always in the fear of God, and shall respect his commandments... we may have the highest hopes of the future fortunes of our country."
However, he pointed out that if we fail so to do then,
"No man can tell how sudden a catastrophe may overwhelm us that shall bury all our glory in profound obscurity."
These are solemn words but fully as sobering are the words of Abraham Lincoln uttered many years later as follows:
God rules this world... I am a full believer that God knows what he wants a man to do-that which pleases him. It is never well with that man who heeds it not... Without the assistance of that Divine Being, I cannot succeed, with that assistance I cannot fail.
And then regarding our duty to God, Lincoln warns:
It is the duty of nations as well as of men to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow... and to recognize the sublime truth that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord.
Yes, the early leaders and the people generally of this great nation recognized the necessity for spiritual support if the nation was to endure. They gave humble expression to this conviction in the inscription, "In God We Trust" found on the coins of the land. The holy Sabbath was a day of rest and worship. Religious devotion in the home was a common practice. Family prayer, reading of the holy scriptures, and the singing of hymns were an everyday occurrence. There is every evidence that "our fathers looked to God for their direction."
In framing that great document which Gladstone declared "the most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time by the brain and purpose of man," our early leaders called upon a kind Providence. Later the product of the constitutional convention was referred to as our God-inspired Constitution. They had incorporated within its sacred paragraphs eternal principles supported by the holy scriptures with which they were familiar. It was established "for the rights and protection of all flesh according to just and holy principles". Later the Lord himself declared, "I established the Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose".
Founded as a great Christian nation our forebears have bequeathed to us an incomparable inheritance as a sacred trust. As Americans, are we worthy of these rich blessings? Are our lives such that we feel assured of the future security of this great nation? Well might we remember that a continuation of all these glorious promises is conditional.
MATERIAL PROGRESS EVIDENT
And what can we say of our material progress? Travel across this great land and note its broad fruitful farms, its humming factories and gleaming cities; its schools, churches, recreational areas, and its rich natural resources. Remarkable advances have been made in providing an ever-increasing array of conveniences, comforts, and beauties for man. Today the average standard of living of our citizens exceeds all known past records of the human family.
The following is a quotation from a prewar article by Samuel B. Pettengill:
We have six percent of the world's land area and seven percent of its people. But that seven percent has thirty-two percent of the world's railway mileage, fifty-eight percent of its telephones, thirty-six percent of its developed water power, seventy-six percent of the world's automobiles-enough so that every man, woman, and child under the flag; 130,000,000 Americans, could climb into these cars and all ride on rubber at the same instant of time, a nation on wheels, a miracle of achievement.
This little seven percent of the world's population has forty-four percent of its radios; produces sixty percent of the world's petroleum, forty-eight percent of its copper, forty-three percent of its pig iron, forty-seven percent of its steel, fifty-eight percent of its corn, fifty-six percent of its cotton, twenty-five percent of its sugar, thirty-three percent of its coal.
This seven percent of the world's population has forty-five percent of the world's total wealth; and far more than half of all the wheels that turn on this planet... turn on American soil.
In the worst year of the worst depression of our history 30,000,000 out of 32,000.000 American boys and girls of school age stayed in public schools. And on the point of security for old age this little seven percent has $108,000,000,000 of protection on the lives of 64,000,000 Americans, more security than all the rest of the world put together.
Truly this is a choice land-the richest nation under heaven. The Lord has kept his promise. We have been "free from bondage and captivity and from all other nations under heaven". Materially we have excelled. We have become a great power. But what of our spiritual progress? Do we accept Jesus Christ as "the God of the land", the Redeemer of the world? Do we worship him in spirit and in truth? Are we followers of the Prince of Peace and believers in his divine admonitions? He has clearly pointed the way and would that all his children might follow!
A DECLINE IN SPIRITUAL THINGS EVIDENT
Today the world is engaged in bloody conflict-a life and death struggle. Begun among Christian nations who had the Bible, it is resulting in a loss of life and property unequalled in the history of the world.
One might easily imagine a repetition of the words of the Master, spoken over disobedient Jerusalem, repeated today as he gazes from the heavens on this war-torn world:
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.
Does not our house appear to be left to us desolate? Men seem to be groping blindly, aimlessly, without finding the way. With all our material progress we have made no appreciable advancement in human relations. Man still seems to be motivated largely by selfish interests without the power to control himself, his greed, and his passions. Is it not true that as a nation we have forgotten God? Yes, it seems clear that as a people we have become indifferent, irreverent seekers after passing pleasures which have no permanent value. We have turned away from the eternal principles of righteousness.
The words of the immortal Lincoln ring down through the ages as a solemn indictment today:
We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven. We have been preserved these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth, and power as no other nation has ever grown; but we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to God that made us. It behooves us, then, to humble ourselves before the offended power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.
In our rush for material things we have forgotten "the God of this land". We claim to be a Christian nation, but we ignore the teachings of Christ. Religion seems to be a declining influence in the lives of our people. Records show that more than half of our population are not members of any church and many of those who are members are passively inactive. It has been estimated that less than one-half of the children of the nation are being reached with any type of religious education. Recently published statistics show that but forty percent of the children of the United States between the ages of five and seventeen are enrolled in Sunday School. Concern has been expressed in recent years for the lack of support for the church and for the number of churches that have closed their doors. We seem to live in a nation of irreverence.
Devotion in the home, which in the past has been such an anchor to youth, has all but vanished. Few families unite daily in family prayer and the reading of the scriptures. Yet all will agree that this practice in years past contributed much to the strength of this great nation. We need the blessings which come from daily communion with God.
The ancient prophet, Isaiah, said:
Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts.
DISOBEDIENCE TO THE COMMANDMENTS WEAKENING THE NATION
One of the cardinal sins in our country is profanity-the taking of the name of the Lord in vain. Reverence for the name of deity is enjoined in holy writ. Jesus made this clear when teaching his disciples to pray; he said, addressing the Father. "Hallowed be thy name". Blaspheming the name of God separates man from his Creator.
And what of the holy Sabbath? From Mr. Sinai came the decree which is still in force: "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy". Is not this day observed more as a holiday, a day of pleasure and indulgence with little thought for its sacredness? Would not a stranger in our land conclude that we consider this sacred law obsolete? The early citizens of this country respected the will of the Lord and observed this holy day as a day for rest and worship. They were blessed for so doing. We also need the blessings which come from Sabbath observance.
And what of our attitude as a nation regarding the sacred obligations of parenthood? "Multiply and replenish the earth" was among the earliest commands given of the Lord. No more sacred obligation has been placed upon men and women than that of honorable parenthood. We cannot escape the grave responsibility. The tragedy of broken homes-the breaking of the sacred bonds of holy matrimony on the least provocation is a national blot upon this great nation. The divine law: "Thou shalt not commit adultery" is still in force. Sexual sin is next to murder in the category of crimes in the sight of God. Our record is such that it should have a sobering effect on all true Americans interested in the future welfare of the nation. We cannot continue to break these sacred laws without reaping the sad results of disobedience.
As a nation we need the refining and sustaining influences which come from obedience to divine law. Without such blessings the future of the nation is insecure. How can we expect divine acceptance when as a nation we are drunken through the staggeringly increased uses of intoxicating liquors, narcotics, and tobacco? The human body is the tabernacle of the spirit, and God expects that it be kept clean and unimpaired. The increase in these vices weakens the moral fiber of our nation and brings disappointment and sadness followed by greater sins.
INCREASE IN CRIME
One of the shocking results of disobedience to God's commandments is causing deep concern to most thoughtful people today. Is it not enough to sober us when Mr. J. Edgar Hoover, director of the F.B.I., reports an increase in 1943 of forty-three percent in arrests of boys under eighteen, and an increase of girl arrests under twenty-one of forty-eight percent? Broken down, the arrests of females under twenty-one for offenses against common decency, such as drunkenness, vagrancy, disorderly conduct, prostitution, commercial vice, and other sex crimes increased fifty-seven percent in 1943. For the two-year period, 1942-43, the increase was more than one hundred percent. It is no wonder that Mr. Hoover cries out in the face of these facts:
This country is in deadly peril. We can win this war, and still lose freedom for all in America. For a creeping rot of moral disintegration is eating into our nation... America's youth, indicated by public opinion as reckless and carefree is blamed for these misdeeds, but the real fault lies elsewhere. Before any youth has broken the law, some adult has committed a more serious crime. Driven by lust for money or enslaved by pleasure, the adult generation forgets that the most solemn obligation any person can assume in the eyes of God and man is to guide and direct a child along proper paths. To place anything ahead of that responsibility is akin to criminal negligence.
Judge Harry S. McDevitt of Philadelphia is authority for the recent statement that "a new penitentiary should be built every other week to accommodate the United States' growing criminal population. The national prison population is increasing at the rate of 25,000 a year. Of the criminals sent to prisons, seventy-three percent are between 15 and 24 years of age." The records of the F.B.I. show that "more than 700,000 mothers in the United States mourn the fact that their boys and girls, all under voting age, either are or have been in jail, reformatories, prisons, or have met death in the electric chair. More than 13,000 families each year are directly affected by the results of criminal homicides, many of which are premeditated murders."
All these evidences are but the fruits of disobedience to divine injunction. Less obvious and more difficult to measure accurately are other evidences. We have become apathetic in our duty as citizens. The surprisingly low percentage of our people who exercise their right to vote for public officials is evidence of this fact. There are also in evidence, in this blessed land, certain other trends which strike at the very foundation of all we hold dear. If permitted to go unchecked, and there seems to be little disposition to correct them, we might easily lose most of what we have gained during the past 150 years of our national existence.
A NATION BLESSED "WHOSE GOD IS THE LORD"
May a kind Providence give us the vision and courage necessary to stem these dangerous trends. We need, as we need no other thing, a nationwide repentance of our sins. Never before have we needed the blessings of Almighty God more than today. We need his divine favor in the halls of government, in our homes, in the factories and shops, on the farms and on the battlefields of the world.
Scientific research has confirmed the inspired record of great nations which have inhabited this land. Each of these nations prospered as long as it yielded obedience to God. They also became great powers. Great material blessings came to them. But they forgot God. The ancient ruins of Central, South, and North America bear silent testimony to their destruction. What of the future of our great nation? The history of men and nations clearly teaches that only that nation is blessed "whose God is the Lord".
God is still at the helm. He rules in the affairs of men and nations. But he "cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance". No one will deny that sin has increased and goodness declined in blessed America. Let us yield then to Lincoln's fervent appeal, "to humble ourselves before the offended power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness." As a nation we have been kept as in the hollow of God's hand. But what of the future?
Down through the ages come the stirring and solemn words of ancient American prophets:
Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ ... For behold, this is a land choice above all other lands; wherefore he that doth possess it shall serve God or shall be swept off; for it is the everlasting decree of God.
O, God our Father, grant that we, thy children, shall serve the God of this land, who is Jesus Christ, that this, our beloved country, might be preserved. Amen.
Elder Mark E. Petersen
Mark E. Petersen, Conference Report, October 1944, pp. 122-127
The Church is often spoken of as the "vineyard of the Lord." It is so referred to in a parable that the Lord gave to the Prophet Joseph Smith, which I wish to relate to you here:
PARABLE OF THE VINEYARD
A certain nobleman had a spot of land, very choice; and he said unto his servants: Go ye unto my vineyard, even upon this very choice piece of land, and plant twelve olive-trees;
And set watchmen round about them, and build a tower, that one may overlook the land round about, to be a watchman upon the tower, that mine olive-trees may not be broken down when the enemy shall come to spoil and take unto themselves the fruit of my vineyard.
Now, the servants of the nobleman went and did as their lord commanded them, and planted the olive-trees, and built a hedge round about, and set watchmen, and began to build a tower.
And while they were yet laying the foundation thereof, they began to say among themselves: And what need hath my lord of this tower?
And consulted for a long time, saying among themselves: What need hath my lord of this tower, seeing this is a time of peace?
Might not this money be given to the exchangers? For there is no need of these things.
And while they were at variance one with another they became very slothful, and they hearkened not unto the commandments of their lord.
And the enemy came by night, and broke down the hedge; and the servants of the noblemen arose and were affrighted, and fled; and the enemy destroyed their works, and broke down the olive-trees.
Now, behold, the nobleman, the lord of the vineyard, called upon his servants, and said unto them, Why! what is the cause of this great evil?
Ought ye not to have done even as I commanded you, and after ye had planted the vineyard, and built the hedge round about, and set watchmen upon the walls thereof-built the tower also, and set a watchman upon the tower, and watched for my vineyard, and not have fallen asleep, lest the enemy should come upon you?
And behold, the watchman upon the tower would have seen the enemy while he was yet afar off; and then ye could have made ready and kept the enemy from breaking down the hedge thereof, and saved my vineyard from the hands of the destroyer.
THE CHURCH PROGRAM FAR-REACHING
The gospel plan has many fields of activity. Each one of those fields is vital and essential. We have the work of the priesthood quorums for men and for boys; we have the Church welfare plan; we have our financial system of tithing, and fast, and other offerings; we have the work of the auxiliaries: we have the plan of clean living, known as the Word of Wisdom, and many other fields of activity. Each one is positively essential in its place; each one was set there by the Lord himself as part of the plan of salvation. It is not for us to say that any part of the plan of God is not essential. It is not for us to say that any part is unimportant, to be disregarded with impunity.
One organization may not say to another, "I have no need of thee", any more than the eye can say to the ear, "I have no need of thee," nor the hand to the foot. "I have no need of thee." As Paul said:
For the body is not one member, but many;... if the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? But now hath God set the members everyone of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.
Let me repeat that last bit of scripture: "Now hath God set the members everyone of them in the body as it hath pleased him".
The Lord expects us to live the gospel by participating in the program of the Church. Every part of that program may be likened unto the trees and the tower in the parable I have read to you. Each tree was planted by commandment of the Lord; the tower was to be erected likewise by the commandment of the Lord, who clearly explained to his servants the purpose of the construction of such a tower.
Likewise, the various parts of our program have been set in the Church by the Lord for a particular purpose, a wise purpose in him, as a means of bringing into his fold the souls of men.
ATTITUDE OF SOME MEMBERS AGAINST OUTLINED PLAN
But there are those among us who do not consider that all these parts of the program of the Church are necessary. They feel that they are unimportant, and that therefore they are not in any way bound to comply with them. How much are they like the servants in the vineyard, spoken of in the parable in these words:
And while they were yet laying the foundation thereof, they began to say among themselves, And what need hath my lord of this tower? And consulted for a long time, saying among themselves: What need hath my lord of this tower, seeing this is a time of peace? Might not this money be given to the exchangers? For there is no need of these things.
We might paraphrase the words of the parable to express the attitude of some among us by saying:
What need hath my Lord of this Church welfare program, seeing this is a time of prosperity? What need hath my Lord of a plan to remove the aged from the public welfare rolls of the state and the counties, seeing that we pay high taxes, and are invited to accept the government dole without so much as having to work to get it?
Or what need hath my Lord of this Melchizedek Priesthood program, with its four committees and its projects and assignments for the members of the quorums, seeing this is such a busy time and we have not time to take care of our own personal affairs, let alone bother with the affairs of our brethren? Or what need hath my Lord of an Aaronic Priesthood program? Why should we bother with a standard quorum award plan, requiring the boys to attend their priesthood meeting every Sunday morning, seeing that Sunday is the only day of the week on which they might stay in and sleep and get a little more rest than they normally could get? Also, why bother with such a program when so many of our boys are in the service of their country?
Or what need hath my Lord of printing and publishing a Church News for its service men; why should we bother sending it out to those boys, when it is just too much trouble to mail it to them?
Or what need hath my Lord of a Word of Wisdom, when I simply must have my cup of coffee for a morning "pick-up"?
Or what need hath my Lord of a tithing system when I need my money for other things?
To return to the words of the parable:
And while they were at variance one with another they became very slothful, and they hearkened not unto the commandments of their Lord.
You look into the failure of any person to live the commandments of God, or you look into the failure of any organization to follow the outlined program of the Church, and you will find the person, or the organization, which does not regard the program of the Church or the commandments of the Lord as particularly important "What need hath my Lord of these things?"
Invariably failure follows those organizations, because, as the parable points out:
... the enemy came by night, and broke down the hedge; and the servants of the nobleman arose and were affrighted, and fled; and the enemy destroyed their works, and broke down the olive-trees.
An Aaronic Priesthood organization which fails to take care of its boys according to the outlined program, will see its boys become disinterested. Soon the boys start staying away, and before long they drift into evil habits.
RESULTS OF FOLLOWING OWN DESIRES
Where is the fault for such a condition? Is it with the boys, or is it in the failure of the organization to follow the outlined plan?
A father decides that the commandments of the Lord are not necessary, so he becomes inactive, and soon his wife and children likewise discontinue keeping the commandments, and soon we have an inactive family on our hands.
A priesthood quorum or other organization may be headed by officers who feel that the plan as revealed to them by the authorized servants of God is not really necessary and not really important, and that they have ideas that are much better themselves, and therefore they do not follow the program. Soon, however, they find that their organization begins to slip; that the interest of their members falls off, then the attendance declines, and before long the organization fails to fulfill the function for which it was created.
So we see the results of failure to follow the outlined program of the Church.
Then, in the words of the parable, the lord of the vineyard speaks and says:
... Why! what is the cause of this great evil? Ought ye not to have done even as I commanded you, and-after ye have planted the vineyard, and built the hedge round about, and set watchmen upon the walls there-of-built the tower also, and set a watchman upon the tower, and watched for my vineyard, and not have fallen asleep, lest the enemy should come upon you? And behold, the watchman upon the tower would have seen the enemy while he was yet afar off; and then ye could have made ready and kept the enemy from breaking down the hedge thereof, and saved my vineyard from the hands of the destroyer.
REBUKE GIVEN BY THE LORD TO THE EARLY SAINTS
More than a hundred years ago the Lord desired to establish the center stake of Zion at Independence, Missouri, but the attempt met with failure, which caused the Prophet of God to grieve. The Lord explained to him, saying:
Verily I say unto you, concerning your brethren who have been afflicted and persecuted, and cast out from the land of their inheritance-
I, the Lord, have suffered the affliction to come upon them, wherewith they have been afflicted, in consequence of their transgressions;...
Behold, I say unto you, there were jarrings, and contentions, and envyings, and strifes, and lustful and covetous desires among them; therefore by these things they polluted their inheritances.
They were slow to hearken unto the voice of the Lord their God; therefore, the Lord their God is slow to hearken unto their prayers, to answer them in the day of their trouble.
In the day of their peace they esteemed lightly my counsel; but, in the day of their trouble, of necessity they feel after me.
That is so much like human nature. When we regard our work in the Church, let us remember that we are working in the vineyard of the Lord, and that we are his servants, just as the servants who worked in the planting of those olive-trees. And remember, too, that if we esteem lightly the word of the Lord in the day of our prosperity, in the day of our trouble he may be slow to hearken unto our prayers, to answer us and provide for our needs.
SUSTAINING THE LEADERS OF THE CHURCH
During this conference we have raised our hands and sustained the authorities of this Church; when we sustained Heber J. Grant as president, we took a vote also to sustain him as prophet, seer, and revelator. Then we voted to sustain the counselors in the First Presidency, and the Twelve, and the Patriarch, and after we had thus voted, we took an entirely different vote. This time we sustained this group of men as prophets, seers, and revelators, in addition to their positions of membership in the Twelve, the Patriarch, or as counselors in the First Presidency.
Some people ask: "When is a prophet really a prophet?" You remember the reply that is frequently given, that is, that a prophet is a prophet when he speaks by the power of his office.
I want to tell you brethren that the program of the Church that has been given to you has been provided to you officially by these presiding brethren whom you have sustained as prophets, seers, and revelators. This program has been given to you officially by them, functioning in their official capacity. Therefore what right do we have to say that this part of the program is not necessary, or that part of the program is not necessary?
Always we have been taught that the first principle of the gospel is faith. We have been taught that, "We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in his Son Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost". Can we say that we really and truly believe in Jesus Christ if we do not believe in the program of his Church? And if we do not believe in the program of his Church, can we say that we are truly and honestly followers of the lowly Nazarene? "If you love me, keep my commandments". Remember that command; each one of us should think of it with respect to our adherence to the program of the Church, whether it is personal adherence, whether it is adherence on the part of an organization, or within our families. "If you love me, keep my commandments."
LOVE FOR GOD SHOWN IN FAITHFUL SERVICE
When the Lord gave us the first great commandment, I am thankful also that he gave us that part of the 4th Section of the D&C; which says:
... O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day.
If you really and truly believe in the first and great commandment, to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, might, mind and strength, it means then that you will serve him with all your soul, and with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your might, and with all your strength. That means that you will serve him without reservation of any kind, and that of a truth you will put your whole soul, your whole heart, into the work of Almighty God, that you will apply the best of your intelligence, you will serve him with all your mind, by seeking to know the program of the Church, and then to live up to that program with all your soul.
It means likewise if you are going to love him and serve him with all your strength, that you will serve him, with all your physical strength, with all your mental strength, with all your spiritual strength, and with the strength of all your resources, whatsoever they may be. If you really love the Lord your God you will serve him in that manner. And all who do so are likened unto a wise man that built his house upon the rock, and the rain descended and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock.
My brethren, I pray that we may have the faith and the courage to follow the program of the Church. I pray that we may sustain the authorities of the Church not only with our hands, but that we may sustain them also with our works in following the outlined program, and not setting up something of our own which is not in harmony with the program that is provided by the inspiration of these men whom you have sustained as prophets, seers, and revelators during this conference. And this is my prayer, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Joseph Fielding Smith
Joseph Fielding Smith, Conference Report, October 1944, pp. 140-146
My brethren, I rely upon your faith and prayers, and the guidance of the Spirit of the Lord in what I may be led to say this afternoon.
THE NECESSITY FOR A RESTORATION OF THE TRUTH
One hundred and fourteen years ago the Lord restored the gospel and organized again his Church upon the earth. The reason for such organization and restoration is the fact that for centuries the world had been in spiritual darkness, without the authority, and without the understanding; they knew not how to worship the living God.
The Lord said, in the commencement of this work:
Wherefore, I the Lord, knowing the calamity which should come upon the inhabitants of the earth, called upon my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., and spake unto him from heaven, and gave him commandments;
And also gave commandments to others, that they should proclaim these things unto the world; and all this that it might be fulfilled, which was written by the prophets-
The weak things of the world shall come forth and break down the mighty and strong ones, that man should not counsel his fellow man, neither trust in the arm of flesh-
But that every man might speak in the name of God the Lord, even the Savior of the world; That faith also might increase in the earth; That mine everlasting covenant might be established; That the fulness of my gospel might be proclaimed by the weak and the simple unto the ends of the world, and before kings and rulers.
The everlasting covenant had been broken; the correct understanding of gospel principles had disappeared through apostasy; the right to officiate in the ordinances of the gospel had ceased among men. It became necessary that all this might be restored, and that faith might increase among the people through an opening of the heavens and a restoration of the gospel.
So the Lord sent his messengers from his presence, with the fulness of the gospel, and with power, and the authority of the priesthood to bestow upon men, and gave them commandments, as indicated in this commandment-because the Lord knew the calamities which were to come upon the world, and it was his will that a proper warning, and the opportunity to receive the gospel be given unto men that they might repent and turn from their evil ways and serve the Lord.
He sent forth his messengers into all parts of the earth to preach this gospel, and that is in fulfillment of the promise that is made by our Lord as you find it recorded in the 24th chapter of Matthew, not correctly given in the Bible, however, but it is given correctly to the Prophet Joseph Smith. When the Lord was speaking to his disciples, he said unto them, "And again this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world as a witness, and then shall the end come". That is the correct understanding of his words.
And again this gospel has gone forth into the world, and the Lord said, speaking of his servants:
... The voice of warning shall be unto all people, by the mouths of my disciples, whom I have chosen in these last days. And they shall go forth and none shall stay them, for I the Lord have commanded them. Behold this is mine authority, and the authority of my servants, and my preface unto the book of my commandments, which I have given them to publish unto you, O inhabitants of the earth.
Wherefore, fear and tremble, O ye people, for what I the Lord hath decreed in them shall be fulfilled.
And so his servants went forth; they have been going forth for over one hundred years, proclaiming the truth, crying repentance, calling upon the people to turn from their evil way to the worship of the living God.
THE MESSAGE OF THE EARLY MISSIONARIES OF THE CHURCH
I have been very pleased throughout this conference, because it has been a cry of repentance. The Lord said to some of those early missionaries who went forth, when they asked for information and guidance, they were to preach nothing but repentance and remission of sins. He said he was sending them out into a perverse, stiff-necked and wicked world.
Let me read one or two of such passages to you. In March, before the organization of the Church, the Lord said:
Oh, this unbelieving and stiff-necked generation-mine anger is kindled against them.
And in sending forth these missionaries with the message of truth, he again said:
I give unto you, who are the first laborers in this last kingdom, a commandment that you assemble yourselves together, and organize yourselves, and prepare yourselves, and sanctify yourselves; yea, purify your hearts, and cleanse your hands and your feet before me, that I may make you clean; that I may testify unto your Father and your God, and my God, that you are clean from the blood of this wicked generation, that I may fulfill this promise, this great and last promise, which I have made unto you when I will.
And again, when these missionaries were called to go, the Lord gave them this instruction:
Behold, they have been sent to preach my gospel among the congregations of the wicked; wherefore, I give unto them a commandment, thus: Thou shalt not idle away thy time, neither shalt thou bury thy talent that it may not be known.
That was the counsel given to these missionaries. So they went out into a perverse world, meeting the opposition, the hatred, and the condemnation of men, gathering out, as the Lord said they would, two of a family and one of a city -rather a strange expression-but they gathered them out, and I am looking at this particular moment into the faces of the sons of the parents who heard the message of truth and gladly received it, and were gathered out.
THE WARNING GIVEN TO THE WORLD
But the world refused to hear the message, and down through these one hundred and fourteen years that this gospel has been preached among the nations of the earth, the world has refused to hear. They have rejected the words of the prophets; they have ridiculed the missionaries who took the message to them. Everything that Satan could do to bring to pass his purposes and to destroy this everlasting work which has come, never to be destroyed again, nor to be taken from the earth, everything he could do was done and the minds of the people generally were blinded; but here and there those who were of the house of Israel, who could recognize the voice of the Shepherd, were gathered out.
Now some of my good brethren who have spoken have given some of the thoughts I hoped to say, so I may repeat a little.
Once again, the Lord said to his missionaries:
Hearken ye, for, behold, the great day of the Lord is nigh at hand. For the day cometh that the Lord shall utter his voice out of heaven; the heavens shall shake and the earth shall tremble, and the trump of God shall sound both long and loud, and shall say to the sleeping nations: Ye saints arise and live; ye sinners stay and sleep until I shall call again. Wherefore gird up your loins lest ye be found among the wicked.
Lift up your voices and spare not. Call upon the nations to repent, both old and young, both bond and free, saying: Prepare yourselves for the great day of the Lord:
For if I, who am a man, do lift up my voice and call upon you to repent, and ye hate me, what will ye say when the day cometh when the thunders shall utter their voices from the ends of the earth, speaking to the ears of all that live, saying-Repent, and prepare for the great day of the Lord?
Yea, and again, when the lightnings shall streak forth from the east unto the west, and shall utter forth their voices unto all that live, and make the ears of all tingle that hear, saying these words-Repent ye, for the great day of the Lord is come?
And again, the Lord shall utter his voice out of heaven, saying: Hearken, O ye nations of the earth, and hear the words of that God who made you.
O, ye nations of the earth, how often would I have gathered you together as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, but ye would not!
How oft have I called upon you by the mouth of my servants, and by the ministering of angels, and by mine own voice, and by the voice of thunderings, and by the voice of lightnings, and by the voice of tempests, and by the voice of earthquakes, and great hailstorms, and by the voice of famines and pestilences of every kind, and by the great sound of a trump, and by the voice of judgment, and by the voice of mercy all the day long, and by the voice of glory and honor and the riches of eternal life, and would have saved you with an everlasting salvation, but ye would not!
Behold the day has come, when the cup of the wrath of mine indignation is full.
Behold, verily I say unto you, that these are the words of the Lord your God.
Now this is a warning that went out to the world. They would not heed it. Returning now to what the Lord said in the preface to this Book of Commandments, I will read some more:
And verily I say unto you, that they who go forth, bearing these tidings unto the inhabitants of the earth, to them is power given to seal both on earth and in heaven, the unbelieving and rebellious;
Yea, verily, to seal them up unto the day when the wrath of God shall be poured out upon the wicked without measure-
Unto the day when the Lord shall come to recompense unto every man according to his work, and measure to every man according to the measure which he has measured to his fellow man.
Wherefore the voice of the Lord is unto the ends of the earth, that all that will hear may hear:
Prepare ye, prepare ye for that which is to come, for the Lord is nigh; And the anger of the Lord is kindled, and his sword is bathed in heaven, and it shall fall upon the inhabitants of the earth.
There are a great many prophetic sayings that were given to the Prophet Joseph Smith, and recorded in this book of D&C;, in which the Lord warned this world of the calamities and the destruction, the wars and the pestilence that would come upon them if they refused to hearken to the testimony of these humble elders of Israel.
Again he said:
I, the Lord, am angry with the wicked; I am holding my Spirit from the inhabitants of the earth.
I have sworn in my wrath, and decreed wars upon the face of the earth, and the wicked shall slay the wicked, and fear shall come upon every man.
Now, that was a calamity which came upon the world, when the Lord decreed that he would withhold his spirit from the inhabitants of the earth. He had no reference to the Holy Ghost, because they never had the gift of the Holy Ghost, but he had reference to the light of truth, or Spirit of Christ, which would lead them to the truth, if they would heed it. This spirit he was withdrawing from them because of their wickedness and the withdrawal of his spirit would bring upon them these calamities-the pestilences, the plagues, and all the rest of it that is mentioned here, including bloodshed and war.
WICKEDNESS PREVAILING IN THE WORLD
Today we find this world torn asunder; wickedness prevailing in the hearts of the people, distress among the nations, bloodshed such as the world has never seen before. I am going to be bold enough to say that all of this could have been avoided; it would have been unnecessary, if the inhabitants of the world had hearkened to the voice of the elders of Israel who were sent to them with this message of salvation, and which they refused to receive.
Furthermore, we cry for peace; we are called upon to pray for peace, and we are praying for peace. I have never had very much confidence in the proclamation or the request that was made asking the people of this country to pray for peace, for the very good reason that it was not sincere. We cannot pray to the Lord and say: "Listen to our cause, bring victory to us, do what we want you to do, but don't ask us to do what you want us to do."
We have heard from quite a number of those who have spoken in this conference of the wickedness that prevails throughout the world, the wickedness among the boys who have gone into the armed forces of the country, the wickedness of the people who are not in those forces. We all know those things are true, that immorality is rampant, that drunkenness, and the filthy use of tobacco are weakening the constitutions of those who go out to fight, and these evils are also among those not in the armed forces. The world is full of evil.
Bishop Richards called attention to a statement made in a letter from one of his boys who is in the service. I had a like communication from one of my boys. He was only eighteen when he was sent out, he did not know anything about the world.
I want to say to you that it was a great regret to me that he had to go and learn something about the ways of the world, and I regret that your boys had to go and learn it, such things as they have been forced to learn. This boy wrote home several months ago and said, after referring to some of the things which he had witnessed: "I have lost faith in humanity."
THE KEEPING OF GOD'S COMMANDMENTS NECESSARY TO BRING PEACE
So we cry for peace, we are asked to pray for peace, but who is willing to keep the commandments of the Lord that we might have peace? Now, you ask yourselves, you brethren: in your praying are you sincere? In your asking for peace, are you willing to keep the commandments of the Lord? Do you keep the Sabbath day holy? Do you pay your honest tithing? Do you attend to these other duties that have been mentioned here so many times?
When I think of the people of this country, or any other of these countries, asking the Lord for help, and at the same time ignoring every commandment that he has given them, I wonder how we can even hope for peace. We could have had peace long ago, and thousands of lives could have been saved, if the people had humbled themselves, and had been willing to keep the commandments of the Lord so he could fight their battles. But this they were not willing to do.
Now I shall repeat what one of these brethren said who spoke before me. The Lord said to the members of this Church, in an early day, that because of their transgressions trouble came upon them, and I quote:
They were slow to hearken unto the voice of the Lord their God; therefore, the Lord their God is slow to hearken unto their prayers, to answer them in the day of their trouble.
In the day of their peace they esteemed lightly my counsel; but, in the day of their trouble, of necessity they feel after me.
Well, the people of this nation could have felt after the Lord; we could have gone before him, and could have placed our petitions before him. And he would have heard our prayers. If we had done this in the spirit of faith and humility, and the determination in our hearts to keep his commandments, then, I repeat, he would have heard our prayers, and many lives would have been spared; I am sure of it for he would have come to our aid and would have fought our battles.
One more passage. This is from the same section-101-of the Doctrine and Covenants:
My indignation is soon to be poured out without measure upon all nations; and this will I do when the cup of iniquity is full.
May we humble ourselves, put our houses in order, and our lives in harmony with the truth, that we may receive the blessings of the Lord, I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Clifford E. Young
Clifford E. Young, Conference Report, October 1944, pp. 148-152
My brethren, as I look over this congregation, and as I have been sitting here this afternoon, impressed, as I know we all have been, in listening to those strains of sweet music, I have wondered just how the gospel of Jesus Christ will finally take root in the hearts of the children of men and how peace will finally come.
TEACHING OF JESUS TO HIS APOSTLES
I would like to read a few verses from the words of the Savior, which are found in the 14th chapter of John. Some of his apostles had asked him a number of questions; they were troubled; they no doubt had many things in their day to trouble their thinking. They did not quite understand his divine ministry and how the kingdom of God would come, and so a number of questions were asked. So we find Jesus saying to them:
Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.
Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?
Then Jesus answered and said unto him:
... I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.
Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so Ions time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.
Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
If we shall ask anything in my name, I will do it. If ye love me, keep my commandments,
And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.
At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.
He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me, and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
It is a great promise, my brethren. It does offer the way and the means by which we may live in harmony with those injunctions that we have received here in this conference.
THE RESPONSIBILITY OF MISSION PRESIDENTS
I recently had the privilege of visiting the North Central States Mission. I would like to say just a word or two regarding those who preside over these missions. I never realized before what a tremendous responsibility it is. The men who are called to preside in these missions must take the young boys and girls who come to them and help them make their adjustments. They are called from all over the Church, they are not trained in the same homes, nor by the same home standards; they are not alike in their education, nor in their gospel training. Their temperaments and dispositions are different, and yet these mission presidents, with their wives who stand by their sides, take these young girls and boys and help them to adjust; and the marvel, my brethren, is that they do adjust, and very quickly do they get the spirit of their mission, and do a marvelous work. This is not a trite expression. It is a reality.
They make friends, and are invited into their homes; they bear their testimonies, and people are responding to those testimonies, and are impressed with the majesty and the bigness of their message. Little by little this work in which you and I are engaged is growing and gradually spreading. As we think about it in terms of our present day conditions, we wonder sometimes how the little stone that was cut out of the mountain without hands will eventually fill the earth; but if we will just look back, it is not very long when we had in sections, for example like California, New York, Denver, Chicago, just missions, just small branches; today we have large stakes of Zion in all of these places.
VISIT TO A SMALL BRANCH
Throughout the mission fields the branches are growing. I realize with you that there is a slowing up now because of war conditions, because of lack of missionary help, but even with that lack there is a growth that is heartening, and it gives to you and me assurances that the gospel of Jesus Christ, this message of Jesus-the good tidings, is taking root in the hearts of the children of men, and they are translating these principles of truth into their lives and living them.
We had the good fortune to visit a little branch a way up on the south shores of the Lake of the Woods-just a few Scandinavian Saints. They had not had the elders there for a long time. They are carrying on by themselves, they have built their own chapel, and when we entered that little chapel, President and Sister Killpack, and Sister Young and myself, we found a neat, clean chapel. We found a branch of faithful Latter-day Saints, a way off from everybody. The nearest doctor, we were told is twenty-five miles away, and yet they were carrying on in the ministry of the Church, and were living the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The chapel itself is a credit to the Church, made of rustic lumber, the benches are crude, with pine floor, but just as clean and neat as it could be. Around the chapel were little flower boxes made of rustic pine, decorating that lovely place. I thought to myself: "What a fine example of beautification."
Here is the Church in action, away out in these little outlying places. One of the brethren in his prayer the other day, thanked the Lord that we were here in the tops of the mountains. We are grateful for that, but this Church is no longer a Church of the tops of the mountains. It is a Church of the plains, it is a Church of the islands of the sea, it is a Church for the world, and everywhere we go where the message of Jesus has been taught, we see the reflection of these truths, and men and women are living them, and are reflecting them in their lives, and that is What we found in the mission field.
TESTIMONY OF A CONVERT
In one of the meetings of the missionaries, with the local missionaries, one of the sisters who has been a member of the Church for only about two years, and who has now been called as one of the local missionaries, bore her testimony. Her husband is not a member of the Church. She comes from a family of refinement. Her associates are people of education, and she herself impresses one as being a woman of culture and of great faith. In bearing her testimony she related this experience. She said: "My associates, many of my friends do not subscribe to the things that I am trying to live. We are frequently invited out in company where smoking is indulged in, and where cocktails are served. There is no moral issue with my friends regarding these things, and it does provoke a challenge with me, my husband not being a member of the Church. The other evening we were at a dinner party and cocktails were served. I pushed mine to the side, and my friend sitting next to me said: 'Aren't you going to drink your cocktail?' I told her no, and she said: 'What's the matter with you?' I said: Nothing's the matter with me, I am living a great principle, and I would not let a little cocktail rob me of the strength and power of living that principle."
That is all that was said regarding that. I thought to myself: "Thank God for the gospel of Jesus Christ that is translating itself into the lives of people who will but put themselves in a position to permit it."
THE FAITH OF A SOLDIER
Another instance. In one of our meetings in Minneapolis there came into our meeting an officer of the air force and his wife. I did not recognize them until at the close of the meeting they came up and, lo and behold, it was a boy from my own stake. In the evening at St. Paul, where we held another meeting he was called upon to speak, and bore a fervent testimony. The humility of it was impressive. But here is the lovely thing about it, my brethren: That boy had been over in Europe, in combat service, I don't know how many missions he had had over Germany, but on his last mission he was severely wounded, and his copilot had to take over. His plane was damaged, but fortunately they were able to get back to England. The boy was hospitalized, and finally sent over to this country, where he convalesced in the Bushnell Hospital. His leg is still stiff, and he will never again be able to go back into combat service. He is now teaching, training. After his return, while he was in Bushnell, he came down home one night to visit his worthy father, Bishop James W. Vance of Alpine, one of the stalwarts of my stake. We invited him into our home. I had recommended that boy for the mission field, and so I said to him, "Paul, tell me, how did you adjust yourself? You had been out preaching the gospel of peace, and on your return you were inducted into the service; you went over Germany, perhaps over the very land where you had labored. How did you make the adjustment?"
He said: "Brother Young, I learned one thing. As I flew over Germany I felt in my heart that I was shooting down bombers and not people, that I was bombing installations, and not people. I kept that uppermost in my mind, and I believe the Lord has helped me to preserve that attitude in my military service.
He bore testimony of that in our meeting, thanking the Lord for the faith that had stood him in hand.
The gospel, my brethren, does translate itself into the lives of our people if we will permit it. It is for us. These injunctions that we have had given us in this conference, they mean for us strength and power, and they mean for us the power and ability to make our lives real, harmonizing with the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and only in living it may we be able to do that.
A MISSIONARY INCIDENT
I bear you my testimony, my brethren. I am grateful for the testimony that I have of this work. I cannot with you go out and prove its divinity-no man can do that-we may offer every inducement and do everything in our power to make people feel that our message is scriptural, but when it comes to the last analysis of the thing, it is the testimony that is in the human heart that bears witness of the divinity of this work.
While laboring as a missionary in England, over thirty-eight years ago, one of our investigators, a whole family of them, in fact, the mother being the leader, said, "Brother Young, we have found that your doctrine is scriptural, we believe in that, but if you can convince us that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, that he saw God and that Jesus Christ talked with him, we will be baptized."
"Sister McManus," we said to her, "we cannot do that or prove that to you, but if you would know the will of the Father, if you would know of the truthfulness of our message, you, yourself must do the will of the Father, and you shall know. 'He that will doeth the will of the Father shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God or whether I speak of myself'".
We bore that testimony to her, and she made it a matter of prayer, and later she and her family were baptized. That is the way it works, my brethren. It is through faith in God, it is through testimony that this work will be carried forward, and it is the living of the gospel, and the testimony that will finally bring peace into the human heart, and make possible the establishment of the kingdom of God in the earth. May it speedily come, I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Albert E. Bowen
Albert E. Bowen, Conference Report, October 1944, pp. 152-158
Confusion seems admittedly to be the dominant characteristic of our times. There is confusion of procedures, a baffling contrariety as to what ought to be done and how to do it. There seems to be agreement about only one thing, namely, that the world's affairs are terribly messed up. But there is no agreement about the causes for the sorry condition, nor the remedy. Men confess, almost it seems with pride, that they don't know what they ought to believe. They are bewildered and overwhelmed with a sense of futility.
TESTING PRESENT CONDITIONS BY PRINCIPLE OF RIGHT OR WRONG
One thing seems clear: our perplexity grows out of a failure of vision-of penetrating insight. We get ourselves all tangled up in a maze of superficialities and mistake consequences for causes. We tell ourselves over and over again that life in this day has become very complex; that it is not simple and elementary any more as it once was; and that our outlook and approaches to the problems of the day must take on the same complexities as the intricate web of mechanisms we have woven about ourselves.
It may be granted that with our great increase in population, our shifting over from simple rural life to concentrations of great numbers in industrial centers, the consequent change from self direction to supervised direction, the increasing degree in which the free practice of individual convenience impinges upon the comfort and convenience of others; the impact upon our lives of changed conditions resulting from inventions, transportation and communication facilities-it may be granted, I say, that all these conspire to introduce an apparent complexity into our organized lives. But I wonder if, after all, the differences are not largely superficial and mechanistic rather than fundamental.
Are there not, in reality, underlying, universal principles with reference to which all issues must be resolved whether the society be simple or complex in its mechanical organization? It seems to me we could relieve ourselves of most of the bewilderment which so unsettles and distracts us by subjecting each situation to the simple test of right and wrong. Right and wrong as moral principles do not change. They are applicable and reliable determinants whether the situations with which we deal are simple or complicated. There is always a right and a wrong to every question which requires our solution. We might be saved a lot of misery and discontent and disputation in this world if we just stopped to apply the simple test, "what is the right of this thing" before we moved into action concerning it. By thus getting down to the root of the matter we should have reduced the problem to its simplest terms and it would not matter very much whether it was crusted over with a simple or a complex layer of incidental elements. They would all have to yield to the basic law of right.
AN ILLUSTRATION FROM PAUL'S MISSIONARY EXPERIENCE
I think I can illustrate how basic issues are buried under a cover of superficialities by reference to an experience in the life of Paul. In the course of his missionary journeys, he came to Ephesus where he found certain poorly instructed believers. He taught in the synagogue for three months when, because of opposition, he separated his disciples, and they went their ways teaching for a period of two years with such effect that the record says: "All they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus Christ". This brought the Christian message squarely up against the idolatry of the Ephesians with the result that there was a great conversion from idolatry. Says the account in Acts 19:23-29:
And the same time there arose no small stir about that way. For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, which made silver shrines for Diana, brought no small gain unto the craftsmen; whom he called together with the workmen of like occupation, and said, Sirs, ye know that by this craft we have our wealth. Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands: So that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought; but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth. And when they heard these sayings they were full of wrath.... And the whole city was filled with confusion.
Now, the fundamental issue, and the only issue, was between the teachings of Jesus and the pagan religion of the Ephesians. But that issue was completely buried under the furore engendered by a purely incidental consequence. Paul was teaching the way of life, a thing of transcendent importance to all the race of men, the future of the world. With the purely collateral consequence to the business of a few silversmiths and art craftsmen he had no concern.
But the incident was not decided on the merits of the respective doctrines concerning the souls and destiny of men. So far as immediate results were concerned a superficial materialism completely smothered and took out of the reckoning the fundamental moral and spiritual issue involved. For Paul's companions were taken into custody, and when he would have gone publicly to their defense, he was restrained by friends but for which restraint his life likely would have been taken.
APPLICATION TO PRESENT-DAY CONDITIONS
In one way or another the process illustrated in this incident has been repeating itself throughout history. Every would-be world conqueror from Alexander on down and almost every empire builder, too, for that matter, has pursued his course in total disregard of the question of what is right. They find it easy to obscure the moral issue by burying it deep under an overburden of casuistries. It is easy for the powerful aggressor to say that his country is denied access to raw materials; that it is overcrowded and must have Lebensraum, an outlet for its over-congested population; free and open lanes of commerce, and to give these and a thousand other specious reasons for his course. These are made to justify the ruthless overpowering and destruction of weak neighboring states if perchance they fail to bow to the conqueror's will or permit themselves to be absorbed into his ambitious design. A color of righteousness may be given the whole monstrous scheme by pointing out the virtue of the ultimate objective-to bring a larger good to his people and perchance also alleged benefits to his conquered and plundered neighbors, just as Demetrius could justify his inciting the mob against Paul by pointing to the threat of his teachings to their accustomed means of making a livelihood.
However impressive the array of justifying reasons may be, when they are brushed away the simple question left is whether the powerful have a right to crush the weak even to bring added benefits to them. To this the conscience of humanity must answer with a resounding "no!" If aggressors were willing to let the right of the thing be the final determiner there would be no wars.
EMPLOYMENT OF EVIL MEANS INCONSISTENT
There is likewise a companion evil to the one just spoken of, just as reprehensible, though perhaps not quite so clearly recognized. It is the case of a powerful state, apprehending attack from another one, casting about for defensive means. It conceives that its security would be best promoted if it possessed a strategic point owned by another state. In the interest of its security it takes by force what it wants from its unwilling but powerless neighbor though the latter has to be mercilessly crushed in the process. The conqueror justifies itself and is justified by its apologists upon the plea of its own necessity. The basic immorality of the matter is conveniently ignored. It is as if a man about to be killed by a thug perceives that by liquidating his defenseless but innocent neighbor he can save his own skin. So far as the morality of the thing is concerned, he would be as fully justified as would the overpowering state.
In defense of such courses it is sometimes argued that where the objective is good, the end to be achieved worthy, the means employed to attain it are justified, however bad in themselves they may be. The idea is crystallized in the saying: "The end justifies the means." It is a monstrously false doctrine. If this is a moral universe, as I believe it to be, no methods for effecting change, however desirable the end sought, can properly be resorted to which are not in themselves consistent with that end. To employ violence, oppressive coercion, cruelty, injustice for the accomplishment of desired ends is to set loose forces of evil which must inevitably weaken and, to a degree at least, nullify those ends. In the process of achievement they lose their moral power. We see this truth exemplified almost every day. The employment of evil means to achieve allegedly worthy ends threatens to destroy the efforts for lasting peace which are so much in the public notice today.
A PLAN TO BRING PEACE
As nations indulge in such immoral practices as we have been talking about, so do individuals and groups and organized bodies in their relations between and among themselves, and with consequent disorders. If individuals in their dealings with each other subjected them to the test of what is right and abided the result, there would be little opportunity for ill will or strife. If groups or organizations seeking advantage to themselves against other groups or organizations would sit down together each willing to subordinate self-interest in the search for the right, and be controlled by it when found, there would be no warfare between or among them. Men submit their differences to the judgment and decision of a court merely because they are too childish and immature to sit down together and agree on what is right. They are in far better position to arrive at the right than any court is because they know all the facts, whereas the court never can have that complete knowledge. The judge is limited by the information which a trial brings to him. If men earnestly wanted their differences settled on the moral basis of right, there would be little work for courts.
Submission of differences, however, to the judgment of some disinterested body, such as a court, is, of course, a long advance over the stage when men settled their private differences by fighting it out-a resort to physical force. Any semblance of orderly society could not exist on the basis of private redress of grievances. The state accordingly long ago took that over so that if a dispute arises one doesn't kill the other party to the disagreement but calls upon the machinery of the state to settle the matter. That marked a long step forward. But nations still fight it out, which is a barbarous way of settling differences. It is not far removed, however, from some of the means resorted to now for the settlement of class or group differences. In many ways we are retrograding to the primitive status where disputants take settlement into their own hands. We cannot well lay claim to being a grown-up, mature, civilized people until we have come to the point where morality is the determinant, and we ask simply what is, in good conscience, right. The conclusion seems inescapable that the confusion and distraction and conflicts and antagonisms and uncertainties and bewilderment which plague the world today present mankind with what is at bottom a purely moral issue-the issue between right and wrong. That, then, should be the final test of the propriety of all courses of action.
But there are difficulties thrown in the way of getting that simple test adopted. One is that there is current in the world today a school of thought which asserts that there is no such thing as universal principles of right as opposed to wrong. They say that for the individual, growth is a continuing "ongoing process without direction. That is, that we are continually changing, growing but not toward any ultimate purpose. There are accordingly no fixed principles by reference to which we may determine what we ought to do. If confronted with a situation, all we can do is to experiment-try out the course we want to take, and if it works out to the advantage of the experimenter, then for him it is right. Each one finds out for himself according to his own interest. Of course this must inevitably result in confusion, and ultimate chaos.
This is a deadly paralyzing notion to plant in the minds of people and particularly the youthful and immature. It strikes down belief that man is a moral being with a purpose and a destiny and commensurate responsibilities. It releases one who accepts it from all restraints of conscience. It provides him with an allegedly scientific but basely false assurance that he is in no wise responsible for his actions however vile they may be since they are after all but in the course Of nature. Let such a notion as that gain general currency and you have dealt a devastating blow to all organized society. A free government could no longer exist, for its perpetuity must depend upon the moral integrity of its citizens. Only an absolute, iron-bound despotism could deal with a situation like that.
THE PRESENT RELIGIOUS TREND
One of the most deep-seated issues of this world in our day is the issue between the concept of man as a son of God possessed of an immortal soul with a God-given destiny and a guiding purpose in life and the concept of man dispossessed of individual rights which must lie universally respected, reduced to the status of a mere tool of an omnipotent state, the end in itself to which man's life is subordinated.
The first of these is the foundation principle upon which our nation is founded. It is our heritage from the fathers. It derives out of the teachings of the Master; it is an integral part of our religious faith.
But it is fashionable to decry the teachings of religion upon the supposed ground that it is authoritarian and by its pronouncements presumes to lay down for man rules of conduct and observances which he should follow. Not believing in the omnipotence and infinite wisdom and power of God, the objector views the directives of religion as an attempt on the part of some man to settle forever all truths with which man is concerned and to deprive him of the freedom of his own judgment. This, of course, entirely misconceives the claims and mission and purposes of organized religion. If it is meant to assert that man out of his own finite limitations is able, unguided by the voice of authoritative wisdom, to create for himself an adequate guide for living, then the answer is that experience, the history of the race, does not support the assumption.
It is not my purpose to conduct an argument about the contentions of the opponents of authoritative religion or of the pragmatists. It is sufficient to say that wherever religion has been discarded confusion and moral anarchy have followed. And that is one of the reasons for the confusion in the political world today. Mr. C.E.M. Joad, an eminent English philosopher, an atheist driven by events to reconsider his opinions, writes:
Where there is a large measure of general agreement in regard to ultimate ends, political doctrines can be represented as means to their realization. Where, however, there are no common ends to which the generality of men subscribe, political programs assume the status of ends in themselves. In the nineteenth century there was a general agreement among thinking people as to the nature and end of the individual. His nature was that of an immortal soul; his end was to achieve eternal salvation. Thus, when men differed about politics-even when they differed about ethics-their differences related to the best method of realizing the individual's nature and achieving the individual's end. Moreover, there was, broadly speaking, a general agreement, at least in the western democracies, as to the kind of society which it was desirable to establish. Owing to the decline of traditional religion these agreements no longer obtain, precisely because there is today no general acceptance of the view of the individual as an immortal soul and no general reliance upon the hope of eternal salvation. Consequently, political doctrines such as Fascism and Communism assume for the twentieth century the status which religious doctrines possessed in the nineteenth; they are not, that is to say, doctrines in regard to means to an agreed end, but doctrines in regard to ends about which there is no agreement.
Thus is clearly brought into focus the danger of shifting away from old moorings. When foundation principles are discarded, then shifting, vagrant, opportunistic substitutes for principles take control and precisely because they are opportunistic they must shift with the vagaries of changing popular moods. Stability-a steady march forward toward a fixed goal-no longer is found.
It is for us to stand by the tried and proved principles of religion and the tried and proved governmental principles which have so blessed our land.
That we may have the discerning wisdom and vision to do it and, at least among ourselves, resolve all our differences on the basis of right, I pray, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, October 1944, pp. 158-160
We are all thankful that Brother Rufus K. Hardy has sufficiently recovered from a recent illness to be in attendance at this conference. It has been deemed inadvisable, however, for him to assume the responsibility of speaking. That is why you have been denied the privilege of hearing him and of receiving his message.
Elder Sonne, one of the Assistants to the Twelve, has an appointment which conflicts with this conference. We shall hear more about that later. He is on a special assignment by the Church.
The listening audience has heard the message of each member of the General Authorities except five, who spoke to the Priesthood meeting last evening-Elder Oscar A. Kirkham, representing the First Council of the Seventy spoke on the preparation of body and intellect for our spirituality and greater service. Bishop Marvin O. Ashton of the Presiding Bishopric emphasized the value of honesty and consistent adherence to all the standards of the Church. Elder Joseph F. Smith, the Patriarch, gave a talk on the significance of patriarchal blessings and showed the relation of the Holy Ghost to these blessings. Elder Charles A. Callis, of the Council of Twelve, spoke on the need of strong, loyal men, and the necessity of all working together for the establishment of truth and universal brotherhood. President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., urged the teaching of the simple truths of the Gospel, warned against the teaching of false doctrine, and untried theories. These messages and those which you have heard over the radio cover pretty well, I may say comprehensively cover, the teachings of the Church and our duties therein. It has been a glorious conference. The Spirit of the Lord has been with us; and now, brethren, as this conference ends, your duties begin. "If to do were as easy as to know what were good to do, chapels had been churches, and poor men's cottages princes' palaces." It is one thing to hear, it is another thing to do. The Savior taught that principle when he 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.
Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock;
And the rain descended and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not; for it was founded upon a rock.
And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand;
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house; and it fell; and great was the fall of it.
We have been here during these last few days preparing ourselves for greater work. We have been as teachers preparing lessons. When a teacher prepares his lesson he receives benefits from the efforts put forth and from his study. He is personally benefitted, but the preparation of that lesson is but a means to an end, and that end the instruction of youth-the inspiring of young men and women to higher and better living. So we go out now better prepared to teach the men and women over whom we preside. The scope of that responsibility and that calling can be well understood by the reference of Paul to the organization of the Church, wherein he said:
And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.
Till we all come * * * unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.
I purposely, in quoting, omitted a phrase, the omission of which you will recognize. Well, we will put that in and say, "till we all come to a unity of the faith and to a knowledge of the Son of God". But I like to think that those are two conditions which lead to the perfect man, till we all come "in a unity of the faith and a knowledge of the Son of God," unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of Christ. Unity, knowledge, a willingness to learn, a willingness to serve.
Officers, leaders, men of the Priesthood, you are chosen of God. Go forth radiating a testimony that this is God's work. Feel it yourselves and then the men and women in your wards and stakes will feel it, for you are radiating not just what you say, but what you are and what you do.
God guide us, and help us, and inspire us in this great work, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
President J. Reuben Clark, Jr.
J. Reuben Clark, Jr., Conference Report, October 1944, pp. 160-161
It is practically the hour of closing, but the time is sufficient for me to say how much I have enjoyed this conference.
I agree with Brother Joseph Fielding that the keynote of the conference has been repentance. I agree with him that the Lord told the Prophet at the very beginning that that was his message to this generation.
We have been inspired by the principle behind the parable of the lost sheep over whose return there is greater rejoicing than over the ninety-nine that are safe.
I should like to testify to the power of prayer, and to say that it is a wise man who knows what to pray for. One of the things that we should seek in going before the Lord and in going upon our knees, is his inspiration and his wisdom to tell us what to ask for.
My prayers have been answered.
I want, upon behalf of the First Presidency and of all the brethren, to thank all you brethren who are here, and those who work with you in your wards and stakes for your loyalty, for your devotion, for your service to the Lord our God and to his Cause. It is unfortunate that always we have to speak even the harsh word to those who little need it, because those who are in dire want thereof are not before us, but we do this in order that you may carry the message to them.
May the Lord preserve you and bless you for your labors, give you health and strength, spiritual power to carry on. May he recognize your efforts. May he yield you blessings for your good desires, yea, and more for your work.
May God be with you till we meet again, I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus Christ, His Son, Amen.